Petraeus joins KKR

Former CIA director and retired military general David Petraeus has joined private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) as chairman of a group that will "study macroeconomic trends and government policies to assess their implications on the firm's investments."
He also will advise KKR's investment teams on due diligence, particularly in emerging markets.

Thoughts?
 
Dying's For Fools:

This goes to say that you're never too old to follow your dreams.

lol. not everybody's dream is to work in PE. I'd say being a CIA director and general in the military are cooler than PE. Seems like he wants to settle down and make $$$.

If your dreams don't scare you, then they are not big enough. "There are two types of people in this world: People who say they pee in the shower, and dirty fucking liars."-Louis C.K.
 
wolverine19x89:
Dying's For Fools:

This goes to say that you're never too old to follow your dreams.

lol. not everybody's dream is to work in PE. I'd say being a CIA director and general in the military are cooler than PE. Seems like he wants to settle down and make $$$.

Lol yeah sarcasm. I'm actually trying to do the opposite right now.

 
Dying's For Fools:

This goes to say that you're never too old to follow your dreams.

Unless you're not a retired 4 star general who is personal friends with the founder of a major investment fund.

 
Captain Murica:
prospie:

This might seem dumb, but I'm not really hip to the Washington/Beltway business: what are they paying him for at this "institute"? Is it all just a euphemism for lobbyist?

Maybe it's for prestige/impressing clients. They can say stuff like "we have a former 4-star general at our firm".

What clients? They are (primarily) a PE shop. LPs, maybe? Seems dubious.

"For all the tribulations in our lives, for all the troubles that remain in the world, the decline of violence is an accomplishment we can savor, and an impetus to cherish the forces of civilization and enlightenment that made it possible."
 
Best Response
NorthSider:
Captain Murica:

prospie:
This might seem dumb, but I'm not really hip to the Washington/Beltway business: what are they paying him for at this "institute"? Is it all just a euphemism for lobbyist?

Maybe it's for prestige/impressing clients. They can say stuff like "we have a former 4-star general at our firm".

What clients? They are (primarily) a PE shop. LPs, maybe? Seems dubious.

One of the oldest adages in military history is 'Amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics.'

A 4-star general is also a supply chain genius. As well as being connected in DC and the Pentagon (and with every company that supplies the military from Boeing to Kraft Foods to Dow Chemical etc. and their suppliers) Petreaus could probably walk into any globally-based company, or government, and find inefficiencies that most people would miss. He has serious experience in handling a budget north of $100B that feeds, clothes, transports and supports several million people, and that is not including any combat-related responsibilities. This was a no-brainer for KKR.

 
Edmundo Braverman:
prospie:

This might seem dumb, but I'm not really hip to the Washington/Beltway business: what are they paying him for at this "institute"? Is it all just a euphemism for lobbyist?

Ever sent a 4-star general on a Starbucks run for the office after waking him up at 4am to scream at him about a formatting error in the pitchbook he submitted earlier that evening?

It's intoxicating.

Bet he won't fuck up a Chipotle order tho

 

Probably got hired for diversity. Such BS.

“...all truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” - Schopenhauer
 

Petaeus' wife works at the CFPB....with so many in the sector hesitant due to uncertainty of where the CFPB will turn its attention I bet KKR makes plays in spaces that never get touched.

 
TNA:

Just think of the contacts he has in all the major defense and non defense companies, as well as in government. He is a power player.

This is it. They are paying him purely to have access to his contacts. It probably helps to grease the wheels on certain transactions when you have a Chairman who has contacts in the DOD, Congress and other levels of government.
 
<span class=keyword_link><a href=/company/trilantic-north-america>TNA</a></span>:

Just think of the contacts he has in all the major defense and non defense companies, as well as in government. He is a power player.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^This. That's what Senators/Congressmen/Anyone high up inside the Beltway do. They get hired after their public sector career for one main reason: their contacts. They go to K Street to be a lobbyist, to a high powered law firm, wherever because they are the gateway and facilitate deals plain and simple. Sometimes getting the introduction is the hardest step.

"Now go get your f'n shinebox!"
Pinkpoloshorts:

TNA is spot on. It's his rolodex plus the fact that he will supposedly bring instant credible in foreign affairs (albeit significantly less after his scandal)

And KKR is a player in defense, and has significant investments in foreign infrastructure. PE firms generally have less of a need to trot out bigwigs for meetings with corporate executives than an investment bank.

This kind of a hire might actually hurt you with LPs, notably state pension funds, given his seniority and thus innate politicization.

 
brokencircle13:

KKR sees opportunity in government spending then?

Them and the trillion dollar defence industry lol

This guy also knows the future: what weapons systems, what conflicts, and what the key players are likely to be down the road. It's one thing to have an analyst crank out projections, it's another to have a guy who was running shit basically point out what's obvious to him.

Get busy living
 

Check out this comment on Huffington Post:

"HUFFPOST SUPER USER crollo 343 Fans 3 hours ago (11:26 AM) The next time you see one of these big time, fancy Generals or Colonels on a news network... don't worship them. Don't think they're heros. Don't think they stand for America. They stand for corporate profit."

 

"[The KKR Global Institute] ...will periodically serve as an outlet for publishing the firm’s thought leadership products, including views from portfolio managers and industry experts." - http://www.kkr.com/company/kkr-global-institute

Thought leadership products is quite a flowery way of saying "editorials." Damn, it sounds nice though!

"Commanding the US Army is pretty fuckin' killer on a resume" - Gomez Addams This actually made me laugh out loud. I don't think these guys have resumes, so to speak. I think the general rule is: If you've commanded the most powerful army ever to exist, don't worry, you're qualified.

Do you think he ends his resume with "references available upon request?"

"Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back."
 
mgotrade:

"[The KKR Global Institute] ...will periodically serve as an outlet for publishing the firm’s thought leadership products, including views from portfolio managers and industry experts." - http://www.kkr.com/company/kkr-global-institute

Thought leadership products is quite a flowery way of saying "editorials." Damn, it sounds nice though!

"Commanding the US Army is pretty fuckin' killer on a resume" - Gomez Addams
This actually made me laugh out loud. I don't think these guys have resumes, so to speak. I think the general rule is: If you've commanded the most powerful army ever to exist, don't worry, you're qualified.

Do you think he ends his resume with "references available upon request?"

LOL! Of course they don't need resumes....That reminds me of the joke on '30 Rock' "He's on Linkedin...He might as well be dead"- Jack

 

I guess PE is the end all be all...

In all seriousness disappointed to hear he went that route. Feel like he could be doing a lot of good elsewhere with his talents.

People tend to think life is a race with other people. They don't realize that every moment they spend sprinting towards the finish line is a moment they lose permanently, and a moment closer to their death.
 
rickyross:

I guess PE is the end all be all...

In all seriousness disappointed to hear he went that route. Feel like he could be doing a lot of good elsewhere with his talents.

I feel the same way. Despite the media shit show destroying his public political appeal, his actual (vs theoretically potential) offenses were extremely minor in the big picture. Teaching posts are a shot in the dark at repairing public image, but much more often these guys go into the private sector after service, scandal or not. It's very possible that after some time in the business world he may re-enter public service on different terms, and I find it unlikely that his career is completely over.

Besides, once you work for the CIA, especially directing it, you never really leave that world...

Get busy living
 

I never would have guessed that David Petraeus would get on Wall Street before Tim Geithner

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt." --Abraham Lincoln
 

He'll be running for Governor/Senate in some ultra-red state soon enough.

Anyone remember when there was big pressure on McCain in 08 and Romney in 12 to pick him as the VP candidate, given the controversy that emerged that would've been a horid move - well maybe not worse than McCain's eventual pick...

 
Prospect022:

He'll be running for Governor/Senate in some ultra-red state soon enough.

Anyone remember when there was big pressure on McCain in 08 and Romney in 12 to pick him as the VP candidate, given the controversy that emerged that would've been a horid move - well maybe not worse than McCain's eventual pick...

You know you've lost your way as a political party when you pick Sarah Palin for VP over a three star general.

"Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back."
 

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