Frameworks I use across portfolio companies, direct deals, and capital structures — drawn from a decade of emerging market execution.
How I approach the first 100 days inside a portfolio company. Immediate cash visibility and working capital mapping. Install a weekly operating cadence and reporting rhythm before changing anything structural. Assess management against the value creation plan, not against the previous owner’s standards. Quick wins fund credibility for harder moves.
Most mid-market portfolio companies are managed on spreadsheets and instinct. I build lightweight, decision-grade dashboards that connect unit economics to cash — not enterprise software projects. The goal is to give the board and the sponsor a single source of truth within 60 days, not 12 months.
Design funding architecture around the business engine, not the other way around. In emerging markets this means working with the actual cash conversion cycle, counterparty behaviour, and regulatory reality — not importing structures from developed markets and hoping they fit. Emphasis on facilities management can live with and institutional investors can underwrite.
Scaling across jurisdictions in Southeast Asia, MENA, and Africa means building compliance, finance, and reporting infrastructure that works in each market without creating unmanageable overhead. Regulatory licensing, local treasury, and city- or country-level P&L visibility come before growth spending.