Career in PE Operations

Question

To the seasoned consultants here, does anyone have insights on the longevity of a career path in PE portfolio company operations (value creation team)? I'm currently a senior associate (immediately below manager) at S& and I'm being headhunted for this role. Is there a path to PE partner in this role even though the portfolio operations team is not as core as the deals team? Is there shift towards value creation (as opposed to financial engineering) in the PE industry, which should signal the PE operations team increasingly becoming as essential as the deals team? I’d love to hear thoughts! Thank you!

Answer 1

Hi!

1. Yes, there is a path to becoming a partner but typically this would be as an Operating Partner and not on the investment side. If you want to transition you will have to do this earlier in your tenure in the operating team.

2. There is a very strong trend towards building up operating teams and most of the large PE funds are setting these ups. The reason for this is that cheap capital is chasing fewer deals so just using leverage to achieve returns is becoming increasingly difficult.

3. If you consider joining an operating team, make sure to look at the incentive scheme and how it compares with the investment team. This will give you a good idea of the standing of the operating team in the fund. If radically different I would consider my options.

-A

Answer 2

I considered similar roles myself and fair warning that operating partner is a very different career path to PE partner. Both in terms of compensation and what you will be doing

It can still be an exciting role but make sure you really get on with your interviewers and try and learn as much as you can about what exactly you will be doing

Final point - check if you are included in carry. If not then why even bother leaving consulting :)