Private Equity Is 20 Years Behind and Running Out of Time

Episode notes

Lee McCabe joined me to talk about why private equity value creation keeps running into the same problem. The problem is messy systems, unclear metrics, and leaders making decisions without clean reporting. Lee shared how that shows up inside portfolio companies, and why the operating partner model often depends on influence, not authority. We also got into what it takes to fix the foundation. Lee laid out where digitization pays off fastest across consumer services and B2B, plus what breaks attribution in longer sales cycles. We closed on PE firms building real brands, the role of content, and what “media plus investing” can look like in a space that usually avoids having a point of view. Chapters: 00:00 - The Challenge of Digitizing Businesses 02:38 - The Opportunity for Digital Transformation in Private Equity 10:04 - The Opportunities in B2B and Consumer Services 19:36 - The Changing Landscape of Private Equity 28:07 - The Changing Landscape of Private Equity and Media 34:29 - The Evolving Landscape of Private Equity Marketing 37:30 - The Need for a New Model in Private Equity Conferences Companies Mentioned eBay : Example of a highly instrumented digital environment.

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