Goldman Sachs Veteran Launches Transatlantic Tech Investment Bank, Calls AI the 'Great Equalizer'

Camila Clarke, a 22-year veteran of bulge-bracket institutions including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, has founded Clarke Capital Advisors (CCA), a boutique transatlantic tech investment bank designed to bridge Silicon Valley, New York, and Europe. Speaking at the Female Quotient gathering at Davos 2026, Clarke explained that she identified a structural gap in the market: large banks spread too thin globally, boutique firms too narrowly local — leaving room for a nimble, internationally focused alternative.

The final nudge to leave corporate giants came from an unexpected source: female CEOs who were already her clients. Clarke, who identifies as a Latina woman, cited the absence of Latina role models in M&A and investment banking as a core motivator — she explicitly set out to become the figure she never had early in her career. Among her own mentors she counts Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup, as well as leaders from Nordic financial institutions.

On AI, Clarke is unambiguous: she sees it as a structural equalizer that dramatically lowers the barriers to launching a financial services firm. Where building a competitive advisory practice once demanded significant capital and large headcounts, Clarke argues that small teams armed with AI tools can now achieve the operational leverage previously reserved for major institutions. In her framing, capital and bodies are no longer necessary preconditions for success — they're optional accelerants.

Yet Clarke pushes back against the idea that tech replaces human judgment in dealmaking. She argues that traits associated with strong interpersonal connection — organization, prioritizing face-to-face relationship-building — remain decisive in closing transactions. For Clarke, forums like Davos derive their real value not from deal flow but from cross-border collaboration and the discovery of shared interests across cultures.