Is hesitation to work in (L)MM rational given longer term aspirations

I know the earning potential in LMM/MM PE can obviously be very high - I work for a respected M&A Boutique in the MM Consumer space; however given my aspirations are more operational in nature long term, the 'natural' next step of (L)MM Consumer Growth/Buyout PE seems like it would probably be limiting. After working on a number of projects in my ~2 years of IB so far, not to get ahead of myself- but the average quality of management teams, reporting standards, lack of scale, short term thinking, etc. in the middle market ($100mn-$1bn+ space) feels somewhat unaspiring. I know that all presents opportunity for PE investors, but I don't think it's where I want to be.

My ambitions/goals are more oriented towards Public/F500 leadership - so pursuing the next step for me in a strategic role at a larger company seems more valuable than just doing PE, though I know the comp will likely be lower / path up is less defined. Consulting/MBB feels more aligned with my long term goals. Wondering if any of you consider this tradeoff?  

4 Comments
 

When you say leadership, do you mean CEO or generic C-Suite? If you're interested in a CFO type seat I'd say aim for 1-2 years at the largest PE firm you get an offer from then transition to corp dev. If CEO you can either go the MBB path or join an mid-stage startup in an operating role. Agree that LMM PE is not really going to set you up for a CEO role at F500.

 

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