Benjamin Buerstedde joined Advent in 2015 and is a Managing Director in Frankfurt. He acts as an advisor in the German-speaking region and advises on investments in the business & financial services and industrial sectors. Benjamin has advised on 12 investments during his career, three while at Advent.
His previous private equity experience includes working with companies in the industrial and retail industries. Prior to joining Advent, Benjamin worked for seven years at Sun Capital Partners in London, a middle market private equity firm focused on investing in companies with operational improvement potential. He participated in investments in several European countries across the retail, packaging, and manufacturing sectors. Prior to Sun Capital, Benjamin spent four years at Merrill Lynch as an associate, focusing on mergers and acquisitions in the industrial sector. Benjamin Buerstedde began his career in 2001 with Hawkpoint Partners and Credit Suisse First Boston as an analyst in their respective investment banking divisions.
Benjamin holds an undergraduate degree in Economics from Warwick University and an MS in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
How important is it to Advent’s investment model to have an office in Germany?
It is critical and it needs to be a sizeable office given the breadth of the market. We have built trust and local connectivity for decades and Advent’s track record is well known by the market. I think that’s a core part of what we’ve done over nearly 25 years in Germany, and for 40 years across Advent. Advent takes a local approach while using our global network and expertise.
What advantages come with being part of a privately owned partnership?
I think the biggest benefit is that we can decide our own destiny with limited external stakeholders. Advent has the ability to make decisions quickly, and adapt swiftly to market circumstances. We have very short communication lines when we want to speak to each other, or formulate a view on something. It’s just a highly efficient model because we have a common strategy and all know what we’re looking for. Advent also maintains long and trustful relationships with our limited partners. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better or worse than other asset management models, but it has worked very well for us over four decades – and I think it will continue to benefit us in the future.
“I think the biggest benefit is that we can decide our own destiny with limited external stakeholders. Advent has the ability to make decisions quickly, and adapt swiftly to market circumstances.”
Benjamin Buerstedde
Managing Director, Advent
What advice would you offer someone joining Advent?
Go and explore, and try to be as investigative as you can. Spend time on new industries and new trends, trying to see what’s next – not just what’s going to happen in the next three years, but what will be driving the next five, even 10 years. And then work backwards, and say, hey, if that happens, where could I find a good opportunity case today? Every company and thesis is different, but you need to reflect on the underlying trends and the macro picture. That’s an important piece of the puzzle.
What aspects of your job continue to drive and inspire you?
For me, it’s about meeting interesting people with very different backgrounds, all with their own ambitions to create something more successful. It’s that interaction, as we foster networks and use them to create value. I think that’s something you don’t get in many other jobs – and you certainly don’t get that exposure as early in your career as you do in private equity. Plus, seeing the impact of the joint decisions we take with our management teams first-hand in the performance of our portfolio companies. The private equity model fosters mutual learning between ourselves and our management teams.
If you weren’t in this profession, what would you be doing?
I’d like to say some sort of professional sportsman – a footballer or tennis player – but that was never really an option. More realistically, I’d have an operational role at one of our portfolio companies. I strongly believe that when we invest in our portfolio companies, we should be excited enough about them that we’d be willing to execute our plans ourselves.
