Post-MBA transition from REPE (Hotels) to corporate PE (Ideally Generalists)
Understand this isn't common. I'm certain on the transition: appreciate any tangible/serious insights on pivoting!
Context: Currently in a top MBA program (within M3). I have 5 yrs of experience: 2 yrs of IB (product group across sectors in MM) & 3 years in REPE (Lodging specifically; so niche given real operating model); also worked at a leading shop, whose portfolio was a Blackstone target).
I largely came to MBA to transition to corporate PE (ideally UMM/MF; direct investing preferred generalist, but exposure to TMT or consumer (despite some pullback)). Given unique background and market dynamics I'm willing to step back into a very Senior Associate role (think long game)
- What concerns should I hedge against for my background?
- What type of shops would you target?
- I need build the right foundation & work/learn from someone who is highly competent -> strengthen my skills and deal experience + credibility in PE; shop with a good track-record
- Who can appreciate the nuances that come with investing in hotels ->intersection of RE and a capital intensive consumer facing business)?
- Clearly sector-specific; but generally what key areas of diligence would you expect to be different? (think of each hotel as a portco)
- We evaluated management / market-specific geography / brand diligence / customer profiles / industry trends / competitive landscape / pricing capabilities / etc.
- the only area that I could think of is truly different are legal & some financial considerations: operating costs tend to be relatively stable; model largely driven by Daily/weekly/monthly expectations on Demand and Average Daily Rate (think seasonality, market-specific, & macro)). Most of our acquisition did not have pre-existing debt
- How can I make myself more competitive beyond networking?
- Is there anything else I should consider to better position myself?
Additional Context:
- Identified a ton of real (quantifiable) value creation opportunities that we executed on (opportunistic pricing / management company realignments / brand changes / etc.): resulted in $XXMs of EBITDA and margin growth
- Lodging was one of the hardest impacted industries; lot of lessons learned + got promotion during time of layoffs
- Candidacy supports multiple diversity boxes (if that even matters anymore)
- MBA Internships in traditional PE have largely been NA; working on free-lancing and ad-hoc projects for GPs through semester
- I'm willing to put in the work; let me know if any questions
Cupiditate quia fuga consequatur non magni repudiandae. Est in dolor facilis aspernatur et aliquam quasi. Quisquam laborum velit molestias impedit dolores accusamus illo aspernatur. Itaque non harum aliquam voluptatum magnam dolorum eos facilis. Eos inventore nulla qui molestias. At consectetur porro error harum porro. Ea assumenda aut quis inventore.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...