Shortreads

MUMBAI: On a dusty October day in Allahabad more than 200 sales executives queued up for an interview for the post of regional sales manager at a non-banking financial company. The person who interviewed them was not a company official, but a principal of a private equity fund that had recently invested in the NBFC.

Private equity has come a long way in the country, from fund management and investing to micromanaging businesses, and their influence is not limited to the CXO level but increasingly extends to senior and middle management.
PE funds such as Kedaara Capital, TrueNorth and Advent International are extensively engaged in hiring mid-senior to CXO level talent for their portfolio companies, industry insiders said. Principals, managing directors and investment teams at these funds are the first line of filters for hiring at the investee companies.