Episodios

  • Melissa Dickerson, MD Operations & CFO – Genstar Capital (EP.50)

    Melissa Dickerson, MD Operations & CFO – Genstar Capital (EP.50)
    Apr 29 2025
    Melissa Dickerson is the Managing Director of Operations and CFO at Genstar Capital, a private equity firm based in San Francisco and founded in 1988. In today’s competitive market, a common road map to revenue diversification is product expansion or adding a new office overseas. This conversation is a case study on having one strategy and one office. Melissa shares her thoughts on how the industry has changed and how their operations, reporting and service provider model have evolved while expanding their LP base globally. We then go further down the chain to explore the current state of portfolio companies and how go-to-market playbooks have changed from an all-in-one approach to using a specialist model on things like talent management, capital markets and finance. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at ⁠@tseides⁠ or ⁠LinkedIn⁠ Subscribe to the ⁠mailing list⁠ Access transcript with ⁠Premium Membership⁠
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    44 m
  • Scott Farden, COO – Nonantum Capital (EP.49)

    Scott Farden, COO – Nonantum Capital (EP.49)
    Apr 15 2025
    Scott Farden is the COO of Nonantum Capital Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm that spun out of Charlesbank Capital Partners in 2018. Launching a first-time private equity fund has a myriad of challenges from leaving your old firm, raising capital, finding talent and activating operations, so I turned to Scott to share his experience. We also cover topics like proper preparation and common pitfalls when pitching LPs, building a team that can evolve with future organization complexity and things one can do to proactively build culture for firm durability. After our sit down, Scott shared that he believes that Operations can add alpha to a PE portfolio by running it so well that it leaves the investment team out of the back office. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership
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    48 m
  • Kathleen Servidea, GC & CCO – Gallatin Point Capital (EP.48)

    Kathleen Servidea, GC & CCO – Gallatin Point Capital (EP.48)
    Mar 18 2025
    We can’t ignore the fact that AI is playing an increasing role in our day-to-day lives. But the question is how do we do it properly? So I turned to Kathleen to get her insights on bringing AI in house. We cover a range of topics like how to develop an AI policy, how do we identify and assess the growing list of AI service providers. Once selected, how does one perform proper legal and technical due diligence? As an ops or legal professional what can you do yourself and when to bring in third-party vendor due diligence providers. We also discuss the state of legal tech today and how things like ChatGPT and Perplexity AI can play a role in the fast-moving pace of investing in our highly regulated world. This information provided is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. For specific legal guidance, please consult your own legal counsel. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership
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    47 m
  • Rob McGrail, GC and CCO – DUMAC (EP.47)

    Rob McGrail, GC and CCO – DUMAC (EP.47)
    Mar 4 2025
    Rob McGrail is General Counsel and CCO for DUMAC, the management company for Duke University As one of the world’s leading endowment managers, Rob shares his career evolution from being the first lawyer at DUMAC, how to create strong team dynamics when closing deals and how the operational investment process has evolved over time. We cover best practices when working with established and emerging managers and the evolution of the technical and reporting requirements across direct fund investing, separate accounts and co-investments. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership
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    32 m
  • Emi Larson, COO – UCLA Investment Company (EP.46)

    Emi Larson, COO – UCLA Investment Company (EP.46)
    Jan 14 2025
    Emi Larson is the COO of UCLA‘s endowment. Emi shares what it’s like going from an ops role at an emerging market manager to a hedge fund of funds and how it led to a COO role of a well-known university. We cover how to make that leap from Director of Operations to the COO seat and the key skills needed for that position. We tackle how non-profits keep up with growing business complexity, the challenges with West Coast hiring and how overbuilding select parts of your tech stack can help you scale. I would like to note that we recorded this not long before the fires engulfed Los Angeles. With UCLA being is in the heart of LA, our hearts are with the folks out there. Here is a link to donate to the LAFD Foundation. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership
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    44 m
  • Eric Wortman, COO & CCO – Stable (EP.45)

    Eric Wortman, COO & CCO – Stable (EP.45)
    Dec 31 2024
    Eric Wortman is the COO and CCO of Stable, a GP stakes firm with over $4.5B in assets. If you are an emerging manager or thinking about spinning out, this is the episode for you. As people will tell you, building your own firm and team is vastly different than managing a portfolio. We cover the fuzzy topic of what it means to be “institutional”, how to select the right service providers, critical tech, talent acquisition and other foundational areas of launching a firm. We then tackle best practices on designing a repeatable sales process, the importance of branding and common areas that slow down early-stage managers. Take Capital Allocator’s Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership
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    35 m
  • Mike Peltier, COO – VCIMCO (EP.44)

    Mike Peltier, COO – VCIMCO (EP.44)
    Dec 17 2024
    Mike Peltier is the COO of VCU Investment Management Company, supporting Virginia Commonwealth University and its related entities in Richmond, Virginia. Virginia Commonwealth University is pioneering what it means to be a public research university while remaining focused on innovation, diversity, and access in the Commonwealth and beyond. Mike shares lessons learned from his audit and tax background helped him lead the operations of the investment office. We discuss the key pillars of the tech stack and some unique ways to leverage common technology to create efficiency. Mike discusses AI use cases you can use today that reduces the friction with investment and operations teams of all sizes. We then turn to outsourcing service providers and the importance of building personal networks to stay on top of an ever-changing industry. Take Capital Allocator’s Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership
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    31 m
  • Ron Landen, CAO & GC – HighVista Strategies (EP.43)

    Ron Landen, CAO & GC – HighVista Strategies (EP.43)
    Dec 3 2024
    Ron Lanen is a Partner, Chief Administrative Officer, and General Counsel at HighVista Strategies, an alternative asset manager with approximately $11 billion in assets. Given the uptick in M&A activity, I was interested in getting Ron’s input following their acquisition of abrdn’s US private markets business. Ron’s background makes him uniquely positioned to share best practices with acquiring another investment firm. He shares how the organization effectively doubled in headcount and assets and the implications on legal, IR and operations. We also talk about the importance of culture, integration, hiring for range and the “knock on” effects of managing new service providers. Take Capital Allocator’s Audience Engagement Survey Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership
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    37 m
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