Episode #46: How Advent International Creates Value
The Private Equity Secret Weapon No One Talks About
Private equity has a reputation for financial engineering—buy, leverage, optimise, exit. But the industry’s sharpest players know true value creation isn’t just about cutting costs and tweaking capital structures. It’s about operational excellence.
Advent International is one of the firms leading this shift. Their Portfolio Support Group (PSG) is more than just an advisory team—it’s an internal force driving transformation across their portfolio.
In this episode, Alejandro Alcalde Rasch, Senior Director in Advent’s PSG, joins Ross Butler to reveal how private equity’s most successful firms are evolving beyond deal-making and into full-scale business transformation.
Watch the full episode….
How Advent’s Portfolio Support Group Changes the Game
Traditionally, private equity firms focused on finding and financing great companies. But what happens after the acquisition? Advent built the PSG in 2009 to ensure its companies had the resources and expertise to implement ambitious transformation plans.
The team includes ex-industry leaders, consultants, and value creation specialists who work hand-in-hand with management.
Unlike some firms, Advent’s operational team is built around generalists—professionals who can execute an entire transformation plan, rather than focusing on narrow functional silos.
In recent years, they’ve added deep expertise in digital transformation and HR, recognising that talent and AI-driven efficiency are now central to long-term success.
SHORT: The invention of private equity value creation (57sec)
Short: Portfolio support pros: what private equity looks for
The Evolution of Private Equity: From ‘Change the CEO’ to ‘Enable the CEO’
Historically, if a company struggled, private equity firms replaced the leadership team. But modern firms—especially those with operational teams like Advent—are shifting their approach:
By embedding support rather than interference, firms like Advent ensure portfolio companies don’t just survive, but thrive—often with the same leadership team intact.
Pre-Acquisition Value Creation: Why the Work Starts Before the Deal Closes
Most private equity firms assume the value creation process kicks off post-acquisition. But Advent takes a different approach.
Their Portfolio Support Group is brought in during due diligence, working alongside the investment team to:
Assess whether the investment thesis is operationally realistic
Identify execution roadblocks before the ink is dry
Align leadership teams early to avoid friction post-close
AI and Digital: The Next Private Equity Frontier
Gone are the days when digital transformation was just about adding an e-commerce division. AI and automation are fundamentally reshaping back-office efficiency, supply chains, and decision-making processes.
To stay ahead, Advent has expanded its digital expertise, ensuring portfolio companies don’t just integrate AI but use it as a competitive advantage.
The Reality of Private Equity: More Than Just Buying and Selling
Private equity is often criticised as a cut-throat, numbers-driven industry, but the firms leading the charge in operational transformation prove otherwise.
With firms like Advent setting the pace, private equity’s next phase won’t be about who can do the biggest deals, it will be about who can build the strongest companies.
This episode was first released on November 17, 2023.
