Dry Powder: The Private Equity Podcast

 On April 24, I joined the Spotlight On podcast for a conversation about the future of private equity. Naturally, we talked about the game-changing promise of generative AI, but I also sounded a note of caution. While we've seen remarkable enthusiasm and activity in deal sourcing operations and portfolio management, what we haven't yet seen is the kind of deep impact that many are talking about and predicting. There's progress along many fronts but no silver bullet in sight just yet.What you're about to hear is a lightly edited excerpt of our conversation, in which I offer my latest thinking on how to navigate this experimental phase, including how we're using generative AI here at Bain. I'd like to thank my host, Nick Barton of the Barton Partnership, for such a thought-provoking exchange.

Amid a turbulent year, is the industry poised for more of the same or a sudden turnaround?Read Bain's 2025 Midyear Private Equity Report here. Register for Bain's Private Equity Midyear Report 2025 Webinar on July 16 here. 

[This episode originally aired on December 7, 2023] Today on the show, I have a lively conversation with Ashby Monk, the executive director of the Stanford Research Initiative on Long Term Investing. Ashby studies the inner workings of pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations —  in short all of those LPs that sit somewhere in between the public and private sectors.“That means that they are optimizing for things that are not entirely evident to just the casual observer,” Ashby says.In this episode of Dry Powder, I ask Ashby to take us inside the $140 trillion universe of long-term investing and help us understand what exactly these organizations are optimizing for.If you'd like to stay up to date with my weekly series on LinkedIn, follow me here.

This past December, I joined the M&A Science Podcast for a wide ranging interview about my 30 year career at Bain and the evolution of the private equity industry.  My host did a superb job of walking us through the pivotal moments when the industry was forced to reinvent itself.  In this current moment of uncertainty, the interview serves as a timely reminder of how quickly the industry can change — and is often forced to. What you're about to hear are a few excerpts from that interview, lightly edited for brevity and clarity.I'd like to thank my host, Kison Patel, for the opportunity to share this timely conversation with our audience, and if you'd like to listen to the full interview, you can visit the M&A Science Podcast here.

A 30-year veteran shares why the secondary market's growth continues to surprise him.

We ask a leading provider of NAV loans about the enthusiasm and the skepticism around a growing trend.

In the second of our two-part series, we ask the Co-CEO of Hamilton Lane how they're  building an analytics engine that can serve both institutional and individual investors. 

Hamilton Lane's Co-CEO takes us inside the rapid buildout of private market infrastructure.

In part two of our infrastructure series, we take a closer look at which sub-sectors are heating up, and how opportunities across energy and tech are converging.

Infrastructure deals are evolving, and private capital could play a pivotal role in the space.

Today on Dry Powder, we're sharing a live recording from this year's NEXUS conference in Orlando, Florida. My guest is Brian Bernasek, Co-Head of Americas Corporate Private Equity at Carlyle. We had a wide-ranging discussion about his market outlook for 2025, how he thinks about sector expertise at scale, the rising cost of alpha, and, of course, AI. Our conversation touches on many of the key themes in Bain's Global Private Equity Report, which we've linked to below, but Brian is one of those rare investors who can actually bring these themes to life. Read Bain's 2025 Global Private Equity Report, here.

We cover three overarching themes from this year's report, including clear evidence of an industry recovery, continuing challenges for GP's, and strategies for winning the future.Register for our Global Private Equity Report 2025 Webinar on March 13, here.Read the full 2025 Global Private Equity Report, here. 

We asked the managing director of Insight Partners how they invest across venture capital, growth equities and buyouts.Register for our Global Private Equity Report 2025 Webinar on March 13, here.

Jim Coulter reflects on the legacy of his co-founder, David Bonderman, while asking whether the industry still makes room for unorthodox investors like him today.

In an industry where management change out rates hover around 50%, GTCR stands out as a remarkable exception.

From strawberry-picking to brick-laying, automation is revolutionizing unexpected corners of the workforce.

With inflation easing and public markets on the rise, the key questions are whether the Federal Reserve has overcorrected and how the new administration will impact the path to recovery.

A few big ticket deals have raised hopes of a rebound, but investors are still wondering when deal activity will return to normal, or what normative will even look like in the coming year.

In part two of our interview series, we explore how generative AI is prompting a radical reconsideration of how software is priced and deployed at scale.

Hg's head of research shares some of the more remarkable use cases of generative AI and what they reveal about the future of work.

Healthcare IT has the potential to not only make the industry more efficient but also to revolutionize patient care.

In part two of our interview series, we explore how private equity can continue expanding its global footprint and what it will take to thrive in a multipolar world.

The co-managing partner of Bain Capital takes us inside of their remarkably diversified portfolio, where venture capital, private equity, real estate, and credit don't just coexist—they actively reinforce each other.If you'd like to stay up to date with my weekly series of posts on LinkedIn, you can follow me here.

Host Hugh MacArthur takes the hot seat in this special episode about the future of private equity.You can access the original, full-length interview here. If you'd like to stay up to date with Hugh's weekly posts on LinkedIn, follow him here.

2024 is shaping up to be a surprisingly robust year for private equity deal activity.

[This series originally aired on November 21, 2019] Absent certain market conditions, buyer beware.

[This episode originally aired on March 21, 2023] As margins shrink, private equity houses are rediscovering the vital importance of operational due diligence.

A small, but growing cohort of investors are taking mid-sized  companies private and driving substantial margin improvements.

Deals and exits are flat, and fundraising is down, but the real story is the tension beneath the numbers.For a deeper discussion, join our live webinar on July 9. Read Bain's 2024 Midyear Private Equity Report, here.   

Karen Khalaf, one of Bain's leading experts in sovereign wealth funds, explains how a little knowledge can go a long way on the fundraising trail.

Jim Strang, chairman of HgCapital Trust, joins us for a wide-ranging conversation about the future of the private equity industry.If you'd like to stay up to date with my weekly series on LinkedIn, follow me here.

We explore a fresh approach to modeling and managing risk.

In part two of our series, Thoma Bravo's leading enterprise software investor explains how they continue to find exit opportunities and source new deals.

We ask one of Thoma Bravo's leading enterprise software investors why 2023 could be a “significantly better” year for deal making.

Private equity firms are developing measures of success that go far beyond carbon footprints.

We ask Bain's leading macro expert about the “last mile” of rate cuts in the US, and whether Europe has miles to go.

We seem to have entered a period of eerie calm, but will it last?Read Bain & Company's 2024 Global Private Equity Report here.Join my live webinar on March 19th here. 

In part two of our interview, we explore the principles and strategies that enable the industry's top-performing GP's to deliver persistent returns.

A pioneering investor talks to us about challenging the industry's conventions.

Tom Callahan, CEO of NASDAQ Private Market, argues that today's liquidity crisis could mark a turning point for secondaries markets.

Nigel Dawn, senior managing director at Evercore, explains how GPs and LPs are discovering new tools and techniques to finance deals.

We asked two of Bain's leading experts on commercial excellence to take us to the cutting edge of investor relations.

As inflation trends downward, should investors plan for a lower interest rate environment in 2024 — and even the possibility of deflation?

Today on the show, I have a lively conversation with Ashby Monk, the executive director of the Stanford Research Initiative on Long Term Investing. Ashby studies the inner workings of pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations —  in short all of those LPs that sit somewhere in between the public and private sectors.“That means that they are optimizing for things that are not entirely evident to just the casual observer,” Ashby says.In this episode of Dry Powder, I ask Ashby to take us inside the $140 trillion universe of long-term investing and help us understand what exactly these organizations are optimizing for.If you'd like to stay up to date with my weekly series on LinkedIn, follow me here.

In part two of our interview series, we explore Vista's approach to AI and how it connects to the company's founding story.

We ask Vista's CEO how he continues to do deals at an astonishing clip, despite the challenging conditions of today's market.If you'd like to stay up to date with my weekly series on LinkedIn, follow me here.

In part two of our fund-raising series, we'll dig into the tools, tactics, and technologies that enable general partners to tailor their pitches to key decision makers within institutions.

As competition for capital intensifies, a one-size-fits-all approach to institutional investors will no longer suffice.

We ask the founding team at Greater Share about their intriguing new approach to philanthropic funding and how they've already garnered support from some of the world's leading GPs.

In part two of our macro series, we explore the risks and rewards of public-private partnerships.

We ask Karen Harris, the managing director of Bain's Macro Trends Group, whether the economy could emerge from this period of rate hikes unscathed.If you'd like to stay up to date with my weekly series on LinkedIn, follow me here.