Updated views on CD&R
As we’re nearing the end of 2023, any updated views on CD&R in terms of culture, comp, reputation, etc? Interested in their NY office in particular
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Really sharp investors with a great track record. Value-oriented fund that isn’t afraid of hairy deals (carve-outs) and has a really impressive bench of operating executives. Seems like a bit of an old school kind of place but think they’ve mellowed out a bit (think they might actually be remote 1x a week but not sure). I think they hire a lot of associates relative to their peers.
Pretty classic old-school PE place.
Pros: b-school placement good to great if not tippy top sterling (practically no firm is “auto H/S” these days but CD&R used to be sort of auto-H), amazing fund trajectory, great size fund without being dedicated to tech, good to great returns (agilon is a brilliant deal and the HC partnership is extremely solid), have opened up a non-mba track (need to do a third year as an associate / there can be a portco secondment involved) and generally won’t push you out if you’re actively recruiting to lateral at the end of the second year (i.e., they will be good references and help)
Cons: culture ranges from stuffy to autistic (verticalization pre-COVID amplified the worst traits of each group), with the median being kind of a Black Mirror-esque “fake nice” / “how was your weekend” vibe, occasionally fixate on things like 9 AM start time and ties, many reports at this point of non-GS/MS/JPM associates getting “worse” assignments or portcos to start off, though not sure if this is industry-specific, mentoring is generally ass overall as juniors are viewed as resources more than people to get to know
Messy portfolio: used to pride themselves on never having a zero outside of Dave’s Bridal but that has been changing a lot recently: Drive did a distressed restructuring pre-COVID, Artera is functionally bankrupt, BrandSafway likely needs a distressed restructuring soon, and SmileDirectClub is not only actually bankrupt but now liquidated. NA has been worse on that front than Euro. Don’t know how aggressive the marking is for LP’s but there are some *dogs* in the current portfolio or companies that have been around forever; firm has been active throughout the past couple of years buying but hasn’t had a meaningful sale since Solenis / Sirius / Belron / Capco all went in 2021. Wilsonart has been held onto for more than a decade! Not convinced the consumer team really knows what they’re doing (even in London the Morrisons deal has gotten some extremely negative press), tech team seems to be great so far but they’re really new: used to be a “services” team that avoided most tech but really ramped up hiring and renamed the group in recent years. Industrials’ struggles are somewhat surprising (the CEO won a power struggle to get the job basically on the back of the strength of his investing style) and somewhat hilarious (they are peak CD&R when it comes to coldness / aspie managerial style)
Overall: you’re probably not taking another offer over this unless you’re one of the idk two BX or KKR recruits per class, really want to do tech all the time, or really love SF / Boston (Hellman is probably same or worse culture, Bain obviously much better). Perhaps you’re a masochist and would like Apollo. Cool, but this is a solid place in any case and it’s a two year contract so it doesn’t need to be the cuddliest on either side though of course the new generation may prefer more of that vibe.
How is the tech group in NYC? Culture and dealflow wise
Can’t speak to culture because there have been so many new hires since the shift toward tech but legacy services was chill at the partner level but hit-or-miss at the principal level (like healthcare, better than industrials and worse than consumer).
Dealflow wise they’ve done a lot of deals even through the slowdown, including some big tickets
Any insights on the financial services team?
Good culture, really good deal flow.
Very friendly partner and principal leading the group.
made a lot of money shorting agilon haha
Don’t insult masochists like that. Even they don’t like that type of self-harm
Like the other posters said, CD&R is fantastic firm and top top pay but it is probably the most old school type shop with BX and will feel that way. Incredibly group dependent with Industials working you to the bone but have had great success and if you have that personality it is the power center of the firm. Biggest con to me is number of associates compared to deal flow. Massive chance you won’t close a deal there as an associate given the volume of juniors they hire compared to other firms of similar fund size. If you get an offer into a good group I’d take it over most places excl. H&F/KKR/and similar
Anecdotally, it seems like the Senior Associate offer rate there is incredibly low
Perhaps, but the denominator is difficult to suss out. Some top ASOs have willingly gone to top HF's, either directly or after B-school. Some have gone to do value or impact investing or work at startups.
Such a large fund isn't always ideal for post-MBA returners either, whether that's projecting out the carry $ or thinking about partnership chances. And of course, some otherwise good performers don't want to live the cultural lifestyle (principals get worked pretty hard there, if not to the level of ASO's).
Of the "PE remainers," here are recent paths:
I know 1-2 of these people quite well and they had great bonuses / performance / were well-regarded, but frankly not interested in returning. I imagine self-selecting out is the majority story here rather than most thirsting after the return offer. Though it is true that a lot of the recent hiring (last four years or so) may have reduced headcount need given the market in that same time priod, the massive fund size expansion also means that the firm has a *lot* of capital to deploy.
What does altas (long-dated) mean?
+1. what are some of the HF exits?
Most of the aforementioned (at least 4-5) did not get return offers for what it’s worth
Can any one shine some light on their recruiting process for associates, what do they look for, how are the first rounds like etc
Are they running a process?
Yes was told 2025 process starting soon
What % of their spots are off cycle?
They were pretty much standard on-cycle when I was there, with 0-1 slots for off-cycle reserved for third year bankers (basically the “Centerview, if any” slot). They now recruit consultants (after my time) which may or may not change the timing but they’re pretty standard on the whole.
30-40% of class is off cycle. They recruit on-cycle but given large class size (20+) doesn’t make sense to get all during in-cycle.
Appreciate it!
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