July 17, 2023

In July, Hunt Scanlon released its highly anticipated Private Equity Recruiting Report. This report delves into the new levers that private equity talent leaders are pulling on to unlock higher levels of leadership performance. DRI was recognized on this prestigious report on the PE Recruiting Power 100, as well as several highlighted quotes from DRI Managing Partner, Mike Silverstein.

Mike Silverstein was quoted in three parts of the private equity recruiting report. In the section titled, 'Uncertainty is the Only Certainty,' Mike said that generally macro events around the world have created a bit of a tepid environment across the VC/PE universe. “Investors are looking for strong business fundamentals in their pipeline of prospective portfolio companies,” he said. “Companies that have demonstrated product market fit, have customers, and have revenue, are in a much better place to attract investment. The firms I work with are more willing to take ‘execution risk’ vs. ‘idea risk,’ which was very common over the last couple of years. I think companies that are taking growth equity are in a better place than companies that are burning a ton of money on a monthly basis right now. Things have pivoted toward a more conservative tenor.”

In the 'State of Talent and Recruiting for the Private Equity Sector' section, Mike was quoted to say, "clients are realizing there is a bit of an opportunity to buy low(er) on some needle-moving talent. A lot of mediocre candidates did really well for themselves over the last couple of years. Right now, I think companies are seeing an opportunity to top grade on roles where they settled in the last 24 months.”

Lastly in Hunt Scanlon's section titled, "Challenges in Private Equity Recruiting," Mike said the biggest challenge in PE recruiting is perceived stability. He said, "putting the last couple years aside, the knock on PE was that they will ‘slash and burn’ their way to profitability. Over the last couple years, the ‘grow at all costs’ mindset had people looking at the upside of making a prospective career move. Job opportunities were abundant, and candidates could have their cake and eat it too. Right now, there are fewer open positions, at least it feels that way, and there is a lot of talent on the market because of layoffs. As a result, passive candidates have become far more risk averse.”

Download the Hunt Scanlon Private Equity Recruiting report here.