PE职业生涯发展介绍.pdfVIP

Case # 5-0021 Updated August 12, 2003 Note on Private Equity Careers Finding a position in the private equity industry is a challenging prospect for MBA students. Yet every year, MBAs are hired and post-MBAs are promoted to senior ranks. Despite issues such as the economic cycle and increasing competition within the industry, it is clear that competent motivated individuals with good investment acumen can and do succeed in private equity. This note describes the industry, compensation structures, and characteristics of successful professionals. For a recent MBA graduate, the private equity industry offers the opportunity to exercise many of the skills developed in business school while working in a fast- paced entrepreneurial environment that has the potential to be extremely rewarding financially. The private equity industry continues to evolve as it adapts to new investment climates and becomes institutionalized. This has created challenges and opportunities. Private Equity Industry Structure The private equity industry is generally composed of four major types of investors: Venture Capital, Leveraged Buyout, Mezzanine, and Secondaries / Funds of Funds investors. There are key distinctions between venture and buyout firms. Venture capital is about understanding the impact of products and technologies on markets while buyout is about control and deal structure. Regarding domain expertise, it is a requirement for venture capital investing, however buyout firms can and often do hire consultants to gain further understanding of a sector. A venture capitalist is by nature an optimist, often asking “What can be done?”, while a buyout investor is This document was written by Jonathan Rotolo T’04 and Adjunct Assistant Professor Fred Wainwright under the sup