ONE OF THE THINGS THAT REALLY STANDS OUT IS HOW THE BIG KEEP
GETTING BIGGER. THERE'S MORE MONEY THAN EVER,
MORE DRY POWDER THAN EVER. HOW DO YOU COMPETE IN AN
ENVIRONMENT WHERE YOU ARE UP AGAINST SOMETIMES FIRMS THAT
HAVE HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS BEHIND THEM? REBECCA:
THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
AND IT'S IN PART ABOUT REALLY UNDERSTANDING WHERE YOUR POINT
OF DIFFERENTIATION IS. IN TODAY'S MARKET, MANY OF THE
MANAGEMENT TEAMS, IN PARTICULAR THE FOUNDER OF THE BUSINESSES
WE ARE LOOKING AT, THEY WANT MORE THAN JUST MONEY.
THEY ARE LOOKING FOR REAL VALUE ADDED, SOMEBODY THAT CAN WORK
WITH THEM ON THE JOURNEY OF CREATING VALUE WITHIN THEIR
BUSINESSES AND ACHIEVING BIGGER VALUE. DANI:
WE TALKED ABOUT HOW YOU TARGET ENTREPRENEURIAL BUSINESSES.
WE HAVE DEFINITELY SEEN AGAIN SOME OF THOSE REALLY LARGE
FIRMS START TO MOVE DOWN MARKET, WHICH IS WHERE OAKLEY
OPERATES. HOW EXPENSIVE HAVE THINGS
GOTTEN BECAUSE OF THAT? REBECCA: WE ARE OPERATING SECTORS IN
TECHNOLOGY, EDUCATION AND CONSUMER.
MANY OF THESE HAVE BEEN BIG BENEFICIARIES.
DURING COVID, YOU HAD A FLIGHT TO QUALITY.
MANY OF THE PRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS PIVOTED AND TRIED TO
INVEST IN THOSE SECTORS. WE HAVE BEEN INVESTING BEHIND
THOSE KINDS OF TRENDS, DIGITIZATION AND BROADER
INFRASTRUCTURE, DIGITAL ECONOMY FOR MANY YEARS, SO WE HAVE A
PLAYBOOK TO REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW TO PLAY INTO THAT.
WITH THESE BIGGER FUNDS, THEY COME WITH THE POCKETS THAT NOT
-- BUT NOT NECESSARILY THE SKILLS OF REALLY UNDERSTANDING
AND EMPATHIZING WITH A FOUNDER MANAGEMENT TEAM, WHO MAY BE
SOMEWHAT INTIMIDATED BY A BIG FUND WITH BIG TEAMS THAT COME
ALONG AND .2 A BIG PORTFOLIO BUT NOT NECESSARILY -- AND
POINT TO A BIG PORTFOLIO BUT NOT NECESSARILY PEOPLE THEY CAN
RELATE TO. DANI: SOME OF THE TRAVEL AND LEISURE
EXPOSED BUSINESSES, YOU HAVE "TIMEOUT,"
THE MAGAZINE, GLOBETROTTER, A LUXURY SUITCASE MAKER.
I THINK OF THE U.S. REOPENING TO INTERNATIONAL
TRAVEL. HOW MUCH ARE THESE SORTS OF
TRAVEL AND LEISURE NAMES STARTING TO PICK UP?
ARE THEY NEAR-NORMAL, NEAR THOSE PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS?
REBECCA: NOT YET NEAR THAT LEVEL BUT
YOUR SING THAT MOMENTUM, THAT EXCITEMENT THAT PEOPLE ARE SO
THRILLED TO BE BACK ON PLANES, SINK FACE TO FACE.
WE MAKE SURE THOSE BUSINESSES HAVE THE ROUTE FIND ASIAN
SOUGHT -- FOUNDATION -- HAVE THE RIGHT FOUNDATION. DANI:
CAN I GET YOU TO LOOK INTO YOUR CRYSTAL BALL AND SEE WHERE YOU
ARE IT -- WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTING THINGS TO NORMALIZE? REBECCA:
WE ARE PAST EXPECTING THINGS PRETTY COVID .
IT IS LOOKING FOR BUSINESSES THAT HAVE RESILIENCE,
SUBSCRIPTION TYPE BUSINESS MODELS WHICH CAN LIVE THROUGH A
VOLATILE ENVIRONMENT AND MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE MANAGEMENT
TEAMS THAT HAVE THE ABILITY TO LEAD THEIR BUSINESSES IN WHAT
IS GOING TO BE AN UNCERTAIN WORLD. DANI:
WHEN WE SPOKE EARLIER THIS YEAR, WE HAD TALKED ABOUT THAT
PRIVATE EQUITY IS ATTRACTIVE FOR RETAIL BUT THEY DON'T
NECESSARILY HAVE THE ACCESS. IN THE YOU S -- IN THE U.S.,
THERE WAS SOME MOVEMENT WITH 401K'S.
SHOULD EUROPE BE PUTTING IN MOTION ALLOWING EXPOSURE FOR
RETAIL INVESTORS? REBECCA: INTERESTING POINT.
WE SEE THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF PRIVATE EQUITY.
THERE IS INCREASING ASSESS ABILITY FOR THE RETAIL INVESTOR
TO ACCESS PRIVATE EQUITY, BE IT TO LISTED PRIVATE EQUITY FUNDS
OR A PRIVATE EQUITY TRUST LIKE OAKLEY CAPITAL INVESTMENT OR
PLATFORMS THAT GIVE PEOPLE WITH A LOWER DISPOSABLE INCOMES
ACCESS TO THE TYPE OF FUNDS PRESENTED HERE TODAY.
THEY ARE UNDERPINNED BY MUCH GREATER TRANSPARENCY IN THE
SECTOR. THAT'S GREAT BECAUSE IT'S A
VERY POSITIVE STORY FROM THE INDUSTRY ABOUT JOB CREATION,
ABOUT LEADING THE WAY IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL AREAS.
I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE THAT WE NEED TO REACH
OUT TO THOSE RETAIL INVESTORS. DANI: SPEAKING OF PRIVATE EQUITY
BEING A CLUB, BEFORE I LET YOU GO, I HAVE TO ASK YOU ABOUT THE
WAY IT IS SOMETIMES VIEWED, AS A BOYS CLUB.
IT IS STILL AN INDUSTRY DOMINATED BY MEN, ESPECIALLY IN
LEADERSHIP POSITIONS. UNFORTUNATELY, YOU ARE ONE OF
THE RARE WOMEN WHO IS A PARTNER AT A PRIVATE EQUITY FUND.
ELASTIC, STEVE SCHWARZMAN AT BLACKSTONE SAID BLACKSTONE HAD
A PROBLEM BECAUSE WOMEN WERE SCARED OF WORKING AT
BLACKSTONE, THAT THIS WAS THE ISSUE, FEAR, IT WAS A CULTURAL
ISSUE. DO YOU AGREE WITH THAT? FEAR, THAT IT'S A CULTURAL
THING THAT NEEDS TO CHANGE? REBECCA:
IT'S NOT ABOUT FEAR WHERE I HAVE WORKED.
THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH FEMALES IN READERSHIP POSITIONS -- SENIOR
LEADERSHIP POSITIONS. I'VE WORKED WITH AN
ORGANIZATION FOCUSED ON IMPROVING THE NUMBER OF WOMEN
IN SENIOR ROLES IN PRIVATE EQUITY. I THINK ACROSS ALL THE
INDUSTRY, IT'S ABOUT PROMOTING ROLE MODELS, ABOUT RECRUITMENT,
ABOUT RETENTION FOR THE WHOLE OF THE CAREER PATH, WHICH IS
LONG. THE ACTIONS WE TAKE TODAY WILL
TAKE MANY YEARS TO COME TO SHOW THAT MORE DIVERSE LEADERSHIP
TEAM, AND IT'S MUCH MORE THAN JUST GENDER AS WELL.
WE ARE LOOKING TO BUILD MORE DIVERSE TEAMS. WE RECOGNIZE THE
VALUE OF THAT. AT OAKLEY, WE NEED TO REFLECT
THAT TO OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM. IT'S CLEAR THE PERFORMANCE IS
BETTER WHEN YOU HAVE DIVERSITY IN LEADERS. DANI:
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE WHEN THEY ARE
TRYING TO HIRE DIVERSE TEAMS? THIS IS SOMETHING EVERYBODY IS
TRYING TO DO RIGHT NOW. IS IT ABOUT THE PIPELINE, ABOUT
SOMETHING ELSE? WHAT DO THEY NEED TO DO TO
CATCH UP? REBECCA: I DON'T THINK THERE'S ONE
PARTICULAR ISSUE. IT'S ABOUT LOTS OF INCREMENTAL
STEPS. THAT'S THINKING MUCH EARLIER ON
ABOUT UNIVERSITIES, ABOUT TEACHING YOUNG WOMEN AT
SCHOOLING, AT UNIVERSITIES THE REALLY EXCITING CAREER PATHS.
YOU CAN HAVE A DYNAMIC AND FLEXIBLE ROLE AS WELL.
STARTING THEN AND EDUCATING ABOUT THE INDUSTRY AND CREATING
MENTORSHIP PROGRAMS, TREND PROGRAMS THAT CAN ONBOARD THEM,
MAKE IT SEEM LIKE THE EXCITING DYNAMIC THAT IT REALLY IS.