Latest news with #Rolodex
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
The hottest job in private equity: Keeping investors happy
Fundraising in private equity used to be relatively easy. First, you'd schmooze with executives of foundations, endowments, and pension funds, and then they'd write you a check with 6, 7, or even 8 zeroes. You'd go back for an even bigger check five years later, after doubling their money. Rinse and repeat. Now, with private equity returns slumping and allocations to buyout funds increasingly maxed out, firms are finding they need to work a lot harder to get those big checks — driving up demand for professionals whose job it is to woo investors and keep them happy once they've invested. Hiring for fundraising and investor relations roles at private equity and alternative asset firms surged to a record 3,378 in 2024, nearly double 2020 levels, according to data from recruitment firm Jensen Partners. That momentum has carried into 2025, said Sasha Jensen, founder and CEO of Jensen Partners, noting that first-quarter hiring hit another record high. A survey from recruiting firm Odyssey Search Partners suggests pay for this group is also rising. Total compensation grew an average of 20% from 2023 to 2024, the survey of alternative industry fundraisers and investor relations professionals showed. "There's a short supply of what the general partners are looking for," Jensen said, referring to the industry term for the financial sponsors in charge of these funds. Business Insider spoke to four recruiters who specialize in hiring professionals who interact with investors on behalf of private equity firms and other alternative asset managers. They broke down the jobs, skills, and experiences that are most in demand as a result of the fundraising squeeze. Sales skills vs Rolodexes There is an age-old debate on Wall Street about what makes a salesperson shine — their Rolodex or their sales savvy. Demand for professionals with preexisting relationships continues to be high in some investment hotbeds, like the Middle East and Asia, said Jennifer Xu, head of investor relations recruitment at Selby Jennings. But overall, times have changed. "We tend to view the Rolodex as being a little bit overvalued. In today's world, no allocator will invest in a fund just because a known quantity is representing it," said Lisa Steele, a partner at recruiting firm BraddockMatthewsBarrett. Recruiters said clients are looking for fundraisers with a proven ability to run a good sales process, keep track of outbounds to new investors, and continuously develop a new pipeline of potential investors. In other words, people who can sell to investors and win meetings without a preexisting relationship. "This is not rocket science, but it is a process," Steele said, adding, "The sales process in institutional fundraising is very long, and somebody has to be comfortable and thrive in that process." Private wealth "army" As institutional fundraising dries up, more private equity firms are launching products they can sell to high-net-worth individuals — a trend started by Blackstone in 2017. Jensen Partners' data shows that demand for professionals who can sell alternative investments to private wealth channels jumped 40% last year over 2023. Selling to wealthy people is different from institutional fundraising. These products often need to be greenlit at the firm level before fundraisers can even begin persuading individual wealth advisors to pitch them to their clients. Both Steele and Jensen said it can take an "army" of fundraisers to be successful. As with institutional fundraisers, firms are looking for professionals with proven experience and comfort with the process, which tends to move more quickly than institutional fundraising. "In private wealth, you're in a world where they're executing and closing much more quickly," Steele said. Some firms are adopting a sales model popular among traditional asset managers: the external/internal approach, Steele said. In this setup, externals handle field sales, while internals support from the office, including by supplying key sales information to the externals. Talk like an investor Investor relations professionals are in high demand because they play a key role in fundraising. Once the investor is onboarded, they take over the relationship, keeping fund investors, known as LPs or limited partners, informed. The right IR team can mean the difference between a bigger check at the next fundraising round — or no check at all, recruiters said. The job is increasingly demanding, said Anthony Keizner, cofounder of Odyssey. "LPs want more frequent updates about their investments as they answer to their own stakeholders," Keizner said, adding, "they might want to know, for example, the effects on their investment from macro environment changes like tariff policies or a Fed rate cut." Jensen said she is also seeing demand for professionals who work with investors at the capital formation stage, making sure investments are structured to the LPs' liking and acting as a de-facto portfolio manager. She referred to them as strategic account development or strategic partnership professionals and said they tend to be senior executives with deft communication skills, acting as translators between their investment team and the LP. "From an LP's perspective, you need a point of contact that can sit and talk toe-to-toe with the CIO," Jensen said. "They need to know exactly what risks the CIO is prepared to take on the platform, and communicate how they should structure investments around their portfolio." Transferable skills Recruiters said their clients are looking for sure bets — or what Xu called "someone who's plug-and-play." Given the rising demand for these roles, however, some employers have become increasingly open to candidates with transferable skills and experiences. "You might have sat on the investment side, decided you have the DNA of a salesperson, and made the pivot," Jensen said. People with backgrounds in consulting have also been known to make the pivot, she said. On the private wealth side, firms have considered candidates in sales roles at traditional asset managers, Steele said. "One benefit is that they have highly rigorous training, which is hard to find in alternatives sales," Steele said. Some firms are responding to the talent shortage by building their own in-house programs to train entry-level workers. "In recent years, there's been more of an effort to train entry-level investor relations professionals," Xu said. Entry-level fundraising jobs are few and far between. Xu said firms that hire at this level tend to task those staffers with preparing presentations, running data, and providing behind-the-scenes support. Find your niche Recruiters said specialization is increasingly in demand, especially at large firms looking to raise money for distinct investment strategies, such as private credit, infrastructure, or private equity secondaries. Xu said even the specialists are becoming more niche, with private credit specialists narrowing their focus to areas such as asset-backed finance or direct lending. It could also mean having expertise in a specific style of LP, like insurance. One in-demand role is a head of insurance to help usher more insurance capital, especially for credit funds that use that money to make loans. "When a private equity firm decides that they're going to develop a credit business, they're most likely going to hire a person or team that's focused on credit fundraising," said Bill Matthews, partner at BraddockMatthewsBarrett. "The generalist model doesn't work so well when you're developing different business models."
Business Insider
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino couldn't turn Elon Musk's business around — because of Elon Musk
Linda Yaccarino took an impossible job. And she failed at it. That's my tweet-length summary of Yaccarino's two-year run at Twitter/X, which she announced via her own Twitter post Wednesday. The longer version of my analysis isn't much longer. In 2023, Elon Musk brought on Linda Yaccarino to fix his ad business, which he himself had broken after buying Twitter in 2022. And as long as Elon Musk owns Twitter, no one can fix his ad business: It's not big enough to be a must-buy for most advertisers, and his ownership generates potential headaches for any advertiser who thinks about investing money there. It's easier to ignore it, which is what most advertisers do. Rather than enumerate all of Musk's erratic approaches to advertising sales — No. 1 on the list, of course, remains his famous "go fuck yourself" pitch back in 2023 — let me sum it up this way: For years, Elon Musk was told that if he just toned down his behavior on his platform, he might have an easier time getting reputation-conscious brands to spend money with him. Instead, he sued them. But earlier this year, faced with the prospect that his behavior was tanking sales at Tesla — the company that's made him the richest man in the world — he at least made gestures to respond, telling anyone who would listen that he was going to spend less time on politics and more time running the automaker. (Whether he'll follow through is another matter.) That is: If Musk really wanted to make Twitter an ad business, he could have tried. Instead, he kept on doing what he was doing and hoped Yaccarino could clean up his mess. "Elon found the requests and requirements to get advertisers back to be tedious," says Lou Paskalis, an ad industry veteran who now works as a consultant via his AJL Advisory business. "But if he wants to understand why advertisers haven't returned, he should look in the mirror." I asked X for comment, but haven't heard back. Whether Yaccarino could have done better is a different question. At times, she seemed to channel her new bosses' penchant for fighting with enemies real and imagined — like her bizarre onstage appearance at the Code Conference in 2023. At other times, she seemed committed to using her Rolodex to work with big brands that would still do business with Twitter, like the NFL. You can also debate whether she should have taken the job at all. Remember that Musk essentially announced her hire while she was still at her old job, running ad sales at NBCUniversal, which forced her out right before a crucial sales event. If that's how your new boss treats you before you start your new gig, imagine what it's going to be like when you're actually employed there? In retrospect, it seems clear that Musk himself has grown tired of even pretending that Twitter will make real money from advertising. While Yaccarino described her tenure there as a "historic business turnaround," documents the company sent to investors this year suggest that, at best, the company was generating operating profits similar to what it had earned before Musk's takeover — but that ad revenue was still way down since his purchase. But the people who gave Musk money this year didn't really care about its ad business, either — they were interested in Twitter's relationship with xAI, Musk's OpenAI competitor. That became even clearer in March, when Musk announced that xAI had "bought" Twitter. From an investor's perspective, it's a no-brainer: Who cares about the fortunes of a subscale social media platform, compared to the upside of a Musk-owned AI company during an AI boom? That deal may also explain why Musk had almost nothing to say in response to Yaccarino's departure post, beyond a pro forma " thank you for your contributions" response. He's moved on. Now she has, too.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kim Kardashian Dubs Friend Lauren Sanchez 'Legendary' In Venice Wedding Review
Kim Kardashian is still over the moon about her pal Lauren Sanchez's fairytale wedding! "The Kardashians" star publicly showered praise on her friend for pulling out all the stops to throw a beyond-fancy ceremony for herself and also give her guests a good time. Kim Kardashian and several members of her family, including Kris Jenner, were present in Venice to witness Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos say their vows. The mogul shared her version of events, high on the excitement of her elaborate Venice wedding, on her Instagram Story. It is not news that the reality star and Sanchez have maintained a close friendship for about two years. Kardashian uploaded a pic of her pal from her Vogue cover shoot and captioned it "LEGENDARY." The picture featured the new bride leaning by the window, staring into space, with her lace veil hanging down. The second slide was an image of Sanchez on the front cover of the editorial with her gorgeous wedding gown on full display. Kardashian could not hide her excitement as she wrote: "What a beautiful bride you are @laurensanchezbezos!!! We all cried watching you walk down the aisle in pure bliss!" Kardashian added in the next slide that the forest where Sanchez exchanged her vows was magical, but their love was undeniable, which was why they all enjoyed their friends' unwavering support for the day. "Forever rooting for the happiest couple! You deserve it all," the reality star concluded and tagged their individual social media handles. Kardashian and Sanchez's friendship has transitioned into more than just a Hollywood connection. According to The Daily Mail, a source revealed that the reality star adores Sanchez because she does not try to overshadow her and always compliments Kardashian at every opportunity. She also reportedly enjoys the fact that Sanchez is content in her own world and has not tried becoming a reality star, actress, or business mogul like the SKIMS founder. The 55-year-old also reportedly puts her excellent networking skills to use and is always ready to pull a string or two for her friend, another trait Kardashian is a huge fan of. "And because Lauren is engaged to Jeff Bezos, she has so very major contacts, she has a massive Rolodex, her phone contact list is off the charts. She can call just about anyone up," the source disclosed back in March. The journalist also has a very cordial friendship with Kris Jenner and never fails to run helpful ideas by her, born out of respect and mutual admiration. Another fun fact is that the ladies have just a slight difference in their height. When the SKIMS founder clocked 44 last October, Sanchez was there to celebrate her. The licensed pilot took to Instagram to tell anyone who cared to listen that Kardashian never fails to light up any room she enters. Sanchez and Kardashian have also vacationed in Europe together, having the best time on Bezos' multi-million-dollar yacht. Kardashian was spotted chilling alongside Sanchez and Bezos at Chanel's 16th Annual Pre-Oscar Awards Dinner in March. The duo reportedly chatted deep into the night, as if they had known each other for years, at the Beverly Hills Hotel, which hosted the event. Last September, Kim and Sanchez celebrated the launch of her new book together. More members of her family, including Khloé Kardashian, Kris, also graced the occasion. Aside from Kardashian and her family, Sanchez also shares close relationships with other iconic figures in the entertainment industry. According to PEOPLE, Katy Perry and her alleged former fiancé are top of their list of their closest friends. The party of four even took a trip to Croatia and Italy on Bezos' half-a-billion-dollar luxury yacht. Perry joined Sanchez, Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, and others in April for a history-making all-female space trip on Bezos' Blue Origin rocket. The "Roar" singer was also present at the journalist's bachelorette party in Paris. She is also good friends with model Brooks Nader, and they have been spotted grabbing dinner multiple times in 2024. Sanchez and Jennifer Lopez are also very good friends, and she has admitted to looking up to the singer for fashion inspiration. Nicky, Kathy, and Paris Hilton are listed among Sanchez's friends, with Kathy attending her book launch in 2024. Sanchez is equally great friends with Ivanka Trump, who attended her recent wedding in Venice. Eva Longoria, Miranda Kerr, Jessica Alba, Nina García, and Jessica Seinfeld are all new members of Mrs. Bezos' close circle. The iconic couple spared no expense in making their day feel like something out of a storybook. As reported by USA TODAY, the multi-day wedding ceremonies reportedly cost around $50 million. While the actual cost has not been disclosed, the Venice regional governor noted that an impromptu venue change increased the price from approximately $34 million to around $55 million. The Amazon founder and his wife began dating six years ago after jointly separating from their partners the same year. Bezos reportedly proposed to the journalist in 2023 during a trip on his luxury yacht. Now that they are married, they have become a blended family of nine, with seven children between them: three from Sanchez and four from Bezos' previous marriage to MacKenzie Scott. Kim Kardashian sure had a time at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's wedding!
Montreal Gazette
30-06-2025
- Business
- Montreal Gazette
Jack Todd: Canadiens' brain trust reshapes Montreal as a desirable NHL destination
Montreal Canadiens By Special to the Montreal Gazette Sorry, Leo Durocher. Nice guys don't always finish last. Sometimes, they lead the pack. It happened this past weekend, when the Canadiens management duo of Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes created the biggest splash of draft day by extracting the services of Noah Dobson from Mathieu Darche and the New York Islanders. The team called HuGo doesn't go into negotiations trying to fleece the opposition. They try to arrive at a fair deal for all parties — and it worked. Yes, Dobson grew up a Habs fan. Yes, he loves playing at the Bell Centre. But it's a lead-pipe cinch that if Pierre Gauthier was still GM of the Canadiens, Dobson is not on his way to Montreal. (Gauthier, if you recall, responded to some criticism of the team from Michael Cammalleri by yanking him off the ice in Boston to trade him to the Calgary Flames — then telling Cammalleri he had to pay for his game jersey if he wanted it back. Such stunts get noticed around the league.) Fans have plenty to say about their teams. Ditto journalists. But no comment on the success of the rebuild in Montreal is as important (or as revealing) as what Dobson said after the deal was concluded. 'Just the opportunity to be part of the Montreal Canadiens, it's an honour,' Dobson said. 'It's the best hockey market in the world. The fans are incredible. I love playing at the Bell Centre. Just also the group of players they have already and the talent they have on the team and what they've been building, I'm just super-excited to join that group and add to it. I'm excited what we can do down the road here in the future.' Sure, players usually say nice things about teams that are about to hand them US$76 million — but Dobson took less than he would have gotten elsewhere in order to play here. Not only is that important for this signing, it's a blueprint for the Canadiens going forward. If a player wants sunshine, low taxes, relative anonymity and he's willing to overlook ICE thugs and handguns, Florida or Texas is the place for him. If he wants rabid fans, the greatest tradition in the game, a year-round focus on hockey and a team that is upward bound, Gorton and Hughes have done what they can to make Montreal a desirable destination. Sometimes, nice guys finish first. Let's hit that Rolodex: Social media is always a delight during the draft/free agency stretch in the summer, when fans go berserk debating the merits of various players the Habs absolutely must acquire. With Dobson shoring up one spot in the lineup (and then some) that left the much-discussed 2C position to fill. Most of you are probably too young to remember the stately Rolodex. It contained a card file with the numbers of all your contacts and you turned a knob on the side to flip through it when you were looking for someone's phone number or trying to look busy when the boss walked by. That rectangle you carry in your pocket put an end to the Rolodex along with so much else — but if fans had a Rolodex listing every forward in the NHL, they would have worked their way through a good part of it during the weekend. One by one, names were bandied and dropped. Sam Bennett, of course, stayed with the Panthers. Claude Giroux (mercifully) did the same in Ottawa. Vincent Trocheck is still out there, but he's small, right-handed and pricey. Even Evgeny Kuznetsov made the list. Talented centreman, or was, but he's 33 and he spent this past season in Russia with SKA St. Petersburg after a couple of seasons of declining production with the Capitals. Kuznetsov does have some things going for him. He wants back into the league, he's a lefty shot — and he is thoroughly acquainted with a young winger named Ivan Demidov. More in keeping with the Canadiens' template, the club also moved to acquire young Russian forward Alexander Zharovsky by moving up in the draft to snatch a player they would have drafted higher had they held on to the 16th and 17th picks. Zharovsky, too, has history with Demidov and he's young enough to fit the mold. Heroes: Noah Dobson, Marie-Philip Poulin, Jonathan David, Dave Parker, Lando Norris, Kirsty Coventry, Martin Lapointe, Nick Bobrov, Jeff Gorton &&&& last but not least, Kent Hughes — man of the hour. Zeros: The awkward, cringy NHL draft show, Victor Montagliani, Jeff Bezos, Wander Franco, Justin Tucker, Malik Beasley, Wayne Gretzky, Bud Selig Jr., Claude Brochu, David Samson &&&& last but not least, Jeffrey Loria. Now and forever.
Vancouver Sun
30-06-2025
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
Jack Todd: Canadiens' brain trust reshapes Montreal as a desirable NHL destination
Sorry, Leo Durocher. Nice guys don't always finish last. Sometimes, they lead the pack. It happened this past weekend, when the Canadiens management duo of Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes created the biggest splash of draft day by extracting the services of Noah Dobson from Mathieu Darche and the New York Islanders. The team called HuGo doesn't go into negotiations trying to fleece the opposition. They try to arrive at a fair deal for all parties — and it worked. Yes, Dobson grew up a Habs fan. Yes, he loves playing at the Bell Centre. But it's a lead-pipe cinch that if Pierre Gauthier was still GM of the Canadiens, Dobson is not on his way to Montreal. (Gauthier, if you recall, responded to some criticism of the team from Michael Cammalleri by yanking him off the ice in Boston to trade him to the Calgary Flames — then telling Cammalleri he had to pay for his game jersey if he wanted it back. Such stunts get noticed around the league.) Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Fans have plenty to say about their teams. Ditto journalists. But no comment on the success of the rebuild in Montreal is as important (or as revealing) as what Dobson said after the deal was concluded. 'Just the opportunity to be part of the Montreal Canadiens, it's an honour,' Dobson said. 'It's the best hockey market in the world. The fans are incredible. I love playing at the Bell Centre. Just also the group of players they have already and the talent they have on the team and what they've been building, I'm just super-excited to join that group and add to it. I'm excited what we can do down the road here in the future.' Sure, players usually say nice things about teams that are about to hand them US$76 million — but Dobson took less than he would have gotten elsewhere in order to play here. Not only is that important for this signing, it's a blueprint for the Canadiens going forward. If a player wants sunshine, low taxes, relative anonymity and he's willing to overlook ICE thugs and handguns, Florida or Texas is the place for him. If he wants rabid fans, the greatest tradition in the game, a year-round focus on hockey and a team that is upward bound, Gorton and Hughes have done what they can to make Montreal a desirable destination. Sometimes, nice guys finish first. Let's hit that Rolodex: Social media is always a delight during the draft/free agency stretch in the summer, when fans go berserk debating the merits of various players the Habs absolutely must acquire. With Dobson shoring up one spot in the lineup (and then some) that left the much-discussed 2C position to fill. Most of you are probably too young to remember the stately Rolodex. It contained a card file with the numbers of all your contacts and you turned a knob on the side to flip through it when you were looking for someone's phone number or trying to look busy when the boss walked by. That rectangle you carry in your pocket put an end to the Rolodex along with so much else — but if fans had a Rolodex listing every forward in the NHL, they would have worked their way through a good part of it during the weekend. One by one, names were bandied and dropped. Sam Bennett, of course, stayed with the Panthers. Claude Giroux (mercifully) did the same in Ottawa. Vincent Trocheck is still out there, but he's small, right-handed and pricey. Even Evgeny Kuznetsov made the list. Talented centreman, or was, but he's 33 and he spent this past season in Russia with SKA St. Petersburg after a couple of seasons of declining production with the Capitals. Kuznetsov does have some things going for him. He wants back into the league, he's a lefty shot — and he is thoroughly acquainted with a young winger named Ivan Demidov. More in keeping with the Canadiens' template, the club also moved to acquire young Russian forward Alexander Zharovsky by moving up in the draft to snatch a player they would have drafted higher had they held on to the 16th and 17th picks. Zharovsky, too, has history with Demidov and he's young enough to fit the mold. Heroes: Noah Dobson, Marie-Philip Poulin, Jonathan David, Dave Parker, Lando Norris, Kirsty Coventry, Martin Lapointe, Nick Bobrov, Jeff Gorton &&&& last but not least, Kent Hughes — man of the hour. Zeros: The awkward, cringy NHL draft show, Victor Montagliani, Jeff Bezos, Wander Franco, Justin Tucker, Malik Beasley, Wayne Gretzky, Bud Selig Jr., Claude Brochu, David Samson &&&& last but not least, Jeffrey Loria. Now and forever. @
