Ep. 15 Crisis Communications for Private Equity

• Some of the communication mistakes that financial institutions made during the 2008 crisis that we can learn from
• How to ensure businesses are communicating to employees that industrial/manufacturing jobs will be protected if employees are forced to quarantine/isolate
• How investors are reacting to Middleground’s management of its portfolio companies
• Recommendations to members of the “sponsor universe” to win favor with the public and government
• What should PE firms do to broadcast the positive impacts they are making in the communities/businesses they invest in

BIOs

Matt Kirdahy is a Partner at Water & Wall, an award-winning marketing and communications agency whose best work exists at the intersection of inspired thinking and your business growth. Matt was a journalist first and a communications and marketing executive second. There’s something to be said about having the same professional experience of the people to whom you’re approaching with your client ideas. While the traditional pitch-and-place priorities connected to the roots of the business have evolved into much more, his role still calls for those core media skills. His most re-watched movie is The Fugitive and when he’s not on the clock, he’s trying to make the most out of living in a city where the burgers cost as much as the t-shirts at J. Crew.

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John is a Partner at MiddleGround where he is responsible for overall management of the firm and management of the Investment Team with Lauren Mulholland. John started his career as an hourly line worker at Toyota Motor Corporation and held numerous management and executive positions over an 18-year career. John made the move to private equity in 2007, joining Monomoy Capital as an Operating Partner. In 2010, John was named the Head of Operations and built out the Operations Group over the next six years with Scot Duncan. In 2016, John became a Partner. Throughout his career, John has worked on numerous transactions and served on the Board of Directors of nearly 20 businesses across both middle market and Fortune 100 companies. John is the only one of us who is a published author. You can buy his book “Toyota Kaizen Continuum: A Practical Guide to Implementing Lean” here. John really needs the extra $3.00 as he is saving up for a new boat. He has four children with his wife, Leslie, and is a proud grandfather. If you spend enough time with John, you know there are two things that are sure to happen: someone will ask him to share his “Elon Musk” story and he will convince you that you need to buy something special for your pet from his wife and daughter’s business, Southern Barker. Did we mention John is saving up to buy a new boat?!