Why Leonard Green & Partners: Interviews, Careers, & Portfolio

Leonard Green & Partners Overview

Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. (“LGP”) is one of the leading private equity firms which was founded in 1989 and located in Los Angeles, CA.

The firm primarily focuses on private equity investment in the service-based sectors including distribution, industrials, retail, business services, consumer, and healthcare.

LGP’s tenets of investment strategy are as follows:

1. Market-leading companies
2. Growth companies with multiple ways to win
3. World-class management teams
4. Focus on free cash flow and other margins of safety
5. Flexible approach to structure

Leonard I. Green founded Leonard Green & Partners after separating from Gibbons, Green and van Amerongen Ltd. – a bank he co-founded with Edward Gibbons and Lewis Van Amerongen back in 1969. Leonard Green passed away in 2002, leaving the firm to the hands of Jonathan D. Sokoloff, Peter J. Nolan, and John G. Danhakl.

Leonard Green & Partners AUM

According to the updated regulatory filings, Leonard Green & Partners has $69.7 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2023.

Leonard Green & Partners Interview Process & Questions

Each candidate may go through a slightly different interview process. However, if you interview at Leonard Green & Partners, you can expect the following:

• Entire process lasts several weeks – unless it’s on-campus or on-cycle recruiting
• Junior investment professionals handles the first few rounds of interviews, while the more senior staff supervise the rest
• There will be around 4 to 6 rounds of interviews

The type of questions generally fall under these categories: technical/investing, behavioral, and fit questions.

Check out my course if you need help preparing for such interviews.

Why Leonard Green & Partners

“Why this firm” always shows up during interviews because firms want to know the motive behind your application and see whether you’d be a good fit.

If you’ve met people from the firm during your networking efforts, tell the interviewers how they’ve made a really good impression on you and how their experiences at the firm positively influenced your decision to join the firm.

Also, it’s a good practice to know more about the firm. For this, I recommend listening to interviews with its key personnels – founders, investors, management teams, and so on.

Here’s a discussion with Pete Zippelius, Partner / General Counsel at Leonard Green & Partners:

Leonard Green & Partners Case Study

Two traits that are important to firms like Leonard Green & Partners: good communication skills and high level technical knowledge. To assess these, firms almost always ask candidates to perform case studies.

Most case studies are about recommending investments and performing financial modeling. However, a cold calling case study may also be necessary for junior roles.

Check my Growth Equity Interview Guide to better prepare for case studies.

Leonard Green & Partners Salary & Compensation

According to Glassdoor, you can earn around $85,578 per year as an analyst at Leonard Green & Partners, and $113,880 per year if you’re an associate. These figures may vary based on an individual’s experiences, level of education, and other factors.

Analyst

Associate

Leonard Green & Partners Careers, Jobs, & Internships

Visit our job board to see open roles at Leonard Green & Partners and other similar firms.

Leonard Green & Partners Portfolio & Investments

As per Crunchbase, Leonard Green & Partners has made 20 investments across six funds. Some of their notable deals include Tecta America, HUB International, and Williams-Sonoma.

Notable Transaction: Parts Town

Parts Town is a tech-enabled distributor of original equipment manufacturer parts specifically for the food service industry.

As they grow, they try to expand their product line and cover new segments as well including residential appliance parts and HVAC.

In November 2023, Parts Town announced that they have received a significant investment from Leonard Green & Partners. Berkshire Partners, its existing investor, retained its majority stake in the company.

The funding enabled Parts Town to accelerate their innovation across its ecommerce operations and supply chain distribution. It also supported the company’s internal expansion.

Next Steps

If you decide to send your application and build your investing career at Leonard Green & Partners, I would highly recommend that you check out my Growth Equity Interview Guide first before attending interviews.

Growth Equity Interview Guide helps professionals get a good grasp of topics that are typically covered during interviews such as financial modeling, case studies, and more. Check it out and start learning today!