The Private Equity Podcast, by Raw Selection
Hosted by Alex Rawlings, Managing Partner of Raw Selection, a specialist executive search firm. Join us as we interview the leading experts in Private Equity, unlocking their secrets of success to share with you.
Discover how some of the top Private Equity professionals got into Private Equity, how they rose to success and learn about some of the mistakes they made along the way.
Alex has strong connections to the Private Equity industry through his executive search firm, Raw Selection, which specialises in working with Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies across Europe and North America. Alex is straight talking and to the point and aims to unlock real gold you can build into your firm or portfolio companies. Find out more at www.raw-selection.com
Episodes
215 episodes
From Warby Parker to Diapers.com: David Bell on Consumer Brand Success
In this episode of The Private Equity Podcast, Alex Rawlings speaks with David Bell, former Wharton Professor of Marketing and early-stage investor in consumer companies including Diapers.com, Warby Parker, Harry’s and Jet.com. David shares wha...
Are law firms ripe for Private Equity investment
In this episode, Alex Rawlings speaks with Adil Taha, a private equity operator specialising in the UK legal sector. They explore why private equity has struggled to scale law firms, the challenges of buy-and-build strategies, and why many lega...
Why Most PE-Backed Companies Are Invisible to AI Search
In this episode, Alex Rawlings speaks with Shiv Narayanan, CEO of How to SaaS, about how private equity firms can use marketing and AI as value creation levers. They discuss why many B2B companies underinvest in marketing, how AI is changing bu...
How to manage the priorities between the executive team and the investor
In this episode of the Raw Selection Private Equity Podcast, Alex Rawlings speaks with Christina Haxton about the relationship between private equity firms and portfolio company leadership teams.They discuss how trust, communication, al...
The Hidden Mistakes Killing PE Value (And How to Fix Them)
Episode Summary Paul Brennan, PE-backed CFO, shares lessons from exiting Lindsay Precast (sold to The Jordan Company), covering exit prep, value creation, and integration.⏱️ Key Timestamps00:00 – Intro & Backgrou...
From Founder to Three Exits Building a Services Company and Selling to Private Equity
In this episode, Alex Rawlings speaks with Robert Irving, CEO of Buffalo Growth Partners. Robert shares his journey from building and selling a fire & life safety business to scaling within private equity and launching his own independent s...
A different approach to Private Equity with Michael Arrieta
Guest: Michael Arietta Host: Alex Rawlings🕒 Key Timestamps00:00 – Intro Overview of Garden City Equity’s long-term, people-first model.00:40 – Biggest PE Mistake Short-term thinking (...
How to Drive Organic Growth in a Private Equity Backed Company
Alex Rawlings speaks with Nigel Green on why private equity firms struggle with organic growth and how better hiring, faster execution, and customer focus can unlock value.⏱️ Timestamps & Key Takeaways00:00 – Introduction
How to Double EBITDA in 3 Years The Multi-Unit Retail Playbook
Alex Rawlings speaks with Jeff Helfgott, CEO of Boardroom Salon, about scaling PE-backed multi-unit businesses. They discuss talent strategy, retention, resilience, and how to turn operational fixes into sustainable growth.⏱️ Key Timesta...
The investing strategy in the franchising and multi-unit retail sector
Mike Esposito shares his journey from a 30-year career at Goldman Sachs to co-founding Franchise Equity Partners, highlighting their differentiated approach to private equity through franchising and multi-unit retail investing.⏱️ Key Tim...
Mastery of the Psychology of Change & Transformation
Guest: Meg Pogue, Founder, Mission SquaredHost: Alex RawlingsMeg Pogue joins Alex to discuss the psychology behind change in private equity-backed businesses. A former CEO who scaled her company from 2 to 95 e...
Scaling a Home Services Business
Guest: David Williams, CEO, Advantage Services Group (ASG) Host: Alex RawlingsDavid Williams joins Alex to share how he transitioned from consulting into entrepreneurship through acquisition — and scaled a home services...
Balance Sheet First Investing Like an Operator, Not Traditional PE
In this episode, Alex Rawlings speaks with Andrew Sachs, Founder of Mauloa, about why he believes the traditional private equity model is fundamentally flawed — and what a long-term alternative looks like.After starting his...
The lessons from Formula 1 to 22 acquisitions by a Private Equity-backed CTO
In this episode, Alex sits down with Peter Rossi, a UK-based CTO with 25+ years in technology and 15 years in commercial leadership. From running trackside IT at McLaren to leading 22 acquisitions in a PE-backed group, Peter shares hard-...
What Two PE Exits Taught James About Winning as a CFO
In this episode, host Alex Rawlings welcomes James Carver, a seasoned CFO with two private equity-backed exits under his belt. James shares his unique journey from the trading desk to executive leadership, and unpacks valuable les...
Learnings from a $1BN+ exit and 300 investments in Private Equity
Episode Overview:In this episode, Alex Rawlings speaks with Richard Fitzgerald of CapitalSpring, a private equity firm specializing in foodservice and multi-location consumer businesses. Richard shares insights into CapitalSpring’...
Building a Value Creation Machine & Scaling a Private Equity Firm
🎧 Episode Summary: In this episode, Alex Rawlings speaks with Chris Sznewajs of Pacific Avenue Capital Partners about building a private equity firm focused on complex corporate carve-outs and businesses owned by “unnatural owners.” ...
How private equity firm THL is winning with AI implementation
In this episode, Alex Rawlings is joined by Alex Sabel, Vice President at THL Partners, to explore how the firm is embracing AI across its operations and portfolio. Alex leads THL’s research function and AI strategy,...
Emerging markets investing in the consumer & retail sector
In this episode, Giovanni Zangani joins Alex Rawlings to share insights from operating in Vietnam’s emerging private equity landscape. As Managing Partner at Maestro Equity Partners, Giovanni discusses the firm’s hands-on a...
The 5 step playbook assessment on business leadership effectiveness
In this episode, Sam and Taavo from CEO Advantage return to dive into the 5X CEO Assessment—a diagnostic tool developed from two years of research into top-performing private equity-backed CEOs who delivered 5x+ MOIC.The conversat...
How Private equity Firm Council Capital Approach Value Creation
In this episode, Alex Rawlings is joined by Tim Schulte, Value Creation Partner at Council Capital, a Nashville-based private equity firm investing in healthcare businesses across tech-enabled services, outsourced services, and pr...
Private Equity market trends and investing techniques
🎧 Guest: Maxwell Nee – Chairman, Family Office Insider & Managing Partner, Black Mountain Capital🌍 Episode Theme: 10X Deals, Market Gaps & Global InvestingIn this episode, Alex Rawlings is joined by Maxwell Nee ...
The journey from $140M to a $1Bn Valuation and a stage 4 cancer victory
In this powerful episode, Marc Adams shares his remarkable journey from a stage 4 cancer diagnosis to a full recovery—and how that experience inspired him to rethink private equity. Now leading Acquisitions for You, Marc helps bus...