Eric Wei joined Advent in 2011 and is a Managing Director in Palo Alto. He advises on growth equity and majority investments in the technology sector. Eric has advised on 22 investments during his career, 11 while at Advent.
Prior to joining Advent, Eric gained investing experience at Sageview Capital, Bain Capital, and Evercore Ventures. He began his career as a Strategy Consultant with Bain & Company.
He earned his BA, with distinction, from Stanford University and his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
How do you identify interesting companies in your sector of focus?
In the Tech team, Advent is very interested in companies with platform visions that have the potential to transform an industry. These platforms end up becoming indispensable, as they digitally connect an entire ecosystem, ensuring that everyone can benefit from greater productivity. These are the companies we want to build for the long term – ones supporting our theme that tech is a true horizontal, cutting across all geographies and industry verticals.
How have you seen Advent’s culture of collaboration drive impact?
People across the organization are always willing to help each other out. It’s never ‘What’s in it for me?’ but rather ‘OK – let’s figure this out.’ On a recent Advent investment, which had both a tech and industrial angle, industrials colleagues across the world made dozens of portfolio company and executive introductions during diligence and post close. The culture of collaboration isn’t just lip service.
“I sometimes describe my job as riding shotgun next to the CEO, across seven or eight businesses.”
Eric Wei
Managing Director, Advent
What’s a mistake you made early in your career, and what did you learn from it?
Hiring the right people is one of the most important things we are responsible for. What I’ve learned is that irrespective of someone’s experience or education, the most important variable among high-functioning executives is their approach to problem solving. The most effective executives are hands on in driving solutions to issues at their company.
What about your job inspires and drives you?
I really enjoy helping a company become better across different dimensions. I sometimes describe my job as riding shotgun next to the CEO – and I have the privilege of partnering with CEO’s across multiple businesses concurrently. When you put it in that context, there are very few jobs in the world that offer a similar experience. You get an incredible depth and breadth of learning, and you are part of a team having an impact.
What keeps you busy outside of work?
I spend a lot of time with my family and kids and try to stay very active. I play tennis, work out, and do yoga. I’ve also been trying to learn how to surf, which is one of the hardest challenges I’ve ever experienced because of the constant change in surfing: no wave is ever the same.
