Ben Jenkins - On Mentorship, Being a Professional, and Allocating Capital

Dec 7, 2023

Ben Jenkins, President and CIO at Digital Bridge Group Inc, discusses professional development, mentorship, and investing in digital infrastructure. Topics include early career experiences at Morgan Stanley, transitioning to private equity, building teams and developing people, balancing success and family life, starting the company and raising funds, advantages of private markets over public markets, growth of wireless technology and fiber connectivity, software-defined networks and efficient packet routing, and challenges in the industry and the need for innovation.

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Introduction

00:00 • 4min

Introduction and Overview of Digital Bridge's Investment Focus

03:31 • 2min

Early Career and the Importance of Mentorship

05:10 • 8min

Transition to Private Equity

13:18 • 12min

Building Teams and Developing People

25:02 • 16min

Juggling Success and Family Life

41:07 • 8min

Starting the Company and Raising Funds

49:21 • 13min

Advantages of Building a Business in Private Markets

01:02:48 • 19min

The Growth of Wireless Technology and the Role of Fiber Connectivity

01:21:30 • 3min

Exploring Software-Defined Networks and Efficient Packet Routing

01:24:32 • 2min

Challenges in the Industry and the Need for Innovation

01:26:33 • 11min

Ben Jenkins, President and Chief Investment Officer at Digital Bridge Group Inc, stops by The Business Brew to have a discussion about professional development, mentorship, and investing in digital infrastructure. Digital Bridge (NYSE: DBRG) is a leading global alternative asset manager dedicated to investing in digital infrastructure. The firm has $75Bn of assets under management, 30+ portfolio companies, and over 100 digital infrastructure professionals (see https://ir.digitalbridge.com/static-files/0a038853-b7a3-43c0-93d3-c509ef638005).

Ben's official bio reads as follows:
Ben Jenkins is President and Chief Investment Officer at DigitalBridge. Mr. Jenkins is also the Co-Founder of Digital Bridge Holdings and the former Chairman of Global Tower Partners.

Prior to forming Digital Bridge Holdings, Mr. Jenkins was a Senior Managing Director and head of the Hong Kong office for The Blackstone Group. During his 12 years at Blackstone, Mr. Jenkins led over a dozen private equity investments (including Global Tower Partners) across a range of industries and geographies, including telecommunications deals in developed and emerging markets.

Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Jenkins was an associate at Saunders, Karp and Megrue (now Apax) and a financial analyst at Morgan Stanley.

Mr. Jenkins received a Bachelor of Arts with honors from Stanford University and an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.

Disclaimer: Bill is long Digital Bridge and has been since 2020. This is a long term hold for him.

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