Staff Testimonials

Senior Vice President GIC Special Investments (Europe Private Equity Group) London Office

Why did you join GIC? As one of the largest global fund managers, GIC offered an unusual combination of market presence, highly qualified and experienced colleagues, and an intelligent and differentiated approach to the private equity market. What duties do you carry out within a typical day/week? It's a cliché but it's still true that there is no typical week! The SI group in Europe carries out four major activities. The first is a funds business which invests across the entire range of private equity houses, typically as one of their lead investors. The second is a co-investment / co-underwriting activity, in which GIC invests alongside a manager in a direct private equity deal. The third is a mezzanine investment business, where the firm underwrites or takes syndications of higher-yielding instruments written on PE transactions. The fourth is the infrastructure business, where the firm makes direct investments in major infrastructure assets and companies. A normal week however might include several meetings with fund managers to discuss upcoming transactions, an internal investment meeting to debate the merits of a particular deal, conference calls with investment banks about the latest movements in the debt markets, and a team-wide discussion of potential new areas for investment. International business travel also often features heavily in the schedule. What gives you most enjoyment in the work you do? Supportive, high-calibre colleagues, combined with a stimulating and intellectually open corporate culture provide a strong foundation for investment decision making. The sheer variety of work and activities carried out creates an interesting and informed viewpoint on the corporate world. Finally GIC's sheer scale, reputation, and market presence ensures that SI professionals have meaningful access to the highest levels of the private equity industry. What would you most miss about your job if you were to leave GIC? Paradoxically enough, the responsibility. As professionals we seek to maximise the risk-adjusted return on assets for the Singapore government. It's not something to be undertaken lightly but equally provides a sense of meaningful contribution and a real purpose to what we do. Tell us about the working environment. The working environment is supportive with an emphasis placed on high standards, teamwork across the globe, individual responsibility, and continual learning. Tell us about your social life, interests and hobbies. Outside the office I play tennis, and am learning golf from a very low level! What do I read? Other than the usual business and current affairs reading I read biographies and classic novels.