PILOTpartners launches new Chairman and NED Practice

Summer is over, people are back to work, deal flow is picking up, fund raising efforts have resumed in earnest – are we back to business as usual?

I think the answer 'business as usual' has gone forever. What is replacing it, evidenced by all our pieces in this issue of Pilot's Log, is a new saner, conservative, long-view approach to private equity, more akin to its historical roots. This evolution is not only changing the industry (players and ex-players), but those entities and service providers who exist to support the UK and European private equity model.

The background of PILOTpartners (excluding their corporate careers) is fundamentally as interim executive providers. Many would argue that interim management is dead, being replaced by interim management 2.0. (James Wheeler will touch on this more thoroughly in our next issue).

For those within the industry who have followed PILOT and its partners, they will have seen the transformation from interim providers to human capital and resourcing providers. While this sounds like a cliché, it really isn't. More than half our placements are now permanent, more than half are outside the UK, and what is in demand are not warm bodies to fit holes but instead highly skilled and experienced executives who can quickly and decisively impact the fortunes (usually flailing) of a portfolio company.

We also work with our core clients in arranging MBI candidate dinners and other events, helping them strengthen their senior management relationships and get their 'messages' out in a controlled and intimate environment. Heading into Q4 (is this when the dam will finally break?), we've continued to strengthen our offering and wisely used the relative down time of the summer to our advantage.

We are very fortunate to have John Gerry rejoin us, spearheading his new Chairman & Non-Executive Practice ('CANE'). As you can see from his contribution to Pilot's Log, John is a very experienced senior executive recruiter, and will be specifically targeting the increased need for fortune-changing chairmen and NEDs.

James has been busy continuing to strengthen our European and International network of like-minded recruitment firms, and is imminently off to Madrid to welcome our newest affiliate. His timing is spot on as we have enjoyed a big uptick in our European mandates (particularly in Germany, France, Italy, and now Spain). On top of this, James added another very strong client in BTG Restructuring, the specialist arm of Begbies Traynor Group, the listed insolvency firm, and is now managing a specialist turnaround panel on their behalf.

In addition to the launch of CANE, this issue has some very strong contributor pieces:

• Bruno Deschamps, Chairman Founder of Entrepreneurs Partners LLP (a company that provides advisory, consulting and investment capital to entrepreneurs around the world), ex-Managing Partner of 3i plc (London) where he remains a Senior Advisor to the CEO, and ex-Operating Partner of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, provides us a very incisive and detailed analysis of the importance of corporate experience in today's private equity model, and how the industry is changing from flipped secondary purchases to longer term operational improvement as a way to find and maximize value.
• Kevin Grassby, who has co-led Bowmark Capital since 2000, began his career at Booz Allen & Hamilton, and spent time with Nash, Sells & Partners (now Sovereign Capital), provides us an insight into Bowmark's philosophies, particularly their strong reliance upon high quality management, as well as their views on the healthcare market in which they continue to see good investment value.
• Talking of Spain, we are very fortunate in having Alan Tilley report on this firm's ground breaking restructuring of La Seda using the best of both Spanish on the ground know-how in tough conditions and pan European consensual restructuring advisory.

Lastly, we see Q4 as a critical period for corporate decision making due to:

• the Government's announcement on public sector cuts/austerity plans;
• anticipating changes in bank behaviour on how they will support UK commerce & industry (i.e. will they lend or not?); if so will the SME's lose out as the banks focus on the big, mucky refinancings coming through in Q4/Q1?; and
• how the bellwether non-food retail sector survives this Christmas.

It will be very interesting to see how the market (and private equity) will respond. Whatever the result, PILOTpartners will be there to support our clients in providing a rapid response to all manner of strategic and operational changes arising.

Michael Gebauer Partner – private equity practice E. m.gebauer@pilotpartners.eu T. +44 (0)783 423 5458