Intel on Hellman & Friedman: Culture, B School, Promotion track
I'm in the process of gathering information ahead of on-cycle recruiting this fall. As my username suggests, I'm a BA/A/AC at MBB looking to make the switch to a top consultant-friendly PE fund. Based on my research so far H&F is one of the best funds out there. I'm looking to you all for help to 1) verify/refute what I've heard about H&F so far and 2) provide any additional insights you may have.
What I've heard so far: H&F is a top fund with excellent b school placement/exit ops. That said, I've heard it's a bit of sweat shop with a norm of ~85 hours per week and weekends are basically treated as work days. To compensate for that I hear pay is above market both in terms of 1st year all-in cash comp (~300K) and also shadow carry (bringing the total closer to ~450K). Finally it looks like they have a history of bringing 1-2 star Associates back to the firm post-MBA.
Open questions: 1) Is the above accurate? Especially as it relates to hours/lifestyle 2) What is the culture like? Has anyone had any experiences with these guys they'd be willing to share 3) Do they offer business school sponsorship? 4) Anything else I should be thinking about?
Would echo all of the above. Well respected firm, know as a sweatshop, they pay well and have strong placement into H/S. With that being said it's a two and out shop with only a few people making it past that. I've also heard that because they're so picky on deals, the deal experience can be hit or miss. I know a guy that spent 2 years there and didn't get a single deal done. With that being said, he went onto a top bschool and the HF name got him another PE job after. I see few reasons not to take it if you got a job there.
All accurate. Very smart people, great training ground, great exit opps, comp is top of the market (across all levels), culture is quite aggressive (everything I hear from people working there sounds like pre-crisis banking fraternity culture) with unbelievably long working hours, lots of traveling, "swim or sink" type mentality. I know 2 handful of current and former associates and basically everyone hates the experience while they are there but once they survived they are glad that they did it (not much different from an IBD analyst experience, but much more intense). Almost impossible to get promoted, and if you get it it's purely because of the money because you have to slave away for close to a decade to have so much vested that it's worth it. Most people categorically exclude a promotion for that reason, even if they got it. Really depends what you want, I dont think the 2 years of high-end comp is worth the effort (esp. given the shadow equity / non-cash component for which you dont see the cash until the respective investments are exited), but in my view the people that make it through are among the smartest and best trained investors globally (and they benefit the next 30++ years from it).
Here's a non-exhaustive list of MM/UMM/MF that hire consultants: - Bain Capital - H&F - TPG - Warburg - Advent - New Mountain - Berkshire Partners - Onex - Golden Gate - Sycamore - AEA - Charlesbank
Yes, some firms have near 100%, or near 100% H/S acceptances, far above other comparable shops. Partially because the founders/senior folks went to H/S, have donated a lot, and hire exclusively from H/S. So ends up being a win/win: helps the firms hire the best pre-MBA associates and helps H/S because they end up placing students into very high paying/prestigious jobs at the same firms post-MBA. And if those post-MBAs stay in PE/HF and do well, they will hopefully donate $$$ to H/S, thus completing the circle.
This is the wrong way to think about it. Not sure why people worship MBAs on this forum, no one slaves away at a top bank + top PE firm so that they have the privilege of spending a quarter million on an MBA. They do it because they're ambitious and smart and hard working and finance rewards that very well. Then, when they a. can't move up further or b. want to do something else, they use an MBA to pivot. Whether in the past 100% of associates have gone to HBS or 70%, the point is that at any top firm worth its salt you will have far above average odds of getting into business school, should you need to go.