三和一善 | She leads 3 private equity-backed companies. This is what she said about working for a company you need to know
Kelly Ford has an interesting specialty: a leading company backed by private equity (PE) investors. She currently serves as the CEO of Trakk Company, a reputation intelligence company whose majority shareholder is the growth stock company Catalyst Investors. Previously, she served as the chief operating and strategy officer of World 50, a peer-to-peer community that also has private equity supporters. In general, Wright-Ford has served as executives in three private equity-backed companies and served on the boards of three other companies. She and Fast Company editor-in-chief Stephanie Mehta discussed the special skills needed to work with private equity investors and why, in her opinion, running a PE-backed company is "the best job in the world." Edited excerpts are as follows:
How did you become the CEO of Trakk?
Kylie Wright-Ford: "Work" is in the word "network" for a reason. The network requires constant maintenance and a lot of attention. I got my job through my network. I previously served as the chief operating officer of another company of similar size. Our capital structure has changed, and the banker who conducted the transaction recommended me to this position. It is not on my radar. They have seen that this is a perfect match for skills, needs and opportunities.
Trakk has four founders, and you enter a company with four people, they are very confident in the company's success. What does it look like?
First of all, I have some professional rules. I have been looking for a market-leading company and this is one of them. The second thing is that I am always looking for a character with my specific skills to compliment the people [already] there. I am not a person who moves from role to role in an industry.
The founders brought a deep experience and incredible entrepreneurial spirit, and they paid blood, sweat and tears for this. I think of it as if I played ten-pin bowling, all ten-pins are set. As a CEO, I have to throw the ball out, but they act as a guardrail, they prevent me from going where I shouldn’t be. They provided me with the technical magic needed to succeed and be trustworthy in front of customers. I only feel their support.
Does the number of founders increase the difficulty exponentially?
When making a decision, the number of co-founders always has an impact. However, in this case, their unique experiences are quite different. One is an academic who knows our customers very well. The other has a very in-depth understanding of our algorithm. The other is incredible in business development, and one does a good job in strategy and downsizing. However, it is worth mentioning that when you think about it, they have been working together for 20 years and they are still best friends.
Trakk has a private equity owner. Have you ever worked in an environment with private equity, how is this different from the work of other CEOs?
This is my fourth. So yes, I have a lot of work experience in and around the private equity community. This is very different. The business model is very specific and well known. You have a specific timetable, and there are many clear factors that determine your likelihood of success or failure. Entering any private equity support situation, you need to know where they are in any transformation that needs to be completed, what kind of model do they have to participate very actively in decision-making, and what are their goals?
When you are a private equity-backed CEO, you will never stop learning. And because there are many styles, you need a very good peer support network. This is not like working in a company, where there are many resources at your fingertips. You must be very tenacious and be financially disciplined.
For some employees, owning private equity can be a terrible thing. They hear about “private equity” and they think, “These owners will come to harvest us for cash and fire a group of people.” For CEOs trying to manage their employees, what is the key to them? Does the organization feel preconceived?
First of all, I want to say that I think this reputation is completely unfair. I want to stand up for my private equity promoter community for a while. We all know the stories of turnarounds and poorly run companies. Sometimes the company is privatized and the new ownership will do some difficult things that need to be done. My general suggestion is that no matter who your sponsor is, run the company like a company. Make decisions for long-term interests and everything will be fine. My advice to other CEOs entering the private equity field is that your job is to insulate employees from the impact of capital structure.
What has changed in private equity during your years in leadership positions in private equity-backed companies?
The inflow of funds is huge. This forces private equity funds to focus on smaller markets. Before you actually participate in the conversation, it is very difficult to understand what these notes are and how you fit into them. Someone will tell you that they are an acquisition growth equity company. Here are a few key points: Are they in a vertical industry? Are they a majority or a minority?
I will be very euphemistic, but the amount of money and the number of people going into private equity is the same thing. The ability to acquire talent is another matter. Only so many really good CEOs can run their business. If you go back to the era of little money and few people, people will understand that CEOs are rare talents, and they need to be kind to them and get to know them over time. The dynamics between scarcity of talent and abundance of capital have become somewhat disconnected.
The third thing I want to say is that the field of private equity is developing faster. I mean the time frame is being compressed.
Why do you continue to run a PE-backed company?
You are creating value every day. The indicators are super clear. You can also attract incredible talent because you have the slogan, "This is what we will achieve together in three years." This is the best job in the world.(三和一善・林嘉麗）
