WEBVTT

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Steve, welcome.

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You've been in private equity
for some time now.

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How's the industry changed in
all those years?

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Yeah, I'm one of the original
people in the field.

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I came to New York in 1981 when
the 10-year treasury was 15.8%,

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and there were only 20 private
equity firms today.

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There are 5,000 private equity
firms owning 30,000 companies.

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But it's really evolved from a
form of finance into a form of

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business, where a good private
equity firm is really all about

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building businesses and the way
to manage them.

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How do private equity firms
succeed, really succeed, in

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today's environment?

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Yeah, the key is, you know, our,
our firm has always said one

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thing, New Mountain has said one
thing: building great

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businesses.

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And I think that's true of other
good firms as well where, you

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know, you have big advantages,
you own a company privately like

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a family business set of
shareholders would do.

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But you have all the strength
and scale of a large organization.

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We employ 100,000 people
at our companies.

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We have 250 people at our firm.

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So, we can find a good safe
mid-market company in a

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noncyclical industry and really
build it and help the management

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build it.

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And that's the key to making
money rather than 25 basis

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points of interest rate one way
or the other.

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What gains have the workforce
made the gains of the workforce.

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You know, we've tracked our, our
social record ever since 2008

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and published on our website.

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We've added or created over
68,000 jobs at our companies,

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net of any job losses, pay way
more than the national average.

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And it's just because we're
growing businesses. And if

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businesses grow and they're in
good industries, they hire

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people, they pay well.

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It just kind of
happens naturally.

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Yeah.

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Where do you think the next
shift will happen in this

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industry--in financing
to building?

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Where next?

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Well, you know, I think it's
just getting better and better

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at building companies.

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I mean, my own firm, you know, I
started it with no team.

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We're now up to, again,
250 members.

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You can add skills, get better
in industries, and get stronger.

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It's a continuous
improvement process.

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And you know, my firm, when they
say, "Who are you competing with?"

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I say, "We're competing with
ourselves last year."

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And I think that's hopefully how
the whole field should be, that

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everyone's just trying to get
better at actually owning and

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building business.

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Steve, thank you so much for
your time.

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Thank you, Georgie.