Profile
16 May 2022
5 minutes with… DealsPlus
We caught up with founder Venkat Subramaniam to discuss how the platform is standardising deal closing and investment management processes
12 May 2022
Profile: Susan Wilkins, Actis
The COO discusses her pathway from Actis portfolio company to the GP, taking over management of Abraaj funds and her role as a member of the inclusion & diversity committee
5 May 2022
Profile: Razzak Akbar, Freshstream
The CFO discusses Freshstream’s spinout from Bregal, the ongoing relationship between the two firms and setting up the Dutch office
29 April 2022
5 minutes with… +SUBSCRIBE
+SUBSCRIBE’s Rafay Farooqui talks us through the platform’s onboarding and subscription document processing capabilities
20 April 2022
Techwork 2022: Juri Pervjakov, BaltCap
“With increasing workloads, we’ve had to consider the new role of the back office, how to streamline processes and automate workflows"
14 April 2022
Techwork 2022: Peter Tucker, IK Partners
“Running an IT department for almost 200 users (and growing), requires all areas of the IT service to evolve with the business”
14 April 2022
Techwork 2022: Lyndon Arnold, Triton Partners
“The ultimate objective is to use technology to improve manual processes and facilitate growth in every area, from capital raising through to investment activity”
13 April 2022
Techwork 2022: Mark Gully, InvestIndustrial
"In addition to our digital transformation programme there are a number of innovative ideas being explored that, once they come to fruition, will make an impact across the PE industry. Watch this space!”
12 April 2022
Techwork 2022: Victor Davies, Bregal Investments
“We want to build in more automation and use data in a more intelligent way to make decisions, across our IT and investment teams.”
11 April 2022
Techwork 2022: Adrian King, Pollen Street Capital
“We want to streamline our processes and the way we communicate with our key stakeholders, to enable us to scale deals and AUM efficiently”
8 April 2022
Techwork 2022: Frédéric de Frésart, Argos Wityu
"Our IT infrastructure has evolved into a single hybrid network. Everyone uses and shares the same tools. That has been a huge evolution for our employees because it completely changed the way we work"
7 April 2022
Techwork 2022: Hind el Gaidi, Astorg
“Our ultimate aim is to capture the full value chain. From fundraising right the way through to exits, we want to ensure we have best of breed systems in place that will help us to ensure every part of the process is going well.”
6 April 2022
Techwork 2022: Patrick Gloor, Montana Capital Partners
“The most important part of my work was and still is, constantly improving cyber security while maintaining the flexibility needed by our employees.”
5 April 2022
Techwork 2022: Marc Boullier, PAI Partners
“I want to digitalise deal sourcing, taking into consideration finance, ESG and procurement”
4 April 2022
Techwork 2022: Neil Hendricks, Hg
“We encourage a feedback culture, so people can tell us what is working, what isn’t and what helps with their day jobs. That’s the best way to ensure our technology is constantly fit for purpose”
4 April 2022
Techwork 2022: Ash Patel, ECI Partners
“Some of my main achievements for the firm include outsourcing our IT services to a managed service provider (MSP) so I can put a greater focus on the strategy and governance part of IT"
31 March 2022
Profile: Kristy Trieste, Motive Partners
The CFO & chief compliance officer discusses being a founding partner, plans for the compliance function going forward, as well as how she interacts with IR
18 March 2022
5 minutes with… Birchstone Markets
We caught up with Devonshi Mody and James Arnold of Birchstone to find out about their connected treasury offering.
11 March 2022
5 minutes with… Derivative Path
Brett Morrell & Ciccy Yang discuss how the technology-focused business supports private equity risk management
10 March 2022
Profile: Devin Glenn, Blackstone
The managing director, global head of diversity, equity & inclusion discusses how Blackstone collects and measures DEI metrics, where DEI sits within the firm and what she's achieved so far
7 March 2022
5 minutes with… Monel Amin, DiligenceVault
“One of the biggest friction points we see is the lack of standardisation. Diligence standards have emerged, but adoption remains sub-scale.”
28 February 2022
Profile: Richard Drover, Apis Partners
The CFO discusses his responsibilities outside the finance function, his 100-day plan of action to improve and enhance Apis' processes as well as the challenges of joining a new firm
21 February 2022
5 minutes with… Global Regulatory Surveillance Services
We caught up with Joe Vittoria and Sarah Donnelly of GRSS to find out about the new firm and its surveillance system offering for regulated businesses
17 February 2022
5 minutes with… Wissem Souissi, Diligend
“When huge amounts of data sit in files, there’s not a lot you can do with it. But if the data is centralised and digitised, you can slice, dice and extract incredible insights from it.”
17 February 2022
Profile: James Harper, Apposite Capital
The CFO discusses why he has taken over the IR function, what processes and frameworks he's put in place since joining, as well as how the firm's bespoke DD for ESG differs from their peers
16 February 2022
5 minutes with…. Untap
We caught up with new tech player Untap, which brings together portfolio monitoring, value creation strategy and ESG capabilities to bring about tech enabled portfolio management
14 February 2022
5 minutes with… Mark Coppin, Standish Management UK
“It’s not just about having a relationship manager, it’s about knowing the intricacies of each other's preferences, styles and ways of working, to get the best experience and standard of service possible.”
7 February 2022
5 minutes with… Entrilia
“We believe no operational model should feel locked out from its richest source of internal data, outsourced or not.” - Eric Faw
24 January 2022
Profile: Bart Elema, Waterland Private Equity
The partner, CFO & risk officer discusses how his role and responsibilities have evolved over nearly two decades, why Waterland domiciles its funds in the Netherlands, as well as securing the firm's first ESG equity bridge facility
13 January 2022
Profile: James Yates, IK Partners
The CFO & managing partner discusses how the firm has professionalised and institutionalised its processes, his thoughts on Luxembourg as a domicile as well as his hopes for IK's operational functions in the future
22 December 2021
High profile collection
Selection of The Drawdown’s favourite profiles with key operational professionals in 2021
20 December 2021
Technology: Innovation winner 2021: Canoe Intelligence
The Drawdown caught up with Mike Muniz of Canoe Intelligence, following their victory at The Drawdown Awards 2021
15 December 2021
5 minutes with… Novata
CEO Alex Friedman: “Ultimately, you can develop the world’s best product, but if people don’t find it easy to use, it won’t serve society very well. A simple, intuitive user interface is a big focus for us.”
14 December 2021
5 minutes with… Exchangelodge
We caught up with Ian Rubenstein from Exchangelodge to find out what makes the company different from other data technology providers in the private capital markets space
3 December 2021
5 minutes with… No Limit Capital
Co-founders of No Limit Capital, Neno Raic and Slade Spalding, discuss why they set up the fund finance lender and what makes them different from traditional banks
18 November 2021
Profile: Richard Burrett, Earth Capital
The chief sustainability officer discusses the firm's proprietary tool, Earth Dividend, challenges around certifying as a Guernsey Green Fund as well as what he thinks of the FCA's proposed climate-related disclosures
15 November 2021
5 minutes with… Stephen Millard, Included VC
“If organisations do not have high permission, high trust or are not open and conscious to allowing their employees to be their true selves, nothing will change.”
10 November 2021
5 minutes with… Rory Smith, Brickfield
Founder of Brickfield Recruitment, Rory Smith, discusses his journey into fund finance and why it’s such a special market to work in
28 October 2021
Profile: Jon Fredrik Vassengen, Argentum
The manager and compliance officer discusses how the fund-of-fund determines ESG criteria and the challenges of collecting quantitative ESG data
11 October 2021
Profile: Sam Marsh, Alpha
The senior partner discusses the firm's newly-launched global accounts solution, aimed at bringing efficiencies when setting up international business accounts and SPVs
28 September 2021
5 minutes with… Michel Geolier, Betterfront Technologies
“We enable GPs to lead with their story, to present their track record to prospective LPs, which then gives them the chance to look through the data to understand what sets this GP apart from its competition.”
27 September 2021
Profile: Hina Ahmad, Capital Dynamics
The COO discusses moving from the legal and compliance team to her current role, how the team has leveraged technology to keep up with rapid growth, as well as plans for evolving the firm's pandemic sub-committees
20 September 2021
Profile: Frédéric de Frésart, Argos Wityu
The chief information officer discusses the firm's digital transformation, key considerations to ensure security isn't breached for hybrid working models as well as why blockchain is one to watch
9 September 2021
Profile: Stella Morse, Inverleith
The CFO discusses joining the private equity firm from the consumer world, what she thinks of the latest ESG regulations and setting up Inverleith's first institutional fund
26 August 2021
5 minutes with… Antoine Sage, PE Cube
“A typical buyout fund, for example, with 50 LPs and 10 portfolio companies generates around 10,000 documents during its lifespan, which equates to about 40,000 emails. Managers need a dedicated tool to manage this quantity of information.”
17 August 2021
5 minutes with… Neil Carnegie, Carnegie Fund Services
"While other fund administrators might get caught up in the consolidation trend, we’ve never made an acquisition. We’ve been asked to sell, but so far we’ve resisted."
4 August 2021
5 minutes with… Danielle Lawrence, Freyda
“I think improved reporting and transparency is becoming table stakes for the industry. You’re expected to have appropriate technology and great processes in place which allow your organisation to focus on high impact work.”
22 July 2021
Profile: Feizal Moossa, Adenia Partners
The chief risk officer discusses the importance of his role within private equity, how his responsibilities have evolved since joining Adenia in 2003 as well as operating without an in-house legal team
15 July 2021
Profile: Elizabeth Seeger, KKR
The managing director, sustainable investing recalls being the first ESG-specific professional in the industry, how KKR's ESG processes have evolved since she joined as well as her involvement with SASB and UN PRI
12 July 2021
5 minutes with… David Nable, Arcesium
“Often, sophisticated managers have heir-loom Excel spreadsheets, which have been passed down from controller to controller over the years.”
24 June 2021
Profile: Jonathan Pugh-Smith, Bregal Investments
The general counsel of funds discusses why he joined the firm, the diversification of Bregal's LP base and the ongoing challenges around regulations
3 June 2021
Profile: Rebecca Noyes, Alderwood Capital
The CFO discusses joining the newly-launched firm, the perks of having no legacy issues as well as Alderwood's core beliefs and growth plans
28 May 2021
5 minutes with… Simon Page, Hawksford
"We’ve had the benefit of learning from the mistakes other firms have made."
27 May 2021
Profile: Paul Yett, Hamilton Lane
The director of ESG & sustainability discusses the evolution of the firm's ESG processes, setting up its DE&I council and why diversity is important to him on a personal level
13 May 2021
Profile: Sedef Köktentürk, Blue Horizon
The managing partner & COO discusses upgrading the impact investor's technology and processes, how the niche strategy impacts her role, and how being an Olympic athlete taught her the value of collaboration and cooperation to achieve goals
11 May 2021
5 minutes with… Mike Muniz, Canoe Intelligence
The chief revenue officer explains what the software does, how the business came about and technology upgrade plans for the future
5 May 2021
5 minutes with… James Tedman, ACA Aponix
Tedman discusses the biggest cyber security changes in PE in the last five years, the firm’s ACA Protect and PortCo Defend products, and what’s in store for the next 12 months
30 April 2021
5 minutes with… Robin de Gruchy-Wilson, Oakbridge Fund Services
The co-founder & managing director discusses the firm’s key focuses, how it secured backing from ED Group as well as technology and platforms it currently uses
29 April 2021
The Techwork: Christopher Conradi, FSN Capital Partners
"Technology is personal - let people pick the phone they want, the laptop they want and the software tools they want."
28 April 2021
The Techwork: Simon Andersen, 3i
“Today, digitalisation is at the heart of 3i’s investment strategy and operating model."