| Topic Name: |
McKinsey in decline? |
| Message Name: |
PE |
| Date Posted: |
01/31/2006 |
| In Reply To: |
Good point, euc.
Don't assume that the higest priority of the "best and brightest" is to make the most money early in one's career, or to get the most selective job.
While PE/Hedge funds may be more selective and pay more early on, they aren't a good choice for someone who wants to be CEO of a Fortune 500 company one day. Many of the best & brightest have long-term goals not of making the most money, but of making the biggest impact on the world or the economy. If you want to become a CEO, then consulting is far better training for business leadership than hedge funds.
Just because a company/industry hires fewer students doesn't mean they're hiring the best. There are plenty of business schools that take fewer students than Harvard. That doesn't mean the students are better. The 10% of Harvard's class going into consulting may include many in the top 1%. |
| Message: |
What do you mean? I know guys in their late thirties with BoD seats on multiple small and midcap firms. Guess which industry? Those PE dudes have significant operational impact on their portfolio companies. Personally I think this is far more challenging than coming in, looking at some data and talking to some people, making a couple of presentations, and leaving during the implementation of your recommendation. PE firms feel directly the financial impact of the operational recommendations they make, consultant don't. Is consultancy really the best training to become a CEO?? Maybe in Germany it is, but I think some traits might be very different, for example decisiveness and willingnes to take risk.
According to the b&b I talk to in the Wharton junior and senior classes, they want to be in highly distinct places where they will have the ability to learn the most from and build relationships with the best people in the industry. Usually they get snatched up by boutique banks like Lazard, Evercore, or Greenhill, VC firms like Insight, or PE firms like Blackstone. This is if Goldman hasn't managed to indoctrinate them during their summer internship before senior year. People who sign up for consulting are usually the ones who want to enjoy their weekends. Disclaimer: I am one of them.
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