Healthcare Consulting to CVC Capital Partners: Worth the move?
Hi WSO,
Looking for some career advice. Got a call with a PE HH coming up for a potential role at CVC London in their HC team. By way of background I am currently in HC consulting at one of the usual well-known HC firms (e.g. ClearView, ZS, CRA, Putnam) mainly doing strategy consulting with some CDD. Not strongly considering a move yet as life is pretty good (lucky to be averaging 50h week, loving the day-to-day and decently compensated) but I can see this as an opportunity to increase total compensation, learn a new skill and experience a new environment. I have read up on CVC online and here, so I know they are reputable, pay well etc. My questions are:
How bad can life (mainly hours) get at CVC/PE firms in London?
If 12-18 months down the line I find that long-term PE is not for me, could a move back to HC strategy consulting be realistic? I wonder because I think I could sell myself as having acquired a "new set" of financial skills in PE, but wanted to hear thoughts.
Appreciate any insights. Cheers.
Bump
Pretty sure you could move back to consulting especially at CDD heavy shops like LEK that have a HC practice.
Did work on a deal with that team this summer, cannot really comment on hours from the inside but looked like any PE fund, people were nice and the partner heading the team seemed quite chill from the outside.
You're likely going to 2-3x your compensation, and get a huge brand name on your CV. If you hate it and want to move back to consulting after a year, you should get plenty of interest from MBB and other firms that do CDD work.
This seems like an incredible opportunity, and a big step-up from your current role. If I were you, I'd jump at it.
And I assume give my background, I would not be expected to have a solid knowledge of finance going in right? More than happy to learn, but I ask because out of their junior team in London, only 1 person comes from a consulting background and everyone else is IB or PE.
They certainly won't expect you to have banker-level modelling skills / finance knowledge, but you'll need to be familiar with the basics (paper LBO, valuation methods, basic three statement models in excel) to get through interviews.
In general, firms with a greater number of former consultants tend to be more "consultant-friendly" in both their interview processes and on-the-job expectations (i.e. more willing to train you up on modelling and finance).
However, all firms will be aware of your background and tend to adjust their expectations accordingly. In practice, that means that the bar on modelling / finance interviews is significantly higher for bankers vs. consultants and vice-versa for case interviews.
I think this is a no-brainer based on the learning opportunity PE would provide, especially at a brand name shop like CVC, as well as the flexibility it maintains (even more so than niche HC consulting at the shops you mentioned).
I would suggest you change your mindset to one more of giving this a shot, knowing that the opportunity isn't even a sure thing yet, than one of whether its worth the move. The latter question's answer is hands down, to 99% of the people out there. I think most people would suggest getting the offer first, before spending time thinking over hours, comp, and exit opps (back into consulting for example)
Separately, would brush up on your finance knowledge and even modeling skills asap if I were you, expectations for consultants aren't quite up there on this front, but they definitely expect self study. Good luck
That's fair. I guess I'm weighing the options and getting advice from others now so that I don't waste anyone's time if I am not convinced about it. I will definitely give it a shot and do anything I can to increase my odds of getting in. Having said that, any familiarity with the CVC interview process?
Just my two cents... not even worth it asking yourself the question before having done the process. London PE recruiting is INSANELY competitive and you literally just got a call from a HH - you don’t even know if they will accept your CV for 1st round interviews
On separate note, CVC is an absolute beast of a PE fund, probably one of the best in Europe. They also do a lot in Healthcare and do not shy away from complex transactions
I think it's a no brainer. CVC London is among the best teams in Europe. Even though it's a generalist firm, CVC has a strong focus in HC, TMT and FIG (with strong connections, dedicated ops teams and impressive network of operating partners). Careerwise, it's a great move, and you'll be able to land back at a MBB if you don't like your experience there.
Compensation is top of market, culture is pretty good, even though they have a per deal basis carried interest, which I heard creates tension in some teams.
However, receiving a call from HH is far from getting an offer. As said before, London is ultra competitive... And it might be difficult given your background: they are not very consultant friendly. From my experience, the process involves a lot of modelling. But you should give it a try, and see where it goes.
Good luck with your process, and let us know how it goes !
Can I DM you?
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