Vanessa Esparza

Vanessa Esparza is a founding member of the management team at Gladstone Place Partners. As a Partner, she provides operational and administrative leadership to the firm and supports its growth and strategy. Vanessa’s work primarily focuses on talent management and recruiting, professional and leadership development, and employee engagement.

Prior to Gladstone, Vanessa was an Executive Director at Brunswick Group where she managed client onboarding for the firm’s U.S. M&A and shareholder activism practices. She was also a member of the firm’s business operations group supporting various internal initiatives.

Vanessa holds a master’s degree in Human Capital Management from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Colorado. She is a certified leadership coach and a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF), where she provides pro bono coaching through its NYC Community Impact Committee. Vanessa was also recently named to Ragan’s Top Women in HR, Class of 2026.

Vanessa actively contributes to her community and serves as the Board Chair of Exhale to Inhale, a New York-based nonprofit that empowers survivors of domestic violence through trauma-informed yoga. She also serves on the board of The LAGRANT Foundation. Vanessa lives in New York City and spends her weekends in the Hudson Valley. She is fluent in Spanish.