The Great Promotion, workforce management, and insights from Monroe's Zia Uddin

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The Wire

Jan. 6, 2022

The Great Promotion, workforce management, and insights from Monroe's Zia Uddin

Good morning, Hubsters. MK Flynn here with today’s Wire.

Onward and upward. As I settle into my new role as the editor-in-chief of PE Hub, I’m reminded I’m not the only one with a new job! It’s a busy week for new hires and promotions. Over the last couple of days, we’ve seen several private equity firms announce promotions: Berkshire Partners named five new managing directors; Thoma Bravo promoted seven principals to partner; HCI Equity Partners promoted four dealmakers; and TA Associates promoted 14 investors. Visit our website for ongoing covering of people moves.

While the popular catchphrase “the Great Resignation” isn’t really an accurate description of what’s happening in the job market, I think we can all agree that workforce management will play a vital role in private equity this year. Firms will need to work hard to recruit and nurture talent, and I expect we’ll see a wave of firms add Chief Talent Officers to lead the efforts.

Thought leaders. Our Q&A series with high-profile PE pros continues today with Zia Uddin, who was recently promoted to president of Chicago-based boutique asset manager Monroe Capital. Uddin also predicts workforce management will be an area of focus.

For more insights, see our published interviews with Pam Hendrickson, vice chairman of The Riverside Company, and David Grain, founder and CEO of Grain Management. Keep checking pehub.com for more interviews.

Also check out more 2022 forecast interviews conducted by Buyouts with five PE leaders: Joe Baratta, global head of private equity at Blackstone and a member of the firm’s board of directors; Hugh MacArthur, partner at Bain & Company and head of the firm’s global private equity practice; Brian Bernasek, managing director and co-head of US buyout and growth at Carlyle Group; Karen Frank, senior managing director and global head of equities at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan; Rajeev Amara, founder of Arcline Investment Management.

Nominations. We’re looking for your recommendations for rock star women in private equity, mostly on the deal side (which has been historically male-dominated). Deadline to get in your recs is January 17, for publication in March. Our annual Women in Private Equity project comprises 10 mini-profiles of highly regarded women in the industry and a feature story about some burning topic around the status of women in the industry. Check out our past coverage of Women in PE here. Reach Buyouts editor Chris Witkowsky with questions and recommendations at cwitkowsky@buyoutsinsider.com.

Deal of the Year: Get your nominations in now for your best exits (either full or majority) that closed in 2021. Awards are given in seven categories: overall deal of the year, large-cap, middle-market, small-cap, international, turnaround and secondaries. Deadline is Friday, Feb. 11. Send to Chris Witkowsky, private equity editor, at cwitkowsky@buyoutsinsider.com. Go here for all the rules and regs!

That’s it for this morning. I’d love to hear from you. Please send all things PE deal-related to me at mk.flynn@peimedia.com.

Until tomorrow, MK

Read the full wire commentary on PE Hub ...

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AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS Inc. are exploring a possible sale of a significant stake or all of the CW Network, which they jointly own, according to people familiar with the matter. Among the suitors is Nexstar Media Group Inc., the nation’s biggest broadcaster and a large owner of affiliates of the network, the people close to the talks said. The CW Network caters primarily to teens and young adults. (Wall Street Journal)

Drugmakers need to prioritize global access to Covid-19 vaccines and tie management pay to equitable distribution, say a group of top international investors. Asset managers Nomura, BMO and GAM are among 65 institutional investors that have written to leading pharmaceutical companies urging them “to make the global availability of vaccines part of the remuneration policy of managers and directors”. The signatories represent more than $3.5 trillion AUM. (Financial Times)