by Gail McManus
1. October 2009 09:39
The Financial Times this week www.ft.com
has some major comments on the upturn in banking sector recruitment – headlines
such as ‘Headhunters
set for wave of mandates’ and
‘Goldman bucks trend with hiring spree’
give
optimistic messages to would be recruits.
Some commentators believe that the teams were pared back too much and
that they will need to re hire. This all
fits in with the trends we have been seeing for star banking analyst and
associate level candidates. But not so
much with more experienced professionals.
The demand for experience seems to be at a low. This seems a shame as
there is some super experience out there in people who would contemplate a more
flexible way of working. And you could
benefit from their skills in a time efficient and cost effective way.
We see
experienced investors contemplating a number of opportunities
·
Looking to move down in investment size
· Considering taking a series of roles as
either non-execs, advisers or
consultants
· Moving into a public or quasi public sector investment environment
The least likely outcome for these people
seems to be more of the same. And most of the experienced investors we see rarely want more of the same and are
looking for a new set of challenges.
They consider with relish the
prospect of working with an investment house that focuses on smaller deal sizes
- it takes them back to what they used
to do and why they came into private
equity in the first place. You could access their experience in a full time
partner role, use their track record in fund raising and strengthen the senior
group or use them on a part time or advisory basis.
This serial role route gives you opportunity
to access resource on a project by
project basis or as an advisor,
mentor or investment committee member or to focus on a particular portfolio
issue or opportunity.
There is a stunning amount of talent locked up in
experienced investors which could be tapped into in so many ways to help your fund be more successful. And yet so few funds take advantage of it.
But full
marks have to go to the public sector
which has always been quick to recognise this pool of talent and tap into it.
It takes advantage of changes at the top in private equity firms and as
a result has been able to acquire outstanding private equity experience.
Organisations such as NESTA www.nesta.org.uk Partnerships www.partnershipsuk.org.uk and Carbon Trust Investments www.carbontrust.co.uk all have first class private equity professionals at the helm or in their
teams. And the people who move from
private sector private equity to public sector private equity all seem to gain
from the experience. They gain a different perspective as they deal with
a different group of stakeholders who measure returns in a different way. And we as taxpayers get some great talent managing our money.
I hope the
private sector private equity community learns from this and grabs some of this extraordinary talent
for itself. There are some great
professionals out there who can make a
difference very quickly.
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