The Private Equity Podcast, by Raw Selection

Today's Guest

Today we welcome Paul McCluskey, an experienced Private Equity board director with a record of creating significant shareholder value and delivering strategic growth.  

Originally qualifying with KPMG as a Chartered Accountant, Paul then moved into the FTSE 100 environment.

After selling one of the FTSE 100 businesses to an American business, Paul started on the Private Equity journey in 2007 when he was part of the MBO team that took Synexa life sciences private with Private Equity, successfully exiting at 3x investment value in 2011.

Later, in 2014, Paul was part of the MBI team that created Concept Life Sciences with support from Equistone Partners. 

He now works as a Consultant, advising business in the Life Sciences and Technology industries. 

What’s in this episode?

In today’s episode Paul discusses with Alex how he created Concept Life Sciences with a series of management buy-ins and the challenges he faced growing this business before ultimately exiting in 2018 for 3x ROI.

What you'll learn

• Why talent is the key factor in success of a company
• Why urgency could be the key different between working in a PE backed vs non PE backed company
• Why finding your niche in the market is vital to success
• Why you don’t need to have all the answers
• Why you need to stick to your 100-day plan
• Why you should be taking more risks earlier in your career

Breakdown

4:44 - What one mistake do you see PE firms or Portfolio Companies making

8:07 - Advice for CEO’s looking to enter the Private Equity world

14:26 - Paul discusses what it was like growing a business with a Private Equity sponsor and exiting

24:30 - The challenges Paul faced integrating multiple add-on business and making sure there were no culture clashes 

27:31 - Paul shares his biggest successes with Concept Life Sciences

30:06 - How can PE firms get more value from their Portfolio Companies 

32:44 - Advice for CEO’s wanting to take their business PE backed

35:45 - What three attributes make a top performer

38:59 - What Paul loves and hates about the PE industry

44:11 - Paul’s influences 

49:12 - Paul talks about a time he was blindsided and what he learned from it

55:55 - What advice would you give your 20 year old self

 Resources

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-mccluskey-3488b09a/

https://www.conceptlifesciences.com/

https://www.synexusclinic.co.uk/

https://www.equistonepe.com/

Thank you for tuning in!

To get the newest Private Equity episodes, you can subscribe on iTunes or Spotify here.

Lastly, if you have any feedback on the podcast or want to reach out to Alex with any questions, send an email to [email protected]

Today's Guest

Today we welcome Rick Brawn, Operating Partner at GenNx360, an operationally focused Private Equity firm that invests in industrial and business service companies. 

After receiving his engineering degree from MIT, Rick joined Pratt and Whitney, an engine company part of United Technologies. 

He was with the company for 17 years, achieving his masters and MBA in engineering, holding various different positions and even moving to 6 different countries with his wife and 4 children to go where the company needed him.

5 years ago he made the transition to working for GenNx360 as Operating Partner and now lives in Florida.

What’s in this episode?

In today’s episode Rick explains how he transitioned from running companies as the former Managing Director of Rolls Royce and Pratt & Whitney, to working for a Private Equity firm as an Operating Partner and the steep learning curve that came with that transition.
 

What you'll learn

• Why it’s vital for Portfolio Companies to fully understand the Investment thesis
• What to do as a CEO if your firm is being acquired by Private Equity
• What exactly is the role of Operating Partner
• How Rick made the transition from being CEO to Operating Partner, never having worked in Private Equity before
• The steep learning curve Rick experienced coming into the Private Equity industry
• The best way to really learn more about PE
• The main challenges Rick faces as an Operating Partner
• Rick’s advice for anyone looking to make the move to an Operating Partner role

 Breakdown

2:36 - What one mistake do you see PE firms or Portfolio Companies making

4:03 - Advice for a CEO of a business being acquired by a PE firm

6:04 - How do you define the role of Operating Partner

8:04 - How involved in the deal process are Operating Partners?

10:29 - How Rick transitioned from running companies as MD/CEO to working for the PE firm as Operating Partner

18:39 - Main challenges faced as an Operating Partner

20:12 - What advice would you give someone looking to make the move to Operating Partner

27:00 - The three attributes that make a top performing executive

32:08 - Rick’s likes and dislikes in the Private Equity industry

39:30 - Rick’s experience with being blindsided

42:17 - What advice would Rick give to his 20-year-old self?

Resources

https://www.linkedin.com/in/operatingpartner/

https://gennx360.com/team-info/rick-brawn

https://www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com/en_GB/home.html

https://prattwhitney.com/

Thank you for tuning in!

To get the newest Private Equity episodes, you can subscribe on iTunes or Spotify here.

Lastly, if you have any feedback on the podcast or want to reach out to Alex with any questions, send an email to [email protected]

Today's Guest

We’re extremely excited to welcome Victor Vescovo to the podcast today.

Victor is an American private equity investor, co-founder of Insight Equity, retired naval officer, and undersea explorer, being the first person to reach the deepest points of four of the Earth’s five oceans during the Five Deeps Expedition of 2018-2019.

In 2017, Vescovo became the 12th American to complete the “Explorers Grand Slam” which requires climbing the highest peak on all seven of the world’s continents, including Mt. Everest.

For more than 20 years, Vescovo served as an office in the U.S. Navy Reserve, retiring in 2014. He served at various times on extended active duty, including Pearl Harbor where he was posted after the 9/11 attacks as a counter-terrorism specialist. 

In the Private Equity world, he is cofounder and Managing Partner of Private Equity firm Insight Equity, an industrial buyout firm with over $1B AUM, where he focuses on growing and enhancing aerospace and defence firms.

What’s in this episode?

In today’s episode Victor chats with Alex about his experiences in mountaineering and undersea exploration and draws on the strong parallels between working in Private Equity and doing expeditions and military operations.
 
What you'll learn

•  Why risk mitigation plays a vital role in both expeditions and Private Equity Investing
• Why hesitating on decision making can kill your business
• What Victor has drawn from his military background to influence his Private Equity firm today
• The most painful decision Victor has ever had to make
• What drove Victor to set up his current PE Firm, Insight Equity
• How 9/11 changed his life
• What makes some a great leader and top performer

Breakdown

4:40 - Why do some people take on more risk than others, in expeditions and in business?

8:45 - The biggest mistakes Victor sees people making in PE

10:16 - How Victor’s military background influences his decision making today

13:00 - Why Victor set up his PE Firm, Insight Equity

16:04 - Victor describes what was working in the military was like

17:30 - How to make partner in your firm

19:57 - Victor’s interpretation of what makes a great leader

22:34 - The makeup of a top performer

25:10 - Victor’s likes and dislikes in the Private Equity Industry

33:40 - what advice would you give to your 20 year old self

Resources

https://www.linkedin.com/in/victor-vescovo-4a130775/

https://fivedeeps.com/

https://www.ted.com/speakers/victor_vescovo

https://www.insightequity.com/

Thank you for tuning in!

To get the newest Private Equity episodes, you can subscribe on iTunes or Spotify here.

Lastly, if you have any feedback on the podcast or want to reach out to Alex with any questions, send an email to [email protected]

Introducing The Private Equity Podcast, hosted by Alex Rawlings.

Over the coming episodes Alex will be interviewing the leading experts working in the Private Equity industry, unlocking their secrets of success to share with you. 

Discover how some of the top private equity professionals got into Private Equity, how they rose to success and learn about some of the mistakes they made along the way. 

Alex has strong connections to the Private Equity industry through his executive search firm, Raw Selection, which specialises in working with Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies across Europe and North America. Alex is straight talking and to the point and aims to unlock real gold you can build into your firm or portfolio companies.