INSEAD Private Equity Club (IPEC)

The INSEAD Private Equity & Venture Capital Club is thrilled to announce our leadership team for the MBA 25J cohort! Meet Our Team: ▪️Presidents: Arundhati Menon, Sparsh Kumar, Kevin Lu and Julia Fisher ▪️Vice Presidents of Finance & Admin: Ishaan Gupta and Raghav Mathur ▪️Vice Presidents of Treks: Yumin Song, Mariia Podvalna, Alexander Derbuch-Markovic, Louisa Hommels, W. Gage Holzhauer and Marina Baskakova ▪️Vice Presidents of Events: Saagarika Shyamnur, Rama Joshi, Siegfried Büttner, David D'Amico, Mohor Hatalkar and Mauricio C. Marchand ▪️Vice Presidents of Careers: James Chalaby, Abigail Moffet, Ilana Kalichman Meishar, Anshi Aggarwal and Eric C. ▪️Vice Presidents of Research: Imad El Kadi, CFA, Aimie Lee 이선우, Leo Haotian Wang, Philipp Oehlschlaeger and Alexis Beurdeley ▪️Vice Presidents of Training: Damon Jeon, Claire W. and Sloan Crady ▪️Vice Presidents of Digital: Elena Jiao and Yejin Lee Our team is passionate about fostering a dynamic ecosystem for future leaders in Private Equity and Venture Capital. From career opportunities and treks to impactful events, training, and research, we are committed to driving meaningful initiatives for the INSEAD community. This year, we aim to build on the legacy of past cohorts, bringing together our diverse experiences across industries, geographies, and cultures to create an engaging platform for collaboration, learning, and innovation. 📍 Stay tuned for upcoming events, insights, and learnings Here's to a year of connection, growth, and success! 🚀 #INSEAD #MBA25J #PrivateEquity #VentureCapital #Leadership #GlobalBusiness

🦄 ➡️ 🛡️ From Unicorn to Titan: What Does It Really Take? At our recent panel, part of the 21st Annual Private Equity and Venture Capital Conference, “Scaling the Next Global Champion,” the message was clear: A billion-dollar valuation is just the beginning. We heard from Olivier Martret Partner at Serena, Nicolas Herschtel Partner at IRIS and Maxime Arnulf Founding Partner & CEO of Pioneers and Managing Director of @Hook, moderated by our very own Jaime O'Donnell (INSEAD MBA, ex-Goldman Sachs). Key Takeaways include: 💬 “A unicorn is a fundraising event. A titan is a global force.” Valuations don't build companies—customers do. The panelists emphasized that the real milestone isn’t $1B, it’s $100M in ARR and sustained market leadership. Titans set industry standards, not just funding records. 🌍 “Europe doesn’t lack talent—it lacks global ambition.” Compared to the U.S. or China, Europe still underproduces global champions. Why? Fragmented markets and conservative scaling. Think Spotify: rare, not the rule. To go from strong regional player to global titan, founders must build for scale early. 🧠 “Founders need to evolve—or get out of their own way.” Stage matters. Early on, scrappiness wins. But later? It’s all about vision, leadership, and building organizations that scale beyond you. The best founders know when to step back or step up. 🤖 “The AI era favors specialists, not generalists.” Forget the 2021 hype cycle. Investors now look for vertical AI with real-world use cases—legaltech, compliance, climate, etc. Domain depth and operational discipline are replacing buzzwords and burn rates. ⏳ “Titans are long games.” Vision. Timing. Resilience. It’s not enough to grow fast—you must endure, adapt, and lead change across decades, not quarters. The unicorn era may have ended—but the era of real builders is just beginning. #Startups #Scaleups #VentureCapital #UnicornToTitan #AIStartups #FoundersJourney #EuropeanTech #GrowthStage #Leadership #ConferenceInsights #PrivateMarkets #VCInsights

💼 Thinking of breaking into European private markets—VC, growth, or PE? Here's the reality from top headhunters Charlie Hunt Director at PER and Edward Chamberlain CEO at Altus Partners at our panel on "Building the Future: Breaking into European Private Markets". It’s not just about being smart. It’s about being specific. A few consistent themes emerged: 🔍 Understanding the fund’s strategy is non-negotiable. Too many candidates apply without grasping what a fund actually does—stage, sector, region, or thesis. This disconnect shows up in interviews and storytelling. If you want to stand out, tailor your narrative to their investment lens and show you’ve done the legwork. 📊 Case studies aren't just formalities—they’re filters. Interview performance hinges on your ability to build models, assess deals, and write sharp investment memos. Many talented applicants stumble because they don’t practice. In a technical field, that’s a costly oversight. 🤝 Networking works—when it's intentional. Generic cold messages won’t cut it. Smart candidates treat networking like an investment: focused, thoughtful, and reciprocal. If you're reaching out, make it easy to say yes—know what you're asking, keep it brief, and always follow up with substance. 🧭 Headhunters aren’t career counselors. They're mandate-driven matchmakers—not guides for pivots or reinvention. But they can help you understand market demand, refine your positioning, and calibrate your expectations. 🚀 Proof of passion matters. Whether it’s an off-cycle internship, a personal Substack on tech trends, or involvement in an angel syndicate—real traction and curiosity go a long way. Especially in venture, authenticity is everything. 🔑 The bottom line: breaking in is hard, but not opaque. Strategy, practice, intentionality, and proof points matter more than pedigree. Thank you to our moderator, Rhoda Yap Executive Director of the Career Development Centre at INSEAD for a wonderful conversation! #PrivateEquity #VentureCapital #CareersInFinance #EuropeanVC #PERecruiting #VCjobs #GrowthEquity #Headhunters #CareerAdvice #ConferenceInsights #BreakingIn

🚀 5 Key Takeaways from Our Panel on "Europe's Investment Landscape Across Tech and Climate" 🌍💼 Continuing strong to day two of INSEAD's Private Equity and Venture Capital Conference. Leading voices in private equity and venture capital unpacked what’s shaping Europe’s investment terrain. We welcomed Fabio Mondini de Focatiis Founding Partner of Growth Capital, Romain Sautrau Partner at Supernova Invest, Wincel Kaufmann Founder of blueColab, previously Global Investing Lead at BlackRock, and Daniel Toledano Global Head of Sustainability & Impact at Quilvest Capital Partners to the stage, moderated by our very own INSEAD Professor Vikas Aggarwal. Here’s what stood out: 1️⃣ VC Capital Crunch, but Secondaries & Credit Are Rising Traditional VC fundraising is tightening, especially for first-time funds. But this is opening up opportunities in secondaries and private credit, where returns are attractive and competition is lower. 2️⃣ Late-Stage VC Is Winning the Capital Game Up to 30% of deals are late-stage, reflecting investors' preference for lower-risk, near-exit plays. This leaves early-stage innovation underfunded—startups may need to get creative or bootstrap longer. 3️⃣ Europe’s Cautious VC Model Is Delivering Forget blitzscaling. Europe’s disciplined approach is now driving better VC IRRs post-2022, offering a compelling alternative to Silicon Valley for LPs seeking capital efficiency. 4️⃣ ClimateTech: Europe’s Global Edge From carbon markets to biodiversity tech, the EU’s regulatory tailwinds are fueling broad-based ClimateTech momentum. But success requires patient capital and thoughtful return planning. 5️⃣ AI in Europe: Vertical, Efficient, and Infrastructure-Savvy Europe’s strength isn’t in flashy GenAI—it’s in sector-specific AI, industrial efficiency, and foundational infrastructure like chips and energy. Expect lean, smart deployment—not hype. 🔍 The panel made one thing clear: Europe's strength lies in capital efficiency, climate leadership, and pragmatic innovation. Investors willing to look beyond traditional playbooks will find real opportunity. #VC #PrivateEquity #ClimateTech #AIEurope #Secondaries #PrivateCredit #VentureCapital #InvestmentTrends #LPInsights #InnovationEurope

💬 The last panel of Day 1 of INSEAD’s 21st Annual PE/VC Conference featured Cyril Bertrand, Yoann Caujolle, and Thomas Schneider who provided unique insights on secondaries and exit opportunities, highlighting how secondaries are critical when navigating today’s uncertain exit environment. Key takeaways from the panel: 📉 Exit activity is recovering slowly — after the 2021 peak, exits dried up, particularly in Europe. But we’re seeing positive signals: M&A is picking up, and GPs are becoming more pragmatic about de-risking. 🔁 Secondaries are a vital part of fund management — whether LP- or GP-led, creative liquidity options like continuation vehicles and GP stake sales help clean out older vintages and refocus GP resources. 💲 Pricing varies widely between buyout and venture — in traditional buyout secondaries, efficient markets keep discounts tight (0–10%). But in venture, discounts can hit up to 50%, and sometimes deals don’t happen at all due to pricing gaps. 💡 The secondaries market has matured, and grown more sophisticated. Demand has grown substantially, fueled by the strong performance of some funds, making this no longer just a “supply-driven” market. 💭 The future of exits may not look like the past. Private markets are so deep that companies can delay going public for much longer — raising real questions about the liquidity path for LPs in a world where IPOs are no longer the default. 🌟 Overall, the panel reminded us that secondaries are a core feature of today’s private markets. Thank you to our speakers and moderator Heba Boulos! 

📣 Next at INSEAD’s 21st Annual PE/VC Conference, we look to the future: Georg Madersbacher, Frans Tieleman, Mehdi Abdoun, and Karim Boussetta discuss their outlook on how European private capital markets will evolve. Here are some standout insights: ⚙️ From artisan to institution — European private equity has become more professionalized: bigger operations teams, more specialization by sector, and stricter due diligence. Exit processes are sharper — but bureaucracy and regulatory burden are slowing things down. 📉 With rates rising, some worry that the rush toward retail investors could signal market pressure. Still, long-term LP capital and careful deal selection have helped many firms navigate turbulence without major defaults. 📌 Fragmentation remains a barrier — national laws, cultural trust, and inconsistent bankruptcy rules across Europe complicate cross-border investment — a sharp contrast to the U.S., which went through a similar issue in the 1990s. 💡 The case for private capital is stronger than ever — from job creation to public-private partnerships, PE-backed firms are crucial to Europe’s competitiveness. And success depends on judgment: business plans are often “for entertainment,” as one speaker said — what really matters is understanding the team, trusting your gut, and forming a strong conviction under uncertainty. 🙏 Our deepest thanks to the panelists and our moderator Martin Aragoneses for their invaluable perspectives! 

📣 Day 1 of INSEAD’s 21st Annual PE/VC Conference continues with a high-energy panel on investing in emerging markets, from MENA to LATAM to Africa. 🌍 We discussed the realities and rewards of deploying capital across emerging markets where currency risk, regulation, and local nuances are daily challenges — but also where some of the most exciting growth stories are being written. Key takeaways from the conversation: 🤝 Everything starts with connection — in places like Mexico, dealmaking is deeply personal. The ability to identify and partner with strong entrepreneurs from the beginning is what sets firms apart.  📍 Being local is essential — from Latin America to Nigeria to Saudi Arabia, success comes to those who are embedded in the market: speaking the language, understanding local dynamics, and spending time on the ground. Weekends with founders, dinners with communities — it’s all part of sourcing. 💡 Opportunities are growing, especially where intermediation increases — the rise of M&A boutiques and strategic acquirers in MENA is enabling more creative exits, whether via secondaries or local partnerships. Exit paths are harder, but not impossible. 🌱 Emerging markets are shifting from hypergrowth to sustainability — investors are adapting to help founders focus not only on scale but on reaching breakeven, managing volatility, and building resilient business models. Thank you to our insightful speakers Adrienne Henderson, Josefa Marzo Pons, Wassim Heneine, CFA, CPA, and Constance Emmanuelli for sharing their hard-earned lessons and passion for frontier investing. #INSEAD #PEVC2025 #PrivateEquity #VentureCapital #INSEADConference 

📣 We’re honored to have industry titans continue the momentum at Day 1 of INSEAD’s 21st Annual PE/VC Conference to explore entrepreneurship in private equity: what it takes to break away from established platforms and build something new. A big thank you to Matthieu Baret, ALAIN COCHENET, and Dominique Gaillard for sharing their inspiring stories about the leap into entrepreneurship in private equity. And, to Thibaud Leblanc for moderating a rich, candid discussion. 🚀 They explored everything from building a firm from the ground up to assembling the right team, developing a differentiated investment strategy, and establishing long-term trust with LPs. A few standout lessons emerged: 💸 Fundraising requires both grit and strategy — lean first on close personal networks to build early momentum and credibility. It may be difficult to classify innovative strategies, so clarity and education are critical. Hiring the right IR talent can make all the difference: hunger, persistence, and storytelling ability are standout qualities. 🎯 When it comes to defining your strategy, being specific is key — LPs today prefer managers who are experts in a defined space. A focused, compelling story creates trust — and that trust must also be backed by transparency, especially in tough times. One insight we heard again and again: reporting discipline and LP treatment matter just as much as returns. 🌱 The future of the industry belongs to the bold and differentiated — while consolidation will continue and large platforms will keep growing, there’s still space for entrepreneurial teams with a sharp angle and strong culture. 

📣We kicked off Day 1 of INSEAD’s 21st Annual PE/VC Conference with a dynamic discussion on how private markets investors are adapting across the investment lifecycle — from fundraising through deployment, value creation, and exit — in a rapidly shifting macro environment. 💡 Key Themes & Takeaways: •⁠ ⁠Creative exits are essential in a tough market — continuation funds, secondaries, and seller rollovers are increasingly common. But none are perfect substitutes for a clean exit, especially when LPs are focused on distributions. •⁠ ⁠Fundraising is selective, thematic, and rebounding — after a downturn in 2022–2023, the fundraising market is showing signs of recovery. LPs are more selective than ever, prompting GPs to differentiate through thematic funds (e.g., cybersecurity) and stronger value propositions. •⁠ ⁠Strategic deployment starts early — top-performing funds are already scouting deals 12–24 months before a close, aligning with defined strategies set during the fundraise. Selectivity and preparation, including AI integration and advisory networks, are critical to successful execution. 🎤 Thank you to our incredible speakers for their insights into how leading firms are adapting and thriving in today’s private capital landscape. Nicolas Kassab François-Joseph Khoury #INSEAD  #PEVC2025  #PrivateEquity  #VentureCapital #INSEADConference

🌍 Sequoia x INSEAD We were thrilled to host George Robson, Partner at Sequoia Capital, for the firm’s first-ever visit to INSEAD at Fontainebleau. George met with 12 INSEAD startups and shared insight from the frontlines of venture — from building Sequoia Europe out of a London bedroom, to lessons from missed bets, to what it took for Revolut to grow from a free FX app to now a financial super app. Key takes: 1️⃣ Europe has the talent, and the capital - now it's about matching that with conviction, ambition and velocity. 2️⃣ To founders & operators: You have to love it - "doing startups is like going to the gym, if it's not hurting, it's not growing". 3️⃣ Mentorship matters - if you don’t have mentors, fix that now. Get honest feedback on where your functional and domain strengths/weaknesses are. 4️⃣ Founders need to juggle 3 core narrative arcs: one for investors, one for employees, and one for customers. A huge thank you to George for making the time, showing up with deep questions and actionable insights for our emerging founders. Special shoutout to Léonor Landeau ⭐ and Kevin Lu (Co-President of IPEC) for hosting. Martin Kandus, Lucia Rodriguez Lacasa, Billy Parr, Amit Zaidenberg De Castro, Ted Liu, Isiaka Ganiyu, Antoine Murry, Dr. Eline Madelpuech, Patricia Daxbacher, Tong LI, Sheena Anadkat, James Chalaby, Ilana Kalichman Meishar, Jamil Guliyev, Roxanne Sabbag