I was wondering if anyone has interviewed with them. They have an equity development group which invests in new platform companies and for their current companies that they own. What do you think of this group? Since its not traditional private equity position since you're not putting on any debt like in a traditional private equity. There's also this thing of moving to Kansas ;(.
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Have a good knowledge of this group, which is called Koch Equity Development, KED (don't work there). I believe all positions are based in Wichita. Is this for SA or FT? If SA, they already have one intern, but will re-evaluate in the coming weeks (usually look for MBA students). The Koch investment philosophy is largely a synergy, value-adding focused; they only do a few acquisitions a year, but they tend to be big (Molex, INVISTA, Georgia-Pacific). It's pretty different than PE; the intended holding period is forever. Good amount of the guys have an MBA/prior IB exp, but industry is fairly common. A few have CFA's as well.
As for Wichita, it's actually not as bad as you think. Since Wichita's demographics are very evenly spread, many restaurants/fast-food chains have trial runs (so there are many food/comfort choices). Koch has a huge stronghold on the place, as the YMCA, WSU basketball stadium, etc are named after Mr. Koch. The nightlife is boring though. Not a lot of clubs/bars, and there's not much around to do for fun/nearby cities. Koch usually looks for people from a Midwestern background just for this reason. Beautiful city though, apart from the tornadoes.
If you are interviewing, make sure to read up on Koch's MBM-philosophy (decision rights especially). Very differentiating culture. Make SURE to be familiar with it.
I'm not normally one to make these comments, but you might want to factor the ethical implications of working for Koch Industries into your decision. It is a private company owned by the Koch brothers, who, through tremendous political donations and lobbying, are probably the two people most responsible for the rise of the far-right in American politics - including things like the Tea Party, climate change denial, the government shutdown and efforts to repeal the ACA, the Taxpayer Protection Pledge that essentially prevents every Republican from ever voting for a tax increase, union-busting, and frankly most other similar things that you might have read about.
The corporation also makes political donations along these lines itself, and Austrian-school libertarianism/far-rightism seems to be hardwired into the company's culture, as broadstbully alludes too. At the very least you should think about whether you agree with these political initiatives, because a) your coworkers are probably all pretty conservative, and b) the profit from all the synergies you'll be finding is going to be funneled into political activism.
On a more practical note, the company's overt politics could be bad branding-wise. The Kochs are a household name and are often compared to Lex Luthor (as they themselves admit) in the mass media, so politically-aware Democrats or left-leaners in finance might judge you negatively for it.
Don't want this to descend into a political discussion, but it's important to put facts (and perceptions of facts) on the table. Hope this helps.
Very good points made by moosen. Koch gets a lot of shit in the media, but they actually do a lot of good for the economy. Their goal isn't to "make money" or "control the world", but to "add value". That is the cornerstone of everything that they do. If they see an attractive investment, but it doesn't produce a good/service (especially one that isn't synergetic to their existing businesses), then they won't purchase it. A huge differentiating factor.
You will be doing a good bit of defending your ideas and building models. From what I have gathered, the culture is similar to Ray Dalio's of Bridgewater; in that you better believe in your idea and support it, or else you will won't like the result. If you have time, you should read the Science of Success by Charles Koch; interesting read and will be helpful to reference in your interview.
As for exit opportunities, you should be in good shape. KED works very similarly to an in-house M&A/PE team, so you'll definitely have some options. I don't know where past people have gone though. KED works across all of Koch's businesses (except Georgia-Pacific, I believe) so you'll have the opportunity to gain exposure across a wide range of industries (specifically Consumer Products, O&G).
PM me w/ any questions
I want to touch base on the political commentary above. I think it is being really exacerbated. Koch is by far one of the most active and experienced corporations + M&A shops in america. Additionally, it touches nearly every industry of the economy. Yes - the Koch's are political and conservative. However, this is a massive, multi-generation private conglomerate that has continued to remained successful. There are very few organizations able to do this over time.
As a personal data point, Koch took an LP stake in a private equity fund I worked at and I looked at co-investing in numerous companies with their investment group. I also met in person with them every 6 weeks. This was all while the head of my firm did not need their money, is a pretty high profile democrat, has a family member that works in the white house and raises $5M+ for democrat campaigns annually. The politics did not get into the business and investing we did at all.
The guys there were sharp. They also told me that the company, which, at the time, had ~$100 Billion in revenue, wants to acquire $50B in revenue by 2020. I don't know another corporate M&A role that could provide equal experience.
The biggest draw back I would have is the fact you have to move to Wichita.