Perpetual Learning
Every investment is
different. Different sectors, different management teams, different market
conditions. Private company investing forces you to stay nimble and innovative.
You cannot simply use off-the-shelf templates to manage private equity assets.
However, experience working across many different investments with different
people and outcomes provides essential data to make good business decisions.
Wearing Many Hats
Private equity investing
combines many business disciplines into one job. MBA students are often
required to focus on one area of business. Marketing, operations, finance.
Investment professionals who are hands on, working directly with management
teams, are required to demonstrate fluency in all subjects. This keeps the job
fresh, fun, and challenging. And because an investment professional often has
numerous portfolio companies at various stages, there are multiple missions to
be executed contemporaneously.
Building Relationships
Ultimately, private
equity investing is a relationship business. Lenders, lawyers, bankers, limited
partners, and other advisors all make up the private investor’s ecosystem. And
given that building companies is a long game, all these players can play
surprising roles in advancing interests over the long term. Nurturing
relationships, making introductions, going out of your way for others to
provide advice or other information are all important aspects of the role.
About Peter:
Peter Pacelli is a Principal at Knox
Capital, where he focuses on deal sourcing and execution in the business
services industry. Prior to Knox, Peter worked at Victory Views, a
technology-enabled managed services company serving customers in the
education space.
Peter was raised in the Chicago
area. He graduated from New Trier High School before attending Yale University.
After Yale, Peter worked at Bank of America in New York before moving back to
Chicago to work at Wind Point Partners, a middle-market private equity firm.
Peter holds an MBA from The
University of Chicago Booth School of Business and is a veteran of the U.S.
Navy.
