Chris Egan

How do geographical and sector teams work together to make better investments for Advent?

Doing private equity on a global basis was part of Advent’s business plan from day one. The sector focus came later, but came early relative to the industry – so 40 years later, we’ve built up a tremendous amount of history and experience in our individual sectors. The intersection of the two is so powerful because we can look at sector strategies that have worked in one geography, and extend them to another. It’s about pattern recognition: if something worked for Advent in the US, why not Brazil, India, or Germany?

What would you like CEOs to say about the experience of partnering with Advent?

The most important aspect of our relationship is alignment. One of the CEOs I’ve worked with most closely coined a good phrase for it: unity of purpose. That means having shared goals, and being economically and philosophically aligned on where we’re headed with the company. Advent does have to act as stewards of our investors’ capital, and that means holding our CEOs and management teams accountable for performance. But we should be able to challenge one another in the conference room, in a way that’s constructive and not confrontational, and still go to dinner together afterwards.

How do you ensure new recruits adopt Advent’s culture and values?

We attract and hire very talented people, who in most cases have already experienced success. Maybe they haven’t had the time to be successful professionally, but they may be high-performing, high-achieving people academically, or perhaps in athletics or the arts. We’re not going to try to change who they are. Each person will apply his or her own approach and style. Advent’s guiding principles – around alignment, shared objectives, constructive criticism, debate, and feedback – can be applied by anyone in their own way.

What has changed during your career, and how has Advent kept pace with this?

When I first joined, the private equity industry was dwarfed by the public equity managers, and by the hedge funds as well. That has really changed. Twenty or more years later, we’re no longer a small cottage industry. That has brought opportunities, but any time an industry gets bigger and more competitive, it also gets harder. We’ve had to continuously improve.

What keeps you motivated and energized, in and out of the office?

One of the reasons I’ve been doing this as long as I have is that the job never gets stale. You can’t say that about many other positions or industries. Each day brings a new challenge, and there’s not a rote playbook from which you can draw; there’s a set of experiences, and shared accountability when things don’t go well. You’re having to figure out something new every day, and that’s invigorating and exciting. That’s what I’d say professionally. Personally speaking, I’m kept motivated by my family and my kids. My wife and I have four kids, and they keep us busy and inspired.