Welcome to the Arena from ICR – Conversations with Today's Innovators & Business Leaders Maud Brown, Partner, PAI Partners – Taking Ambition Abroad: Navigating an International Investment Landscape
Embracing a challenge and going after the big prize is something that today's guest knows all about.
We're sitting down with Maud Brown, who is a partner at PAI Partners. PAI is a private equity firm that invests in real economy businesses and manages over 25 billion in assets. Maud heads the firm's U. S. team and oversees investment activity in North America. She's involved in fundraising, deal sourcing, and portfolio company management, including the iconic juice company, Tropicana.
Maud joined PAI in 2019 after 18 years at Investcorp where she was a managing director and a member of the investment committee. While at Investcorp, she led the acquisitions of Pro Unlimited, Nobel Learning, and The Wrench Group,. Maud started her career in M& A at Salomon Brothers and Merrill Lynch in London. She grew up in France and holds a degree in business administration from ESCP Business School and a Master’s in Corporate Law from the University Paris XI.
Highlights:
- Maud's upbringing and path to corporate work (2:38)
- Maud describes what drew her to becoming a professional investor (4:20)
- Her start at Investcorp and experiencing its growth first-hand (5:10)
- Maud explains what drew her to the opportunity at PAI (6:52)
- PAI's history and their mission (10:03)
- Maud discusses the PAI deal with PepsiCo and Tropicana (13:34)
- Growth strategy and plan for the recent PepsiCo deal (16:03)
- Maud expands on a new deal in the Pet sector (18:29)
- Maud's involvement with acquisition pipelines for investments (20:09)
- Maud describes the differences in her approach to her work at PAI vs. Investcorp (21:29)
- PAI's approach to ESG (23:04)
- Maud's outlook on the current exit environment, and the future of the field (24:55)
- Where PAI will continue to invest, and what sectors they hope to expand to (26:39)
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If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, marion@lowerstreet.co.