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The sharpest critique of the operating partner model is now coming from operators, on the record. What they are saying, why now, and how to tell a real model from a decorative one.
Deals
Aon is paying $17 billion for USI, and KKR is calling the exit proof that its long-term holding vehicle compounds. Nine years, ninety acquisitions and two very different return numbers tell a slightly different story.
Six kinds of firm pitch for the same digital and data problem, at prices 20x apart. The field guide: what each tier does, the symptom that sends you there, and what it costs.
Deals
Atlantic Aviation has more than doubled in value since 2021. The proof is a stake trade between two sponsors who both kept a seat.
Two different purchases that get compared as if they were the same purchase. Written to the operating partner, not the CEO.
Sponsored
Get The Brochure If you read Not Very Private Equity, the language is already familiar. But following the language and running the room on it are two different skills, and many people in exactly these seats are still working off the first one. A founder gets a letter of intent
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Sadly, it cannot enter its own award. Inc is part of Mansueto Ventures and applicants must be independent. The economics are lovely. 2026 application fees were $395, $495 or $695. Nonrefundable. Inc does not publish applicant numbers. It does publish 5,000 winners and tells eligible companies with revenue growth
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This happens constantly. A PE firm hires an operating partner with an impressive CV. Former CEO. Former consultant. Former divisional president. Knows the sector. Has battle scars. Can speak EBITDA without sounding like the finance team assembled him in a lab. Everyone is excited. Then they start. No board seat.
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Which is helpful, because apparently corporate governance needs an annual reminder that boards are still doing board things. In 2025, the S&P 1500 saw 168 new CEO appointments. The most since 2010. 84% were first time CEOs. 19 directors became CEOs, the highest number since 2020. That is
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The second rule is that everyone mentions AI instead, because apparently if you say “agentic workflow” three times in a board meeting the entry multiple becomes less embarrassing. 2021 was peak nonsense. Cheap debt. Heroic revenue adjustments. Software multiples written by people who had clearly been left unsupervised. Roll-up
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Then they hire the more expensive, higher failure rate option because the candidate has shinier logos and the search firm brought a nicer lunch. External CEOs fail more often than internal hires. 30% vs 24%. They cost more. Roughly 15% more. They last less. 7.3 years vs 8.7.
Views
PE loves a professional CEO. Grey hair. Big company logo. Excellent references. Talks fluently about cadence, alignment, transformation, and all the other words that make board members feel sedated in a premium way. I saw a business where the sponsor replaced the founder with one of these polished operator types.