Have you ever wondered about private equity and the experience of working with private equity? What do private equity firms look for in businesses? What do they look for in leaders? What is their operating rhythm?

David Evans, Managing Partner at Watermark Search, has extensive experience in this area and in this episode he chats to Mark Baldassarre, a highly accomplished leader in Private Equity. Mark brings over 25 years of private equity and international banking experience. He is deeply experienced in acquiring, integrating, and growing businesses, as well as providing strategic direction to company boards and management teams. Mark has looked at hundreds of private equity deals and has invested and exited in dozens.

David and Mark have a great chat explaining what private equity is and how it works. Mark then answers some interesting questions such as:

• When looking to invest, what are the key things that you are looking for when you evaluate businesses?
• What do you look for when you're assessing these businesses and the leaders? What is the difference between a good leadership team and average leadership team?
• How have the good leaders reacted to external shocks and how have they got through the change? What are some standouts in your experience around some leaders that have navigated change?
• What are the different operating rhythms that you partner with? What do you expect from them? How involved are you in the business? What are the board meetings like?
• How do you support owner managers or leadership teams with getting the business ready for an exit?

Listen to the full podcast below to gain insights and advice for current and future leaders.