Dry Powder: The Private Equity Podcast
Today on Dry Powder, I’m joined by an industry legend: Rob Lucas, CEO of CVC Capital Partners. What you may not have heard about Rob is that he’s also an accomplished mountaineer, having climbed the Seven Summits and K2. Fewer still have heard how those high-stakes expeditions have shaped his views on leadership, decision making, and investing.
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“When you set out on an investment,” Rob says, “the one thing you know is that it’s not going to turn out as you planned. It might be better, it might be worse, but it’s not going to be as you planned. Well, it’s exactly the same, setting foot on a mountain.”
On today’s episode, I ask Rob what mountaineering has taught him about investing, from building teams that perform under pressure to planning for the unexpected.
“You’ve got to have a group of people who, when the chips are really down and things are looking tough, can make the right calls,” he says.
We also explore how CVC’s entrepreneurial culture plays out across its regional offices, and perhaps most surprisingly, we’ll see how it has led to one of the most distinctive carry structures in the industry.
“Why wouldn’t we as an industry, why wouldn’t we as CVC, be rewarding our executives a piece of ownership through the carry structure,” Rob asks, “which means that they are going to be real beneficiaries if the business succeeds and grows, but they will also be losers and be hit financially, substantially, if that business fails?”
The Private Equity Podcast
In our podcast series, Bain's Hugh MacArthur interviews leading experts on the trends and opportunities that will redefine the private equity industry.