6Assessing the Top Management Team

Management Practices in Private Equity

What is the best aspect of the job of a private equity investor? Do you think it is a transaction completion? Or a successful deal exit? Or the handsome paycheck that comes with it? Different private equity investors will have their own opinion on the matter. As for me, I don't find anything more rewarding than meeting and interacting with management teams. I like spending time with accomplished entrepreneurs, diving into the history of their business and walking the factory floors—provided I am invited to take a closer look at their operations. I enjoy this part of the job a lot more than transaction closings and deal exits. Why? That's because I learned the hard way that deal closings and exits tend to happen only once every blue moon. My best estimate is that I am destined to close and exit only about 15 or 20 transactions in my entire career. Meeting management teams, by contrast, is a regular part of my routine. More generally, I would say that it is quite ...

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