Many CEOs have their sights set on Fortune 500 boards when thinking about the corporate leaders of the economy; however, private equity firms and their portfolio companies have an outsized ability to
influence the status quo of the business community.
Globally, approximately 10,000 private equity firms have more than $3.9 trillion in assets under management in North America alone and approximately 4,700
firms own more than 18,800 companies.
According to a recent report by McKinsey, private markets rebounded in 2021. After a year of pandemic-driven turbulence that suppressed fundraising and deal-making fundraising climbed to a record of almost $1.2
trillion up by almost 20% over 2020.
Growth was widespread across asset classes and geographies and deal makers were busier than ever deploying more than $3.5 trillion across asset classes.
What does this mean for you as an aspiring board director?
After reviewing and analyzing more than 280 executive CEO and board-level client profiles over the last 24 months, we uncovered the most pressing questions and concerns from aspiring CEOs and independent
director candidates.
The themes revealed in these questions come from leaders of large corporations, private equity firms, as well as family offices.
In Episode 39 Career mastery for senior leaders, we focus on independent board roles:
- Preparing for board interviews
- Board resumes and bios
- Approaching potential board opportunities (that are not advertised)
- Advanced networking strategies
- Private equity board opportunities
- And much more!
Here's my perspective:
“Let's take a moment to really think about the potential opportunity in the private equity world versus the publicly traded world. There are exponentially more opportunities in the private equity world based on these
numbers.
I myself had no idea that those numbers were so big. It reminds me of the hidden job market in a sense because when you think about every new portfolio company, every new M&A will require a board. And that board may be a
composition of other board members from the private equity portfolio holding but the private equity company itself will still require outside directors to help formulate the strategy and integration plan.”
Listen here.
Happy National Amelia Earhart Day!
Here is a photo of me delivering a keynote presentation on employee engagement at a conference near Boston dressed as Amelia Earhart in commemoration of her achievements as a business and science trailblazer.
In case you aren't familiar with Amelia Earhart, she was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She has been inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame (1968) and the National Women's Hall of Fame
(1973).
