L.E.K. Consulting to Private Equity
I will be a first year associate at L.E.K. this Fall and looking to transition to private equity after a couple years. My work will involve mostly strategy engagements and maybe a few due diligence private equity cases. What are my prospects for recruiting at megafunds (in comparison to those with banking or MBB backgrounds)? Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
IDK about megafunds. Based off the conversation I had with of the BSDs over there, LEK is fairly good at getting people into PE. Worse comes to worse you're still pretty much guaranteed a great shot at a top MBA.
Probably not what you want to hear, but megafund chances are probably slim to none. The large cap funds that hire consultants do so pretty much exclusively from MBB (and mostly just Bain/McK at that).
That said, I'm sure LEK does place people to some PE funds, though I have no idea which ones. Your best bet would probably be to talk to more senior associates once you start to get a sense of where people end up.
Don't want to burst your bubble either but I looked at a lot of team pages and haven't seen a consultant from LEK at any of the notable PE firms. Your prospects are probably 0, I would say higher if you had top solid connections but if you are asking on WSO you probably have none.
If you were at Bain though your best chance is at Bain capital, but that's about it. I don't even see much of MBB at most PE firms outside of Bain.
megafunds? very very slim chance - basically zero. doesnt mean you cant network your way to a solid lower mm or mm PE group. doesnt happen often but ive seen a few LEK backgrounds. an uphill battle though. you'll be competing with ibankers and consultants from MBB
What was said here reflects my experience pretty much -- megafunds will only fly from McK or Bain, midmarket however will be an option, also from LEK.
Unfortunately it's not likely for megafund...even in emerging market where the track is not that structured. Have you thought about VC / growth fund?
I have seen LEK on the team pages of some buyside shops. Can't remember which ones, but they were probably growth equity firms or middle market PE firms. Coming from LEK, even those will be an uphill battle but obviously it is possible. Best shot probably is an inside track somewhere through networking and hustling. LEK also does a lot of diligence work of various types during M&A processes, so that could also be a way in. Good luck.
I personally know people who have made the jump from LEK to MM PE, so it's definitely possible. Some PE firms are financial engineers, some are operational experts, and most are somewhere in between. To go from mgmt consulting > PE, your best bet will be with those PE firms that are more operationally focused.
Impossible, nobody from LEK ever gets PE jobs.
http://www.castaneapartners.com/team_btuttman.php
(btw, sorry to put this guy on the spot - just a good example.)
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