Does your firm have a value creation / portco improvement team? How does it function?

Hey gang,

I am interviewing at a MM/UMM fund for a fund-level value creation team role.  The team is about 15 people, most are mid-senior level (no semi-retired operating partners and no junior staff).  It is a sweet spot for me and my background (F500 industry experience, PE consulting, PE operating roles).  

I was asked how to distinguish different value creation teams and what type of value creation environment suits me best.  I know it spans from small teams at smaller funds to big teams at MF (e.g., KKR Capstone, etc.).

Questions for you guys:

  • Does your fund have a value creation team?  If so, are you MM, UMM, MF and how many people on the value creation team?
  • Are they seen as partners to the deal team or as a "second class support function"? I have no ego about this, just seems like a complaint I hear.
  • Are these roles seen as a stop along the way (then MBA or portco) or a career destination?  I like the work and want to do this long-term.
  • What work do they focus on:
    • Essentially a captive consulting firm, full of ex-MBB people, deploying case teams conducting detailed analytics, CDD/VDD, etc.;
    • Deep functional specialists (supply chain, FDA regulations, IT, etc.) 
    • Generalists - 1-2 people deployed to 2-3 dedicated portcos, working on strategic planning, execution support, and solving a wider variety of problems

Finally, any advice for the interview process? Anyone willing to DM to answer a few more questions?

 
  • Does your fund have a value creation team?  If so, are you MM, UMM, MF and how many people on the value creation team?
    • I'd say we're pretty much MM/UMM, with a bit less than 10 people in the value creation team.
  • Are they seen as partners to the deal team or as a "second class support function"? I have no ego about this, just seems like a complaint I hear.
    • On paper the value creation team and the investment team are pretty much equal. In reality some investment partners view the value creation team as a second fiddle, but I wouldn't say that represents the view point of the majority of the investment team. (Maybe 75/25?)
  • Are these roles seen as a stop along the way (then MBA or portco) or a career destination?  I like the work and want to do this long-term.
    • At the partner level it is seen as a career destination, but it varies. We usually have two types of backgrounds : people who had a career as operators (think C-suite) who want something a little slower for their last few years or younger people who have been MBB consultants.
    • At the analyst level (our value creation team has very few analysts) it's more seen as a stop along the way, but the door seems open for an analyst to comeback after having picked up some experience somewhere else along the way. Career path not very clear to be honest.
  • What work do they focus on:
    • Our value creation team mostly acts as generalists. It's focused a lot on strategic planning, execution support, diagnoses and commercial due dilligence in pre-investment.

Can't really help with interview questions (but think MBB cases), but LMK if you want me to DM you if you have more questions.

 
Most Helpful

I'd toss in a few points from an alternative MM/UMM perspective:

  • For better or worse, ops resources are not viewed as equivalent to deal teams. The ultimate outcome of deals falls upon investment team (they sourced, executed, put the capital at risk, etc.) and ops teams are ultimately just a resource in helping realize a thesis and desired outcome. I'm not undermining their value, but it's very rare for them to truly be considered peers or equivalents (and not paid as such) just based on the economics of how PE works and where risk/decision-making sits.
  • Strongly agree with the above that career track exists for those late in career (i.e., former executives), but it's often more challenging for career consultants who lack in-company operational experience and just can't bring the same depth of experience and mentorship to companies as a former executive/operator. There are certainly exceptions but career-track roles are far more limited and more often require detours to true operating roles.
 

Magni molestiae ipsa magni voluptate id est. Consectetur itaque voluptatem delectus magnam maxime.

Laborum quo neque aut repellat vero. Ratione dolor eveniet hic mollitia quis accusantium. Est veritatis ipsum omnis ut est.

Career Advancement Opportunities

May 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Blackstone Group 99.0%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.4%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 97.9%
  • Bain Capital 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

May 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.4%
  • Ardian 97.9%
  • Bain Capital 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

May 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Bain Capital 99.0%
  • Blackstone Group 98.4%
  • Warburg Pincus 97.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

May 2024 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (22) $569
  • Vice President (92) $362
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (91) $281
  • 2nd Year Associate (206) $268
  • 1st Year Associate (389) $229
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (29) $154
  • 2nd Year Analyst (83) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (246) $122
  • Intern/Summer Associate (32) $82
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (316) $59
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”