Not Very Private Equity (Page 9)

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The Operational Era of Private Equity: 7 Shifts That Redefined Value Creation in 2026

In 2026, private equity completed a structural shift from a leverage-driven returns model to an operations-driven returns model: 47% of value creation now comes from operational improvement (versus 18% in the 1980s), portfolio companies must now deliver 10% to 12% annual EBITDA growth to match historical IRRs (versus

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Operating partner compensation: how much do operating partners actually make? (2026)

The short answer A private equity operating partner typically earns a base salary of $200,000 to $500,000, a performance bonus of $250,000 to $1 million tied to fund and portfolio-company results, and carried interest of roughly 1% to 3% of the fund's carry pool.

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Operating partner vs management consultant: what's the difference (and when PE firms use each)

Both work with PE-backed companies. Both promise operational improvement. They are structurally different jobs, with different incentives, time horizons, and accountability. Get the distinction wrong and a PE firm burns a seven-figure consulting budget on a deck that sits on a shelf, or hires a full-time operating

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The Operating Runway Test: An Operator's Framework for Continuation Vehicle Reality Checks

A five-question framework operators can use to tell whether a continuation vehicle is a genuine extension of operating runway, or just engineered liquidity.

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The 9 Frameworks Every Private Equity Operating Partner Should Know in 2026

Operating partners in 2026 rely on a small set of named frameworks to convert a deal thesis into EBITDA growth: the 100-Day Plan, the Value Creation Plan, the EBITDA Bridge, Marketing as an Asset Class, the Three Levers of Operational Alpha, the First-90 Diagnostic, the AI Operating Stack,