BDO Private Equity PErspectives Podcast

On BDO's latest Private Equity PErspectives podcast episode, host Todd Kinney is joined for a second time by Abhik Das, partner at Three Hills, and Blair Greenberg, partner at Bregal Sagemount. Together, they discussed:How AI is transforming portfolio company operations, from boosting gross margins to enhancing deal origination and due diligence processes.How firms are becoming more hands-on with portfolio companies to generate alpha and create value in today's challenging market environment.Why adaptability and scenario planning will be crucial for portfolio companies in 2025.

On BDO's latest Private Equity PErspectives podcast episode, host Todd Kinney is joined by Abhik Das, partner at Three Hills Capital Partners, and Blair Greenberg, partner at Bregal Sagemount. Together, they discussed:How modern PE firms are building specialized operational teams that transform portfolio companies beyond simply providing capital.Strategies for structuring investments that allow founders to maintain control while accelerating growth in an unpredictable market.What qualities make businesses attractive investment targets in today's middle market landscape.

In our milestone 50th episode of the Private Equity PErspectives podcast, host Todd Kinney is joined by Lloyd Metz, Managing Director at ICV Partners, and Monika Mantilla, President and CEO at Altura Capital. Together, they discussed: Building competitive advantages through disciplined investing and operational capabilities.The role of trust and shared values in creating successful partnerships, from portfolio companies to institutional investors.How technology enables operational excellence and drives value creation in today's market.

On BDO's latest Private Equity PErspectives podcast episode, host Todd Kinney is joined by Chris Grambling, partner at Southfield Capital, and Kevin Condon, partner at Hidden River Strategic Capital. Together, they discussed: How to identify and capitalize on unique investment opportunities in a rapidly changing market.Approaches for strengthening portfolio companies to navigate uncertainty and position them for long-term success.How strategic add-on acquisitions can help drive growth and enhance value within existing portfolio companies.

On BDO's latest Private Equity PErspectives podcast episode, host and BDO's PE National Relationship Director Todd Kinney was joined by Drew Meyers, partner at Seaport Capital, and Benjamin Krause, partner, North American infrastructure, at 3i Group. Together, they discussed: The strategies they employ to support portfolio companies post-investment and drive growthTheir approach to navigating shifting market conditions and positioning companies for successful exitsHow operational excellence and strong capital allocation enhance value in today's competitive private equity environment

On BDO's latest Private Equity PErspectives podcast episode, Jordan Margolin, head of business development at VSS Capital, and Matt Cole, managing director at SBJ Capital, joined host Todd Kinney to discuss:The key role relationships play in their deal sourcing strategiesProviding post-investment support for their portfolio companies Which paths to exit they expect to dominate the M&A landscape in the coming months

On BDO's latest Private Equity PErspectives podcast episode, Glenn Harrison, managing partner at private credit fund LO3 Capital and Ken Heuer, principal at Kidd & Company, a family office, joined host Todd Kinney to discuss:The opportunities and challenges posed by longer holding periodsHow their respective firms have been impacted by the shift toward private creditWhat the market has in store for the remainder of the year

On BDO's latest Private Equity PErspectives podcast episode, Corinne Spears, principal at Achieve Partners, and Rohanjit Chaundry, executive director at Morgan Stanley Capital Partners, joined host Todd Kinney to discuss:How they are managing the high cost of capitalThe current deal landscape and what they expect to see the rest of the year Their approach to the talent challenges that emerging technology has introduced

On BDO's latest Private Equity PErspectives podcast episode , Brett Hickey, founder and CEO of Star Mountain Capital, and Engin Okaya, executive managing director at Prudential Private Capital, joined host Todd Kinney to discuss:AI and other emerging technologies: How PE firms and their portcos can strategically leverage new and impactful tools to gain a competitive edge.The increasing focus on portco talent: Why strategic recruitment and retention efforts remain a top priority for PE firms and their portco leaders.PE's evolving approach to value creation: How PE firms are creatively optimizing their portcos while navigating challenging headwinds.

On BDO's newest Private Equity PErspectives podcast episode, Mike Hoffmann, partner at Thoma Bravo, sat down with host Todd Kinney to share his outlook on the current software deal space. They discuss: Thoma Bravo's method: How the firm creates opportunities and measures results, and why they take a management-centric approach when evaluating potential partners.The high-growth nature of software: Unpacking the secular tailwinds, focus on digital transformation and emerging technologies, and the IT and security skills gaps feeding growth in the software space. Talent management: Why talent is everything in software, and how companies that prioritize attracting and retaining top talent can drive innovation, enhance operational efficiency, and gain a competitive advantage.Listen here: Talking Software Deal Trends with Thoma Bravo

On BDO's latest Private Equity PErspectives podcast episode, Laurens Goff, co-founder and managing partner at Stone-Goff Partners, and Todd Squilanti, managing director at InTandem Capital Partners, join host Todd Kinney to discuss:The changing PE landscape: How, after several busy years of acquisitions, PE firms' deal acquisition and value creation strategies are evolving.The importance of add-on deals: Why add-ons are advantageous but challenging.Attracting and retaining talent: How to drive motivation among portfolio company staff and ensure they are equipped and rewarded for their role in value creation.Listen here: Merger Integration Considerations for Driving Value.

On BDO's new PE PErspectives podcast episode , Mike Weinberg, Managing Partner of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, and Jeff Roth, Founding Partner of Bruin Capital, join host Todd Kinney to discuss:Deal-acquisition and value creation strategies: How the changing market has evolved the way fund managers are investing (or not)Key challenges facing portfolio company CFOs: How CFOs are managing inflation and high interest rates while navigating skillset gaps Talent management concerns: How fund managers are working with portfolio company leaders to ensure the right talent is in place to execute value creation plansListen here: Partnering with Portfolio Company CFOs to Navigate Talent and Workforce Challenges.

On BDO's new Private Equity PErspectives podcast episode, Nick Santhanam, CEO of Fernweh Group, and Scott Spielvogel, co-founder and managing partner of One Rock Capital Partners, join host Todd Kinney to discuss:Investment strategies: How the changing market has evolved the way fund managers are investing (or not)Impact of current economy: How inflation and higher interest rates are affecting the approach to value creation and financing Influence of social and environmental concerns: How the pressures of social equity and climate-related demand are influencing human capital and investment decision making Transcript:TODDHello, and welcome to BDO's Private Equity PErspectives podcast, where we explore the trends impacting private equity today. I'm Todd Kinney, national relationship director in BDO's private equity practice and I'm based here in New York City. Joining me today on the show, we have Nick Santhanam, CEO of Fernweh Group, and Scott Spielvogel, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of One Rock Capital Partners. We're going to cover a lot today, including investment strategies, the current market, how they're responding to economic volatility, talent changes, and value creation. Just a quick reminder that the remarks and opinions of our guests do not necessarily represent BDO's views. So with that, Nick, you were formerly at McKinsey where you led the global industrials practice, but you also have a Master's in chemical engineering and an MBA from Wharton. So perhaps you can kick things off by sharing your journey to Fernweh and what your firm invests in within the industrial and industrial tech sectors.NICKThank you, Todd. Thanks for having me. And it's a great question. I'm sure you were wondering, and I'm pretty sure a lot of the listeners are wondering, chemical engineering, manufacturing to consulting to private equity—did I hear it right? Did these guys pull this off? Is it even possible? And the short answer is, we did pull this off. Fernweh is not a private equity firm. We are an investment company. But we adopt slightly a different model where we believe combining operational domain expertise, transformational expertise, creates alpha. We believe growth is the oxygen in everything we do, and so we go in and adopt what's called an EIOM model, Engaged Investor Operator Model, and we only go into the space, even within the industry of space, which we really understand well. And we go in, and we leverage our expertise to drive growth, and that's where we go and focus on creating value. So that is our background. That's how we got started. And the reason we got started is myself and a bunch of my colleagues who launched Fernweh a couple of years are ex-McKinsey guys, former clients of mine. And we found that there's a lot of value to be created when we put these ingredients together. And selfishly, we said, "Hey, we can do this at McKinsey, or we can do this for ourselves. Why not do this for ourselves?" Sorry, long answer to your short question, Todd.TODDWell, thanks, Nick. And I'll give a special shout-out to my M&A tax guru colleague, Stephen Sonenshine who connected us. He promised me you'd be a great guest. So, no pressure, Nick.NICKThe pressure only builds on more, Todd.TODDAll right. So, Scott, you've been in the private equity space for a couple of decades, and you co-founded One Rock Capital Partners and are a managing partner there. So perhaps you can talk a bit about your path and the types of investments One Rock makes. I can certainly see your industry focus makes for an eclectic portfolio.SCOTTYeah. Thanks, Todd. And thanks for having me on the program. So One Rock is a buyout firm. We're investing across four sectors of what we like to call the real economy: chemicals, manufacturing, food and beverage products, and then business and environmental services. That's what we focus on exclusively. And within those areas, we focus on the ugly, complex deals where we can buy a company at a really sharp price. The idea is that we buy it cheaply, we fix the problems that come along with those companies, and then sell the company in a more fully priced valuation. About half of our deals—just to give you a sense of the kinds of things that we like to take on—about half of our deals since inception have been complex corporate carve-outs. We've been around since 2010. My partner, Tony Lee, and myself are the two co-founders. We're longtime friends, we were rugby teammates in college going back to the early '90s, so we've known each other quite a long time now. And before forming One Rock, Tony and I worked together at a firm called Ripplewood Holdings, and we had the opportunity to spin out together, and over the years, we've been lucky enough to have many Ripplewood alums join our team. Today, we're about $5 billion in AUM. We have offices in New York, L.A., and London. We have a team of roughly 90 people, and that includes 24 full-time operating partners who have either industry expertise or functional expertise who work with us to add value to the businesses that we buy, helping fix the problems that we inherit with the businesses that we buy, which enables us to sell a cleaner business once we're done with that improvement process.TODDGotcha. Well, thanks. Very impressive background, to say the least, and I'm thrilled to have you on the podcast, as well. So I'd like to set the context a bit for our conversation, in terms of how you see the landscape changing. You both participate in the industrial space, as you've mentioned. What would you say has been the most significant change in the last few years? And I guess the second part of that, how does this extrapolate to the greater macroeconomic forces we've been experiencing? Nick, why don't you kick us off here?NICKThanks, Todd. As I mentioned, I was at McKinsey for another 20 years, and when we were there, we wrote a book called The Titanium Economy, and it focused exclusively on the industrial sector. And we said, "Look, this is a sector, which is misunderstood, undervalued, and unappreciated." And I genuinely believe all those elements are true. And none of that has changed in the last two decades. And I think in the last few years since COVID, it's probably changed a little bit, but this is a great sector which creates a lot of value and, as Scott said, they make real products, creates a lot of value for all its stakeholders, not only shareholders, but it's never got the limelight. I mean, as jokingly, one of my CEOs say, "We are in the basement while the party happens in the penthouse." And I think the only real change is in the last few years, people are like, "Huh, I do know these guys in the basement." Because usually, you only know the people in the party. But I do think that awareness is going up. But as I look at the sector, it is a resilient sector. It's an unbelievably value-adding sector, and it's going to continue to be important. And I don't think that has changed. I don't think that will change. And especially in the last few years—and again, it is not a political debate whether onshoring is coming back or—you are going to find more manufacturing, more industrial production in the U.S. And I think the sector is going to become even more important. Scott, you've been doing this for quite a longer time than I have, would you agree? What do you think?SCOTTOh, I totally agree, Nick. I think those of us that have focused on the industrial sector for a long period of time, it's been the unsexy area for investing. The sexier areas have been tech and healthcare and some of the higher growth areas. But the one thing that you noted, which we felt very acutely is that supply chain uncertainty has caused quite significant changes in the way industrial companies operate on a worldwide basis. And for all the challenges that those disruptions have created, in many ways, we've seen it via tailwind for some of our portfolio companies. Our manufacturing plants operate primarily in North America and Europe, and we have businesses that are primarily serving the North American and European markets. And it used to be the case many years ago that a very common private equity playbook would be to buy a business that is operating in the West. And try to figure out a strategy that involves somehow moving the manufacturing to places like China. And we started to see that tide turn around 7 years ago with the increasing geopolitical tension between China and the Western world. We also saw wages start to rise in China, sort of narrowing the gap that provided that arbitrage, historically. And then supply chains started to disrupt when we saw that the ports were backed up on the West Coast of the U.S. several years ago.And then, to your point, Nick, obviously during COVID, there was widespread supply chain challenges worldwide. And although supply chains are much healthier today than they were during the height of COVID, there are ongoing uncertainties like what's happening in Eastern Europe given the Russia-Ukraine situation. And all of a sudden, the ability to manufacture in the West, providing supply chain certainty for your customers, is at a premium. And so some of our companies have been the beneficiary of being that local solution for customers looking to shorten their supply chains. And it's provided opportunities for us as we look to grow the top line of our portfolio companies that sometimes requires additional CapEx for more capacity. But if our customers are motivated enough to sign up to medium to long-term contracts to lock in that supply, that's the kind of thing that can provide some really nice growth avenues for businesses that, in the industrial area, really haven't grown at anything greater than GDP-type rates.TODDRight. Well, I certainly appreciate the insight from both of you. As I'm taking notes along the way, your areas of focus are ugly, complex, unsexy, basement versus penthouse. It's nice to have both of you on here. I don't think we've had two guests quite like this. So I know there's going to be a lot of good conversation. I guess as a follow-up, I would ask both of you, how would you say your investment strategies have evolved as a result of these changes? Are you shifting investment strategies in terms of sectors, company size, or fundamentals, or are you just staying the course? And if so, maybe talk about how you're able to do that. Scott, I'll throw this one to you first.SCOTTWe at One Rock are largely staying the course. Our approach to investment has not materially changed since inception. We believe that our approach works in pretty much any economic environment. And when I take a step back and think about what we think about when our investment committee convenes, we're looking for three primary attributes that make a situation a One Rock investment. Number one, it's an inherently well-positioned business in its sector. So it's a leader in either market share or technology, brand, something that provides a selling point when we go to sell the business. Number two, it's improvable under our ownership period. So we've got to be able to go in and fix the problems that are associated with that particular business. And number three is that it's available at the right valuation. For us, that equates to a fairly nice discount relative to what a clean business would trade for in that sector.And our strategy is pretty agnostic as to size. So whether it's small deals or larger deals, there's nothing that says that our approach is relevant to one situation versus the other. And one of the things that has happened more recently, given the disruption in the credit markets, is that there's been a little bit of reluctance for certain sellers of businesses to really meet the asking prices of buyers out there. And so we've tried to focus our attention on situations where there's a motivated seller. And for us, that means homing in on places like corporate carve-outs. Those tend to be situations where the parent company has made some kind of strategic decision to shed an asset. And oftentimes, they need to do it for reasons other than needing to maximize proceeds. They've either made a corporate strategic direction decision, which means that they need to divest an asset that's dilutive to their growth story or dilutive to their margin story. And they're focused more on getting the deal done rather than squeezing every last dollar of price out of a buyer. I'm wondering, Nick, if that's what you're seeing, as well?NICKScott, I think you did an amazing job of articulating how we also think. We have a very similar model. We don't change our strategy. I mean, we obviously change our strategy if something has fundamentally changed. But we don't believe anything has fundamentally changed. Our philosophy is very much simpler, I would say. Obviously, we would get out of an asset if we believe we're not the right owners. But we also don't get into an asset expecting it to sell. So we don't have a window to say we're going to exit an asset in three years or -four years or five years. And so we take a longer-term view, Scott, in a sense. We sort of say, “Look, there are only two things we bet on,” which is, we bet on people, and we bet on ourselves. And when I say we bet on ourselves is, we really need to understand that sector really well. We know where the bodies are buried. Very similar to your point of view, we say, "Hey, look, is this something we believe we can create value?" If this is dependent on a government subsidy, or if it's dependent on a flavor of the month, we don't go into that because we don't control that. But if this is something we believe we can go and drive growth because it's a brand which has been around for 100 years, it's a good, secular trend, which is going to drive growth. If you look at two of our portfolio companies, one is in aviation infrastructure, and one is in the energy infrastructure because our premise is there are 7 billion people on this earth, and they're going to travel.Similarly, at least in my lifetime, electricity is going to be the way electricity is going to be: It's going to be carried on a grid. There will be different types of transportation, there will be different types of energy, but they all have to move through that infrastructure, and we buy those assets. As I jokingly say, we are the idiots who like to run into the fire rather than run away from the fire. So we go in, which is very similar to your model, which is messy. But it's not messiness in the terms of the carload, it's messiness in terms of what it takes to drive growth. So we are very big on leveraging AI and digital to drive growth. We have a subsidiary or a portfolio company called Ayna.AI. That's all it does. And so we leverage them to really figure out how do we put them in to drive growth. And I don't think that has changed. So in a sense, I would say the opportunities we look [for] are very similar. The one thing I would say—and Scott, you briefly touched on it, but I think it's very important to bring up—is in the last few months or quarters, I think there's a big reset in the selling price just because interest rates are up, risk is high. But unfortunately, the seller sentiment has not changed. So the bid-ask spread is pretty hard, or pretty wide, and it's going to be hard to close. But I do think that's probably the one change I've seen, but over time, that always works out. But that's something we, as buyers, will have to live with. And if you're a seller, you sort of have tuned into what you did a couple of years ago is probably not going to work now.TODDYeah. Wow. Great. Great responses from both of you. I love the secret sauce that you're sharing. Having covered hundreds of PE firms over the years, it always seems best to stay the course, for sure. And I'm sure your LPs appreciate that, as well. So moving on, to what extent are inflation and higher interest rates affecting your approach? I guess both in terms of value creation as well as financing. And Nick, I'll start with you on this one.NICKSo Todd, I always say you're going to live in the world of the two I's: inflation and interest rates. As much as I loved 1%, 2% interest, inflation, and almost zero cost of capital, I don't believe it's coming back. I hope it does. But I don't think it's coming back. The days of 2% inflation are gone. I would love the Federal Reserve to keep saying they're going to bring it down. But in all of our models, we have just assumed you're going to live in a period of 4–5%inflation. I grew up in India; 4–5%inflation is not bad. It's not hyperinflation. I mean, media acts as if 4–5% is really, really bad, [but] 4–5%is not. I mean, again, I like low inflation, but that's a thing of the past. Similarly, you are going to live in a Fed funds rate of 4–5%. I mean, it might come down to 2–3%, really, really low end. But I don't think it's going to go back to what you and I saw the last 20 years. And so when we built Fernweh, we sort of built with that model which is high inflation, or what we call high inflation, but higher inflation and higher interest is here to stay. So in our strategy, we don't do any private credit. We do only bank debt. We only lever up max of three times. We write a bigger equity check, which means it really forces us to work really hard for our money. But, again, that's worked very well. Scott, I mean, I don't know what you see. But I would love to hear, is that similar to you? Or do you believe you're going to go back to the olden times, which I hope we do?SCOTTYeah. I am not one for predicting what macro factors may affect our industry, I will say that on the inflation side, anybody that has been investing in the industrial space for any period of time, when you do due diligence on a business, you're always digging into what kinds of things would affect the profitability of a business and that includes doing a deep dive on what happens when raw material prices go up. Is there the ability for that company to pass through, or not, to customers that raw material price increase? And we try to comfort ourselves in the situations that we get involved with that there are mechanisms by which there is the ability to pass through those increased costs to customers. Sometimes it's contractual in the actual selling contracts with the company's customers, and sometimes it's just a standard practice to pass those costs on. And so that'll happen over cycles. Raw material prices go up. They go down. Usually, derivatives of some kind of key raw material, key commodity, the prices of which fluctuate over time.What's more recently happened, though, is as we've seen sustained inflation, we've seen the cost of labor increase. And that's a little bit trickier and newer for a lot of companies to have to contend with. And we're actually seeing not only labor inflation, but a structural shortage of labor across a lot of swaths in the U.S. especially, mostly in the Midwest. And it's our belief that part of this has been caused by changes to the U.S. immigration policy that really came into effect around seven years ago, which made it harder for entry-level workers to enter the workforce. And then compound on top of that, of course, COVID also had an effect. It's widely reported that many folks have simply dropped out of the workforce, and they haven't returned. And so we find ourselves in a situation where it's a little bit different. There's a structural shortage. And under normal circumstances, if you have companies that have difficulty finding workers, you raise wages, and that's the mechanism by which you attract candidates, and you're able to fill your available positions. But unemployment in the U.S. has been stubbornly low. And even with rising wage levels, unemployment has been stubbornly low.And we're still finding it difficult to fill these available positions. And perhaps it's gotten a little better over the past few months, and wage increases have moderated just a tad. But we're having to adjust pretty significantly within certain of our companies to figure out how to meet the demands of customers when labor is at a shortage. And that involves things like moving the manufacturing from one facility to another within a particular company's manufacturing footprint. So, for example, if we can't get labor in South Dakota, and we've got another plant in Texas where we can get more available workers, trying to figure out how to move that manufacturing down there. In other cases, we're having to figure out more creative solutions as to how to do with less labor, things like putting in more process automation. And our lean manufacturing operating team has been charged with solving labor problems that way from time to time. So it's a tricky issue that, until we do have some kind of recession, I don't see that changing at all.TODDYeah. I'd agree there, Scott, definitely a tricky issue. And some really interesting points you both made, really, on kind of the labor and workforce challenges. I really see those as a pain point for many of our own PE clients during the diligence process. So a lot of good content there. Now, I'm going to hit a very brief pause on our conversation with Nick and Scott and turn it over to our coffee break guest, Liz Mack, who's going to talk about talent and workforce strategies in private equity. Take it away, Liz.[Begin Coffee Break]LIZ MACKThanks for having me, Todd, it's great to be here today. As Todd mentioned, I'm Liz Mack. I lead the Workforce in Transactions Practice at BDO, where my team and I perform financially focused due diligence on the workforce and then post-deal support of the PE fund's pursuit of value creation and value capture opportunities.When it comes to workforce and talent management, there's a lot that PE firms need to get right. Compensation is the biggest top-line expense organizations have, so when you're thinking, as a fund manager, about generating value, or reducing or optimizing costs, effective talent management should be a top priority. Now, there's are a lot of challenges built into how PE firms have traditionally approached talent. The traditional approach has been to hire external executive search firms to focus on finding the right people to fill C-level positions. What's left on the table is everyone else, right? Everyone immediately below those executive officers all the way down to the most junior employee. Is the back office size correct? Is the company organized in a way that allows work product to flow optimally? It might sound like a prohibitively expensive undertaking to conduct a company-wide workforce assessment but there are actually ways to do it economically, which I'll get to in a minute. I'm going to talk primarily about two things that are most important for talent operating partners at PE firms, given today's labor market: 1) aligning the deal thesis with stakeholders, and 2) understanding where an organization is in terms of its maturity. A talent operating partner—and this role will vary slightly from fund to fund—generally has the goal to develop and execute talent strategies which will ultimately help the fund achieve its growth goals. Often, their top priority is making sure that the right leadership team and the board are in place at each portco. And if there are any leadership changes to make, the talent operating partner leads the search, which needs to take place both quickly and efficiently so changes can be made at close. Assessing the current leadership team is a necessary step during diligence, but diligence can be a lot like speed dating to get married—it's a whirlwind and you can find out only so much about the other person (or leadership team) and they often show the best version of themselves in order to secure the engagement ring (i.e., the deal signing). During diligence, most deal teams try to assess the individual leaders in addition to the business, and this is where the talent operating partner can play a really valuable role. More and more we see them turning to leadership assessments and diagnostics which try and learn more about the individual and then, “Minority Report”-style, try to predict how the executives will work with the deal team and other leaders.So while this really sounds like a great step, it's often insufficient, which is what we'll get into next.Once the team is in place, the talent operating partner works with deal teams on the leadership strategy alignment. This can be challenging because each deal thesis will vary. But it's a critical step. Not only is it important to align the leadership team to the deal thesis, but also to each other and to the fund. If each stakeholder has a different idea of their priorities and goals, it is much less likely that they will achieve excellence. So while we see a lot of vendors out there doing leadership and individual executive assessments, we don't see much in the way of strategic alignment assessments of the stakeholders and the deal thesis. So because of that, we've actually partnered with a third party technology firm, which has developed a diagnostic tool to perform a rapid three-part process to: Hold interviews to assess the goals of the key stakeholders2. Provide a diagnostic to assess alignment and then3. Provide a report and discussion workshop to align and talk about those areas of alignment and highlight opportunities. Aligning the deal thesis with stakeholders helps ensure teams are on the same page and they're all headed in the right direction. You're capturing value here which ultimately leads to creating value.Then, in speaking with some operating teams, there is an ongoing desire to quickly understand where the organization is from a maturity perspective so they can deploy resources to assist. If you know where you are, and you know where you want to be, you can figure out the path to get there. But you have to know those two endpoints. Very rarely will an organization need to be in the “differentiated” category across all the HR capabilities, but knowing what capabilities are just emerging and should be more robust, for example, is valuable information to have in order to achieve your goals, such as become an employer of choice.We've developed a Rapid Maturity Assessment for the HR function, which is a quick assessment at the portco level which takes place right after deal signing. It does two really interesting things: 1. It helps organizations accurately take stock of their HR capabilities, and 2. It considers where an organization would like to be from a maturity perspective. Once the portco HR leaders and their direct reports complete the assessment, we then hold a meeting to discuss the findings and agree on where they'd like to be. Then we can co-create the path forward to meet their goals and optimize that HR function. We've gotten so much feedback around how eye opening and helpful these workshops are. We were actually recently told by a serial acquirer client that we make doing deals fun again, which is definitely one of my favorite things to hear.While I generally see search and alignment as priorities number one and two, most talent operating partners have other roles and responsibilities also. These can include talent development, including training systems, career pathing, and performance management systems. Often, succession planning is an area which has been gaining interest largely because of the significant turnover other organizations have experienced in the last few years. And another area of responsibility we often see is culture building—for example, creating employee engagement programs, DEIA initiatives, etc. With so many critical responsibilities, it seems initially surprising we don't see larger talent operating teams at the fund level. But even in mature practices we really don't see a large HR operating team, which may just be consistent with how many PE firms have lean deal teams. In practice, we continue to see challenges in coordination between deal teams, talent operating teams and portcos. The talent operating partner plays a critical role, and that role is evolving. We do see that talent operating partners are beginning to understand the value of a more holistic approach, one that connects the deal thesis and stakeholder alignment and stretches beyond the C-suite. Tools exist to do this. Having the transparency and data allows organizations to optimize costs, which ultimately trickles down to the bottom line and contributes to value creation. [End Coffee Break]TODDThanks, Liz. That dovetails nicely with what we've been talking about, vis-à-vis labor and workforce challenges. Now, back to Nick and Scott. So, Scott, in the industries you operate in at One Rock, perhaps you can talk a bit about how the pressures of social equity and climate-related demands are influencing decision-making, both at the human capital and investment level.SCOTTYeah. That's a really good question. I'll start at the One Rock level. At One Rock, we've been committed to a culture of inclusion since our very inception. One Rock's other founding partner, Tony Lee, my partner, he's Korean-American. And over 50% of our professionals at One Rock are either minority or female or both. And that includes 50% of our investment committee, as well. And I would say it's something that's happened quite organically. by having that culture of inclusion from the outset, it's what's resulted in the diverse organization that we have today. On the climate change front, we recognize that at One Rock, we're investing in some of the more carbon-intensive industries. And so we know that we need to strive to be part of that climate change solution. We have a robust ESG process. Our head of ESG is part of our investment team at One Rock. She helps us screen investments in due diligence. this scorecard identifies hotspots that we need to get comfortable with, and it allows our investment committee and our deal team to start thinking about what are going to be some of the hot-button issues, and how do we start crafting a post-closing solution for those kinds of issues.Once we own a company, we measure and report our portfolio companies' carbon emissions. We do scope one and scope two measurements, and we try to figure out ways to set our companies on a path towards less carbon intensity over time. When a company is about to be bought by One Rock, it's our standard practice to have what we call an expectations meeting with the management team, usually happens between signing the deal and closing the deal. And at that meeting, we sit down with the management team, and we impress upon the company what it's like to be a One-Rock-owned company, and that includes a discussion around ESG, and what we view as the ESG value drivers that we will look to implement during our ownership period. We actually make a portion of our portfolio companies' executives variable compensation dependent upon the achievement of certain ESG targets. But we're also using ESG as a way to improve the commercial prospects of our portfolio companies. We sit with our portfolio companies and coach them as to how to articulate their value proposition to their customers on how things like being the local supplier helps their customers achieve their customers' ESG goals. And so by having a shorter supply chain, that often means less carbon emissions throughout our customer supply chains, and that can be a benefit, as well. And so we're trying to use ESG as a way to competitively position our portfolio companies in a better way. Now, just to take a step back, having said all that, let me just clarify, One Rock -- we don't call ourselves an impact fund. However, we do believe that these kinds of ESG measures that we undertake can be value drivers for our company. So we don't believe you need to sacrifice returns for doing the right things from an ESG perspective.TODDYeah. Well, Scott, I know I said it in some of our conversations leading up to the podcast, but I'm really incredibly impressed with how far ahead of the curve your firm is regarding ESG. I see a lot of firms, and while others are still trying to figure out high-level strategy or a basic plan of attack, One Rock is sitting here fully deployed down through all of your companies. Tying that variable exec comp to meeting ESG objectives is brilliant. So kudos to your team.SCOTTThanks very much, Todd. TODDYou got it. Okay, guys. Believe it or not, that brings us to our last question of the episode, and that is your outlook for the next 12 months. And trust me, this is a question I usually ask of most of our guests. So what do you see in your respective crystal balls for your own firm, for M&A in general, and lastly, the economy at large? Nick, I'm going to come to you, and then, we'll go over to Scott.NICKTodd, I wish I knew. If I did, I would be making a lot of money by buying the winning lottery ticket. No, look, seriously, I think if you read the public media, there is sort of the whole thing of we are in a state of flux. We sort of look at this and say, "You have to play for the long game." In the long game, I don't think—I mean, looking at the crystal ball—I think we'll continue to see the M&A, good deals come. Bad deals fall apart. We think the economy will continue to chug. We personally do not believe that a recession is going to happen. We believe responsible growth is going to happen. And as a firm, we are continuing to grow, we are continuing to invest, we're continuing to hire. So I'll do a sales pitch here if anybody is looking to join Fernweh: We would be delighted to have them join us. We're looking for great talent, and we continue to hire them. So in that context, it's forward full steam ahead with caution, but that is the same thing I would have said five years ago. That will be the same thing I'll say five years from now. Scott, over to you, would you sort of say you would be doing something differently or looking at it something differently?SCOTTNick, it's a really good question. And if there's anything that I've learned over the last 25 years in private equity is that the future is uncertain, and I am a terrible predictor of what's going to happen from a macro perspective. I mean, I think back to early 2019, and I can't say that I know of anybody that was predicting that a pandemic would hit later that year and bring the world supply chains to a screeching halt. So rather than try to predict the future, at One Rock, we just think it's important for our portfolio companies to be able to react quickly to whatever is thrown their way, whether it's higher interest rates or inflation or another pandemic, a recession—which I hope you're right that we don't have one, but it might happen, maybe not. But what's important to us is to be able to react quickly to minimize the impact of these outside shocks and to take advantage of opportunities that arise in the times of disruption. So we want to be super nimble. We believe that having the right in-house operating expertise is essential to helping our portfolio companies react quickly. And we have a mantra internally that you can never have too much operating talent. So at One Rock, we'll look to continue to build those capabilities to position our companies in the best way possible no matter what the environment is.TODDWell, thank you both for a really interesting conversation today. I know you're busy guys, but we appreciate your time. And please, know that BDO does strongly value our relationship with both of your firms. So thanks for coming on today.To our listeners, thanks so much for listening. If you haven't already, we'd love for you to subscribe, rate, and leave a review of the show on Apple podcasts. Until next time, this is BDO's Private Equity PErspectives.

On BDO's new Private Equity PErspectives podcast episode, Michael LeTourneau, finance resource partner at Court Square Capital Partners, and Steve Siwinski, senior finance leader at Accel-KKR, join host Todd Kinney to discuss why PE CFOs need a “money-making gene” and “love of controlled chaos.” Tune in to hear their insights on: Talent challenges: How the current labor market headwinds play into fund and portfolio strategies, and what solutions they're deploying The first 100 days: What's most important now in the first 100 days of owning an asset Scaling the approach: How scaling your approach is top of mind for LPs today, and how to do it

On BDO's new Private Equity PErspectives podcast episode, Patrick Whitehead, Executive Director at Morgan Stanley Capital Partners, and Katie Lankalis, Vice President at LLR partners, speak to host Todd Kinney about: Private credit: Why we've seen growth in the private credit market and where it's headed nextDue diligence: How due diligence timelines continue to evolve, following a few extremely high-pressure yearsCreative deal structures: Why minority investments and all-equity deals are getting more attention in a down marketAlso hear from BDO's Mark Houston on the refinancing market and how companies can successfully refinance in this challenging financing environment.

On BDO's new Private Equity PErspectives podcast episode, Matt Smith, Principal at Graycliff Partners, and Dave Affinito, Partner at Victor Capital Partners, speak to host Todd Kinney about: Deal origination: Why “hustle ensures consistency and consistency ensures quality” Supply chain: The importance of diversifying suppliers to build resilience Regulatory oversight: How partnerships can respond to increased tax reporting scrutiny by deploying technology solutionsPlanning an exit: What questions to expect from the right buyer Also hear from Jeff Bilsky and Blake Stevens on partnership taxation issues and BDO's Partnership Capital Account Solution.

On the latest episode of BDO's Private Equity PErspectives podcast, host Todd Kinney speaks with Justin Wender, Managing Partner at Stella Point Capital, and Rob Bosco, Managing Director of Stone-Goff Partners on how a recession could impact private equity and what they're seeing in the GP-led secondaries market.Listen to the podcast to learn: Why valuations for private equity, especially in the middle market, are not seeing the same declines as valuations in the public marketsWhy we are seeing more GP-led secondary transactions and why that is expected to continueThe importance of investing in companies that are providing real value to their customers How technology can create efficiencies in the transaction processWhy technology-driven services businesses may provide some resilience in an evolving economyInvestment banking products and services within the United States are offered exclusively through BDO Capital Advisors, LLC, a separate legal entity and affiliated company of BDO USA, LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and national professional services firm. For more information, visit www.bdocap.com. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. BDO Capital Advisors, LLC Member FINRA/SIPC.

On the latest episode of BDO's Private Equity PErspectives podcast, host Todd Kinney speaks with Alice Birnbaum, Head of Business Development at BBH Capital Partners and Stephen Connor, Head of Business Development at Hamilton Robinson Capital Partners. Alice and Stephen discuss their firm's approach to deal origination and how their investment strategies differ for their different focus industries.Listen to the podcast to learn: Strategies for targeting deals with owner-operated and family-owned businessesHow centers of influence, such as investment banks, accounting firms and law firms can be great sources for deal originationHow technology overlays the deal origination processHow a lot of committed, but uncalled capital can boost the private equity market in the near term, even as the economy evolvesWhy businesses looking for a private equity buyer need to prove the next 5 years will be the best ever for their businessWhy deal flow in the manufacturing and B2B space is predicted to be strong moving forwardWhy the mandate to do control and non-control deals can provide flexibility in a changing market

On the latest episode of BDO's Private Equity PErspectives podcast , we explore findings from the 2022 Private Capital Pulse Survey, which surveyed 200 fund managers on their plans for creating value, closing deals and pursuing ESG. Todd Kinney speaks with Jeremy Holland, managing partner, origination, at the Riverside Company and Matt Segal, national partner for private equity assurance at BDO. Matt, Jeremy and Todd discuss: • Why exit planning needs to start sooner than you think, given economic uncertainty• How funds are struggling to create value, due to asset price increases• How the Riverside Company has built its talent pipeline through DE&I and alternative talent sources• Why so many fund managers are shifting their focus to ESG

In today's competitive deal environment, building deep and niche expertise has helped one fund manager succeed, while another – who is just starting up a new firm – has found early wins by building on his industry knowledge, tapping his network and taking on a “jack of all trades” role.In the latest episode of BDO's Private Equity PErspectives podcast, Todd Kinney speaks with Zeena Rao, managing director at ICV partners, and Kevin Feinblum, founder and partner at AOS Capital, about: Why targeting very niche industries can differentiate a PE firmHow to provide value as supply chain issues and inflationary pressures impact portcosHow to build from the ground up with a brand-new fund, especially in a competitive environmentWhat's ahead for M&A amid an increase in interest rates and inflation

Is ESG impacting company valuations? And can a strong ESG rating lead to improved long-term performance? Hear two different perspectives on the latest episode of BDO's PErspectives podcast.In BDO's latest PErspectives podcast, Todd Kinney speaks with Saba Ahmad, partner and COO at Turning Rock Partners and Michael Carter, founder and managing partner at Carter Morse & Goodrich about how PE firms can attract companies, the role banks play in guiding companies to a PE firm, the expected impacts of recently announced SEC regulations on PE firms, and what's ahead for M&A amid an increase in interest rates.

In BDO's latest PErspectives podcast, Todd Kinney speaks with Dan Lory, principal at SK Capital Partners, and Steve Hunter, managing director at TM Capital, about the shifting lifecycle, inflation, deal disruptors, workforce challenges and ESG — the trends and forces defining private equity M&A in 2022.Investment banking products and services within the United States are offered exclusively through BDO Capital Advisors, LLC, a separate legal entity and affiliated company of BDO USA, LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and national professional services firm. For more information, visit www.bdocap.com. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. BDO Capital Advisors, LLC Member FINRA/SIPC.

In the newest episode of BDO's Private Equity PErspectives Podcast, hear how PE firms are actually changing their approach. BDO's Emily Halpern speaks with Mina Pacheco-Nazemi, managing director and co-head of funds & co-investments at Barings Alternative Investments and Karen Baum, Partner and National Market Leader for BDO Advisory Services about the four trends defining private equity ESG integration. They also talk about how emerging managers can support diverse talent and how fund managers can generate liquidity and returns for LPs.

Private equity is getting more aggressive when it comes to deal making, thanks to the ever-competitive deal market. How is that changing tactics, both during and after acquisition? In the newest episode of BDO's Private Equity PErspectives Podcast, Todd Kinney speaks with Scott Hendon, BDO's national and global leader of private equity, and Bob Snape, president of BDO Capital Advisors, to unpack what 200 fund managers said in BDO's Fall 2021 Private Capital Pulse Survey.Investment banking products and services within the United States are offered exclusively through BDO Capital Advisors, LLC, a separate legal entity and affiliated company of BDO USA, LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and national professional services firm. For more information, visit www.bdocap.com. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. BDO Capital Advisors, LLC Member FINRA/SIPC.

Infrastructure investing has positioned itself as one of private equity's hottest asset classes—and the opportunities in this environment are just starting to heat up. Private equity firms are playing a critical role in providing funding to rebuild the nation's infrastructure—how should firms prepare for anticipated regulatory changes in this space?In the newest episode of BDO's Private Equity PErspectives Podcast, Todd Kinney spoke with Andrew Schwartz, director at Stifel Financial, and Aaron Richardson, co-founder and managing partner at SMC Infrastructure Partners, who shared their insights about the role of private equity within the infrastructure space and what the future holds. During the episode's Coffee Break, Seth Miller Gabriel, co-leader of BDO 's Infrastructure and Public-Private Partnerships Team within the Valuation Practice, discusses the value of the public-private partnership model in improving the nation's infrastructure.

In the newest episode of BDO’s Private Equity PErspectives Podcast, Todd Kinney spoke with Don Ritucci, managing director and head of healthcare at Oppenheimer and Co., and Jon Santemma, co-founder and general partner at Regal Healthcare Capital Partners, about healthcare M&A activity in the wake of COVID-19. During the episode’s Coffee Break, Steven Shill, partner and National Leader of BDO’s Center for Healthcare Excellence and Innovation, how healthcare organizations can properly position themselves in order to avoid restructuring or bankruptcy. 

Building relationships has always been an integral part of deal making. The pandemic has made relationship-building much harder and yet, the outlook for deal activity in 2021—driven in part by founder-sellers and the expectation for a capital gains tax increase—is strong. How do firms plan to capture new deals? In the newest episode of BDO’s Private Equity PErspectives Podcast, Todd Kinney spoke with Ken Grider, managing director and head of business development at Raymond James, and Luis Zaldivar, managing partner at Avance Investment Management, about building meaningful connections in today’s deal-making environment. During the episode’s Coffee Break, Patrick Bisceglia, managing director with BDO Capital Advisors, discusses why businesses that are strategically leveraging technology— even if they are not thought of as “tech companies”— make attractive acquisitions.

Private equity is hustling to get deals done before year-end, and in some cases, that means condensing the timeline. In the newest episode of BDO’s Private Equity PErspectives Podcast, Todd Kinney spoke with Daniel Schwartz, principal at CIP Capital, and Adam Gross, managing director at JEGI, about varying deal structures to help companies close deals by December 31.   During the episode’s Coffee Break, Mike Stevenson, Partner and National Leader of BDO’s Accounting and Reporting Advisory Services practice, explains how the latest SPAC activity returns compare to traditional IPOs year over year.

Private equity professionals are seeing shifts in their approaches to sourcing deals as more activity is picking up. In the newest episode of BDO’s Private Equity PErspectives Podcast, Todd Kinney spoke with Dan Ryan, Managing Director and Head of Business Development at MidOcean Partners, and John Lenahan, Partner at Wincove Private Holdings, about the latest trends in capital deployment, as well as the PE industry’s cautiously optimistic outlook for 2021. During the Coffee Break segment, Michael Lee, Principal at BDO Digital, explains why data-driven predictive analytics are key to private equity portfolio visibility, especially in today’s market.

Private equity professionals continue to adjust their management and investment approaches to be more long-term focused amid a rapidly changing market. In the latest episode of BDO’s Private Equity PErspectives Podcast, Todd Kinney spoke with Jeff Volling, Principal and Investment Officer with Bessemer Investors, and Sam Levy, a Director at Equiteq, about the latest trends in private equity and how their market observations are informing their playbooks for success. During the Coffee Break segment, Doug Hart, BDO’s Managing Partner and co-leader of the firm’s Technology practice, shares his insights on how the tech sector is still getting deals done and where to look for investment opportunities within the space.

As the effects of the global pandemic continue to generate uncertainty, PE firms with the wherewithal are looking to close deals. In the latest episode of BDO’s Private Equity PErspectives Podcast, Todd Kinney spoke with Alice Birnbaum, Head of Business Development at BBH Capital Partners, and Andy Cook, a Partner with Southfield Capital, about how the deal landscape is changing and embracing add-on acquisitions and more flexible approaches to investing.     During the Coffee Break segment, Verenda Graham, BDO’s National Private Equity Tax leader and Partner in the firm’s Tax practice, shares her insights on tax strategies PE is using today to generate cash flow.

Industry disruptions resulting from the pandemic crisis have investors and managers shifting their strategies in myriad new directions. In the latest episode of BDO’s Private Equity PErspectives Podcast, Todd Kinney spoke with Engin Okaya, Managing Director at Prudential Private Capital, and David Felts, Managing Director at TM Capital Corp, about nuanced M&A approaches in the new normal, including distressed investing, add-ons and cross-border deals.   During the Coffee Break segment, Beth Garner, National Practice Leader of BDO's Employee Benefit Plan audit practice, shares her insights on the regulatory change of private equity being allowed into 401(k) plan allocations.

Investors are increasingly interested in directing their capital toward companies within the middle market. In the latest episode of the Private Equity PErspectives Podcast, Todd Kinney spoke with Colleen Gurda, Managing Director at Comvest Partners, and Jill Raker, Managing Partner at Greenbriar Equity, about the middle market private equity landscape and direct lending strategies.   During the Coffee Break segment, Kristi Gibson, co-leader of BDO’s National Real Estate practice, shares her insights on the flow of capital from both micro- and macro standpoints.

Investors are increasingly interested in directing their capital toward companies within the middle market. In the latest episode of the Private Equity PErspectives Podcast, Todd Kinney spoke with Colleen Gurda, Managing Director at Comvest Partners, and Jill Raker, Managing Partner at Greenbriar Equity, about the middle market private equity landscape and direct lending strategies. During the Coffee Break segment, Kristi Gibson, co-leader of BDO’s National Real Estate practice, shares her insights on the flow of capital from both micro- and macro standpoints.

The energy and natural resources sector—including oil and gas companies, renewables and water infrastructure companies are seeing an increase in deal activity. In fact, almost a third (32 percent) of PE professionals surveyed in BDO’s US Private Capital Outlook said it ranks in the top three most appealing sectors for fund managers.In the latest episode of the Private Equity PErspectives Podcast, Todd Kinney spoke with Evan Turner, Founder and Managing Partner at Drillcore Energy Partners, and Michael Albrecht, Partner at Ridgewood Infrastructure, about the strategies for private equity in the energy and infrastructure sectors. During the Coffee Break segment, Laurent Williot, Managing Director in BDO’s Transaction Advisory Services Practice, shareshis insights on investment opportunities in the energy and infrastructure space.

The financial services sector was cited as one of the top industries likely to experience increase in deal activity in 2020, according to BDO’s US Private Capital Outlook. We wanted to dig deeper, so in the latest episode of the Private Equity PErspectives Podcast, Todd Kinney spoke with Peter Nesvold, Chief Operating Officer, Financial Services Investment Banking at Raymond James, and Sachin Sarnobat, Managing Director at Atalaya Capital, about some of the factors driving PE and VC deal activity in financial services, and how to maximize value creation with fintech strategies.   During the Coffee Break segment, Keith McGowan, BDO’s Asset Management Industry Leader, explores the role of fintech as it relates to value creation in traditional asset management.

We’ve watched technology become ubiquitous in our lives over the past decade, but how can private equity partners create value for themselves out of this phenomenon?   In the latest episode of the Private Equity PErspectives Podcast, Todd Kinney sits down with Drew Meyers, Partner, Seaport Capital, and Ryan Ziegler, General Partner, Edison Partners,to discuss investment opportunities and how to capitalize on tech’s expansive growth as 2020 quickly approaches. During the Coffee Break segment, Aftab Jamil, Partner and National Leader of BDO's Technology practice, gives insight on how to make the most of a relationship between a technology company and a private equity firm.

What has driven the pace of private equity deal flow in the healthcare space for the last five years? Is healthcare truly a defensive industry during down cycles? How is the consumerization of healthcare influencing private equity’s approach to investments? These are just some of the questions addressed during BDO’s latest episode of the Private Equity PErspectives Podcast.

Given the highly competitive deal landscape, PE professionals are taking innovative approaches to sourcing and closing deals. What are some of these new strategies? In this episode, Justine Mannering, managing director for Stifel's consumer investment banking team, and Ann Brophy, Vice President of Business Development for LLR Partners, join BDO's Todd Kinney to discuss how creativity comes into play when sourcing new deals.

As U.S. private equity's interest in conducting deals with Canadian firms intensifies, dealmakers are looking more closely at the trade, tariff and tax implications that can make or break cross-border transactions. In this episode, Bruno Suppa, Ryan Farkas and Jamie Windle of BDO Canada join Todd Kinney to discuss the Canadian private equity landscape. During the Coffee Break segment, Kevin Kaden of BDO USA shares his insights on the unique due diligence considerations for cross-border deals.

As private equity firms make their operations, and those of the companies they invest in, more technologically savvy, they're finding that true digital transformation requires a shift in mindset. In this episode, Amir Akhavan, managing director at JEGI, and Grant Marcks, a principal and head of business development at Atlantic Street Capital, joins BDO's Todd Kinney to discuss digital transformation's impact on the private equity industry. Kirstie Tiernan, leader of BDO's Data Analytics and Automation Practice, also joins to shed light on the role digital transformation can play in private equity's value creation playbook.   

Though trade and tariff tensions have made headlines and raised questions about their impact on deals, there will still be a healthy flow of M&A in the manufacturing and distribution sector in 2019.  In this episode, Ken Heuer, principal at Kidd & Company, and Charlie Fox, head of business development at GHK Capital Partners, join BDO's Todd Kinney to share their take on the macroeconomic trends affecting M&D.

Eighty-nine percent of private equity executives expect a correction within 1-2 years, according to BDO's Tenth Annual Private Equity PErspective Survey. Yet private equity funds have a lot of dry powder to deploy. How are expectations for a correction affecting deal composition and timing? In this episode, Jon Tenan, director at Lazard Middle Market, and David Glazer, director at Gladstone Investment, join BDO's Todd Kinney to share their take on the changing dynamics of private equity deal making.

With 2018 nearly in the rearview mirror, dealmakers have started considering how the shifting market landscape, ongoing trade tensions, and an increased emphasis on digital transformation will impact private equity in the year ahead. In this episode, Matt Bernstein from Raymond James and Adrian Whipple from TZP Group join BDO's Todd Kinney to share their middle-market private equity predictions for 2019. Alison Torres and Eric Fahr of BDO's Atlantic Region also stop by to discuss their outlooks as well as family offices' growing appetite for private equity investments.

Software deals continue to be the “holy grail” of technology investments for a variety of reasons – recurring revenues, high growth potential, and versatility across industries. Yet beyond this coveted sector, what are private equity investors looking for in tech deals today? In this episode, Jeff Becker from JEGI and Aron Grossman from Gemspring Capital join BDO’s Todd Kinney to share their take on the ever-evolving world of tech deal making. Aftab Jamil, global leader of BDO’s Technology Practice, also offers best practices for the pre-acquisition process.

With KKR's $10 billion purchase of Envision Healthcare this summer, the largest healthcare buyout deal since the financial crisis, private equity's appetite for healthcare deals might well be stronger than ever. Meanwhile, with Amazon's emerging healthcare arm and an imminent deal between CVS and Aetna, providers are turning to digital innovation to help navigate industry disruption.  In this episode, Faruk Amin of Juna Equity Partners and Patrick Pilch, co-leader of BDO's Center for Health Care Excellence and Innovation, join BDO's Todd Kinney to discuss these topics and more. Additionally, BDO's Steven Shill offers an outlook for the eldercare industry. Tune into the full episode for a range of insights, including: What's triggering deal flow and high valuations across the health-care space. How healthcare companies are capitalizing on new data sources. Why elder-care providers are increasingly focused on preserving independence.

In the seventh episode of BDO's Private Equity PErspectives Podcast, Richard Baum of Consumer Growth Partners and Natalie Kotlyar, leader of BDO's National Retail & Consumer Products Practice, join BDO's Todd Kinney to discuss the state of the retail industry. BDO's Katherine Gauntt also shares her take on the implications of the Supreme Court's recent Wayfair decision. Tune into the full episode for a range of insights, including: How PE-backed retailers can become "un-Amazonable." How the recent Wayfair decision adds another layer of uncertainty, especially for smaller retailers that sell goods across state lines. How the overall growth of e-commerce is changing how retailers operate.

Today, the state of the economy, add-on acquisitions, and industry diversity are just a few issues at the forefront of the private equity industry. In this episode, Gretchen Perkins of Huron Capital and Silver Leaf Partners' Kathleen Lauster join BDO's Todd Kinney to discuss these topics and more. Additionally, BDO's Karen Baum discusses the benefits of sell-side due diligence and the evolution of socially responsible investing. Tune into the full episode for a range of insights, including: What women need to know about working in private equity Why investors should be cautiously optimistic about the economy Why private equity is increasingly interested in socially responsible investing

At the ACG InterGrowth 2018 conference in San Diego, BDO's Todd Kinney met with Deerpath Capital managing director Orin Port and CIP Capital managing director Bobby Kelly to discuss their firms' unique investment strategies, deal activity, and leverage usage. Tune into the full episode for Orin and Bobby's range of insights, including: How their firms find investment opportunities in such a crowded market Preparing portfolio companies as rising interest rates make debt more expensive Whether tax reform's new limitation of interest rate deductibility will impact lower middle-market borrowers

Ethan Shoemaker, managing director and principal at Orion Energy Partners, chats with BDO’s Todd Kinney about his firm’s credit-oriented investing approach as well as niche opportunities in the energy market. Tune into the full episode for Ethan’s complete insights, including: Why the lower-middle energy market is ripe for opportunities How tax reform will impact energy investments The case for the energy industry’s cautious optimism

Joe Pacello, tax partner in BDO's Asset Management practice, unpacks what tax reform means for private equity. Hosted by Todd Kinney, this episode delves into the new tax provisions with both positive and negative implications for the asset class.