LP to GP Exit
Hi All - looking for some guidance here.
I currently work for a large LP (think GIC) and live in a secondary market (think Chicago). I really like my job but growth prospects beyond where I’m at now have began to look less likely. My wife and I have recently welcomed a child into our life and as a result of that we are considering relocating. We both grew up in New York and want to be closer to our families now that we are raising a child.
I was approached about a job opportunity to return to New York by a recruiter for a portfolio company of a large GP (think KKR). Where things get tricky are that in my current role at LP, I am a part of the deal team that just invested in a GP fund holding the Portfolio company that had approached me. I didn’t mention it to the recruiter because we hadn’t closed on the commitment at the time and it was confidential but it was the first thing I mentioned I interviewed by the Portfolio Company. The job is as close to a dream job as I can think of, it would be a step up in title and responsibility, a bump in pay, and obviously accomplish my personal goal to move home and grow my existing family closer to my immediate family. The recruiter and portfolio company have consistently said they love my profile and that I nailed the interviews but needed to confirm internally on their side if it was something they were comfortable progressing with. After a while the decision came that they were not comfortable moving forward with me, but have not chosen another candidate.
I’ve gone through many iterations of next steps in my head and would love to get some thoughts from those on here. A few things I have considered doing: i) getting another offer in New York and going back to the recruiter with it to say “hey I’m moving back anyway, I’d rather it be with you” - the thing is this takes time and I have been telling others I’m not interested with the hopes that this would pan out. The risk is it takes too much time and they hire someone else and I have to enter a recruitment process knowing full well I’m not interested in taking the job which is bad faith. ii) being transparent with my current company and asking them to release me to negotiate. The risk is that I can’t come to an agreement and I end up staying at the LP which would obviously create some friction. iii) having a transparent conversation with my boss about my desire to relocate home coupled with the fact that there are no longer the same career growth prospects at the LP as there were when I joined. The outcome here could be that they entice me to stay with the promise of promotions or release me to negotiate freely.
I am leaning towards option iii but would love to get some thoughts on that. How would you approach this conversation and should I have a call with the portfolio company beforehand to let them know that I’m going to do this?
The ultimate goal is to move home without burning any bridges along the way.
TIA
Bump
I’m confused as to the situation. So, the company has told you explicitly they can’t hire you because you worked at an LP that invested in the GP that owns this business? Or are you simply inferring this because you didn’t get the job and they haven’t hired someone else?
Messaging was that given the relationship between our two firms they aren’t comfortable moving forward.
If that is truly the only holdup to them hiring you, which is understandable given they don’t want to step on toes, the only real solution would be to speak with your current employer openly. If they are supportive of you and your career then it should be no problem at all, but some may bristle at the idea. It’s not as if you’re going to a competitor but I could understand how they may feel blind sided.
I made the move from LP to GP and specifically stayed away from any funds with which we had a prior co-investing relationship for this exact reason. I think you’re in an even better spot since you’d be going to a PortCo, so I would just have an open conversation with your boss.
bump
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