Today's GuestWe’re extremely excited to welcome Victor Vescovo to the podcast today.Victor is an American private equity investor, co-founder of Insight Equity, retired naval officer, and undersea explorer, being the first person to reach the deepest points of four of the Earth’s five oceans during the Five Deeps Expedition of 2018-2019.In 2017, Vescovo became the 12th American to complete the “Explorers Grand Slam” which requires climbing the highest peak on all seven of the world’s continents, including Mt. Everest.For more than 20 years, Vescovo served as an office in the U.S. Navy Reserve, retiring in 2014. He served at various times on extended active duty, including Pearl Harbor where he was posted after the 9/11 attacks as a counter-terrorism specialist. In the Private Equity world, he is cofounder and Managing Partner of Private Equity firm Insight Equity, an industrial buyout firm with over $1B AUM, where he focuses on growing and enhancing aerospace and defence firms.What’s in this episode?In today’s episode Victor chats with Alex about his experiences in mountaineering and undersea exploration and draws on the strong parallels between working in Private Equity and doing expeditions and military operations. What you'll learn Why risk mitigation plays a vital role in both expeditions and Private Equity InvestingWhy hesitating on decision making can kill your businessWhat Victor has drawn from his military background to influence his Private Equity firm todayThe most painful decision Victor has ever had to makeWhat drove Victor to set up his current PE Firm, Insight EquityHow 9/11 changed his lifeWhat makes some a great leader and top performerBreakdown4:40 - Why do some people take on more risk than others, in expeditions and in business?8:45 - The biggest mistakes Victor sees people making in PE10:16 - How Victor’s military background influences his decision making today13:00 - Why Victor set up his PE Firm, Insight Equity16:04 - Victor describes what was working in the military was like17:30 - How to make partner in your firm19:57 - Victor’s interpretation of what makes a great leader22:34 - The makeup of a top performer25:10 - Victor’s likes and dislikes in the Private Equity Industry33:40 - what advice would you give to your 20 year old selfResourceshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/victor-vescovo-4a130775/https://fivedeeps.com/https://www.ted.com/speakers/victor_vescovohttps://www.insightequity.com/Thank you for tuning in!To get the newest Private Equity episodes, you can subscribe on iTunes or Spotify here.Lastly, if you have any feedback on the podcast or want to reach out to Alex with any questions, send an email to alex.rawlings@raw-selection.com

Today's GuestToday we welcome Rick Brawn, Operating Partner at GenNx360, an operationally focused Private Equity firm that invests in industrial and business service companies. After receiving his engineering degree from MIT, Rick joined Pratt and Whitney, an engine company part of United Technologies. He was with the company for 17 years, achieving his masters and MBA in engineering, holding various different positions and even moving to 6 different countries with his wife and 4 children to go where the company needed him.5 years ago he made the transition to working for GenNx360 as Operating Partner and now lives in Florida.What’s in this episode?In today’s episode Rick explains how he transitioned from running companies as the former Managing Director of Rolls Royce and Pratt & Whitney, to working for a Private Equity firm as an Operating Partner and the steep learning curve that came with that transition. What you'll learnWhy it’s vital for Portfolio Companies to fully understand the Investment thesisWhat to do as a CEO if your firm is being acquired by Private EquityWhat exactly is the role of Operating PartnerHow Rick made the transition from being CEO to Operating Partner, never having worked in Private Equity beforeThe steep learning curve Rick experienced coming into the Private Equity industryThe best way to really learn more about PEThe main challenges Rick faces as an Operating PartnerRick’s advice for anyone looking to make the move to an Operating Partner role Breakdown2:36 - What one mistake do you see PE firms or Portfolio Companies making4:03 - Advice for a CEO of a business being acquired by a PE firm6:04 - How do you define the role of Operating Partner8:04 - How involved in the deal process are Operating Partners?10:29 - How Rick transitioned from running companies as MD/CEO to working for the PE firm as Operating Partner18:39 - Main challenges faced as an Operating Partner20:12 - What advice would you give someone looking to make the move to Operating Partner27:00 - The three attributes that make a top performing executive32:08 - Rick’s likes and dislikes in the Private Equity industry39:30 - Rick’s experience with being blindsided42:17 - What advice would Rick give to his 20-year-old self?Resourceshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/operatingpartner/https://gennx360.com/team-info/rick-brawnhttps://www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com/en_GB/home.htmlhttps://prattwhitney.com/Thank you for tuning in!To get the newest Private Equity episodes, you can subscribe on iTunes or Spotify here.Lastly, if you have any feedback on the podcast or want to reach out to Alex with any questions, send an email to alex.rawlings@raw-selection.com

Introducing The Private Equity Podcast, hosted by Alex Rawlings.Over the coming episodes Alex will be interviewing the leading experts working in the Private Equity industry, unlocking their secrets of success to share with you. Discover how some of the top private equity professionals got into Private Equity, how they rose to success and learn about some of the mistakes they made along the way. Alex has strong connections to the Private Equity industry through his executive search firm, Raw Selection, which specialises in working with Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies across Europe and North America. Alex is straight talking and to the point and aims to unlock real gold you can build into your firm or portfolio companies.