🎧 Episode Summary:
In this episode, Alex Rawlings speaks with Chris Sznewajs of Pacific Avenue Capital Partners about building a private equity firm focused on complex corporate carve-outs and businesses owned by “unnatural owners.” Chris shares how Pacific Avenue identifies overlooked assets, drives value through operational focus, and recently expanded into Europe with a team-first approach.
He dives into the lessons from building out their Paris office, the firm’s unique deal sourcing strategy, and a case study involving a complex carve-out from Total Energy. Chris also unpacks their value creation model, why they invest heavily in operational talent, and how they maintain culture across borders.
⏱️ Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro to Chris & Pacific Avenue
01:28 – Key mistakes in PE & portfolio strategy
03:52 – Why Europe? Lessons from expansion
05:47 – Building and integrating cross-border teams
10:57 – Defining “complex transactions”
12:24 – Total Energy carve-out case study
15:17 – Proprietary sourcing via corporate relationships
17:25 – Investing in ops: value creation strategy
20:16 – How their ops team is structured
22:45 – Chris’s interests & offer to connect
💡 Key Takeaways:
Raw Selection partners with Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies to secure exceptional executive talent. We focus on de-risking executive recruitment through meticulous search and selection processes, ensuring top-tier performance and long-term success.
🔗 Connect with Alex Rawlings on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexrawlings/
🌐 Visit Raw Selection: www.raw-selection.com
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