Private Equity at an Inflection Point: People, Culture, and the Path Forward

Private equity firms are operating in an environment defined by longer hold periods, greater organizational scale, and increasing demands on investment teams. As firms mature, questions of leadership, culture, and human capital become central to how strategies are executed and sustained.

In this fireside chat hosted by LACERA CIO, Jonathan Grabel, Peter Chung of Summit Partners will discuss how a longstanding private equity platform approaches team construction, decision making, and execution across market cycles. The conversation will examine how firms think about building effective investment organizations, maintaining performance discipline, and aligning people and process with investment objectives.

The discussion will also touch on the current state of private equity and the structural factors shaping the industry today, offering a candid, operator-level perspective on what it takes to manage a private equity firm in a more demanding environment.

SPEAKER
Peter Chung | Peter Y. Chung is the Chief Executive Officer and a Managing Director of Summit Partners, a leading growth-focused alternative investment firm. He joined Summit in 1994 and has invested in more than 30 companies, including 18 currently or formerly publicly traded companies. Peter’s investment and board experience spans the technology sector, where he has partnered with many innovative, industry-leading companies, including Acacia Communications (NASDAQ: ACIA, later acquired by Cisco), AltoCom (acquired by Broadcom), Arista Networks (NASDAQ: ANET), E-TEK Dynamics (NASDAQ: ETEK, later merged with JDS Uniphase), Finisar (NASDAQ: FNSR, later acquired by II-VI), GoldenGate Software (acquired by Oracle Corporation), MACOM (NASDAQ: MTSI) and Ubiquiti (NYSE: UI). Today, Peter serves on the boards of directors at Empower RF Systems, HyperLight, Sound Physicians, Striim and Syndigo. Prior to Summit, Peter worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions department of Goldman, Sachs & Co. He holds an A.B. in economics, magna cum laude, from Harvard University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Peter has been named to the Forbes Midas List multiple times and is an Emeritus Trustee of the California Academy of Sciences. He currently serves on the Executive Board of the Friends of Harvard Football, the Executive Committee of the Harvard College Fund, and the Board of Directors of the National Park Foundation. Peter previously served as a trustee of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Trust, a board member of the National Venture Capital Association, a director of the Asian Pacific Fund, and a member of the Advisory Board of the Salvation Army’s Golden State Division. Back To Top ^^

MODERATOR
Jonathan Grabel | Jonathan Grabel is the CIO for the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (LACERA). Mr. Grabel manages a $82 billion defined benefit pension fund on behalf of LACERA's 194,000 active and retired members. He also oversees the investments for the LACERA-administered $5 billion healthcare benefits program. Prior to LACERA, Mr. Grabel was the CIO for New Mexico PERA, where he oversaw the investments for the agency’s $15 billion defined benefit fund and the associated PERA SmartSave deferred compensation plan. Previously, he was a general partner at a private equity firm focused on growth-stage investments in technology, networking industries, and digital communications. Earlier in his career, Mr. Grabel was an investment banker. Mr. Grabel received his BS in economics from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business and his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is a CPA (inactive). Back To Top ^^