OP #240: A Day in the Life of an Operating Partner

A fresh Operating Partner newsletter to start 2024.

Author

Darren Herman
January 02, 2024

Happy 2024. I hope you all had great holidays. We spent the first ¾ of the holiday in New York visiting family, friends, and contributing to the retail economy around Manhattan. We then came back to the Boston area and were relatively low-key which was super nice and welcomed. A great way to ring in the New Years.

I spent a bunch of time consuming the Internet throughout the past couple of weeks and hope to share some of the highlights with you. I also usually use the first OP of each year to outline what an Operating Partner actually is/does. Hopefully you find this helpful.

I listened to a few podcasts over the holidays:

I also enjoyed reading a few retrospectives and predictions for 2024…

If you are in digital, marketing, or care about CX, Optimizely released their lessons learned from running 127,000 web AB experimentations. Hat tip to OP reader Jasper for sending this my way.

And this wouldn’t be a complete opening for an OP letter without a remark or two about the NY Knicks. Knicks finally make the trade that was rumored for almost a year: sending RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to Toronto for OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa.  We had a great first game with OG: a big win over Minnesota.

Here are some good reads to kick us off:

Thank you again for subscribing to the OP letter. We have a spiffy new domain, a new platform, and hoping this stays out of your SPAM box. Please add this domain to your contact list and if you use Gmail, please add this to your primary inbox.

-Darren

What Is An Operating Partner?

"What exactly does an Operating Partner do?" That's the question I get asked constantly ever since I took on the role at Bain Capital over 8 years ago.

What this role was vs. what it is today is a bit different in title only. So, the title of the role - Operating Partner - is not what you think it is.

Operating Partner is no longer a specialist role at Bain Capital. It’s a title that gets used for the level before Managing Director in the Portfolio Group. If/when you meet an “Operating Partner,” they may not be a specialist as defined below.

I've received dozens of emails from many of you asking to spend time discussing the Operating Partner role as a potential career path. I'll attempt to illuminate what we do day-to-day - though every firm likely defines it differently.

Historically, an Operating Partner role is vertical, not horizontal. As the resident growth expert, I focus on all things digital, marketing and innovation - advertising, ecommerce, customer data, website optimization, and so on. Meanwhile my colleagues specialize in areas like supply chain, finance, operations, IT, and sales. We each have our swim lanes and cross-collaborate when needed.

I actively advise anywhere from 3-5 portfolio companies at a time, getting into the weeds on special projects. Other times I take a more programmatic approach: leading brainstorms, providing feedback, delivering best practices, etc. I operate as an on-demand resource for our companies.

When an engagement wraps, I rotate to new companies to keep things fresh. However, there are always outliers. I once spent 5 months serving as the interim CMO at Michaels leading their entire marketing organization. I spent 14 months leading a software project transformation. Talk about trial by fire.

The role certainly has tradeoffs. The pros being you work across various industries, meet interesting people, be a full participant in the firm, and get exposure to new agencies and partners. The cons are it can get lonely without a set team, you're constantly "on the move," and there are lots of fires to fight.

But the super power in my opinion is EQ, not IQ. There are plenty of smart domain experts out there. Thriving in this role requires working effectively with executives of all styles and personalities simultaneously. I've found this to be a rare skillset.

So in summary, the life of an Operating Partner is highly variable, challenging, and never boring. No two days look the same. I could be leading an executive brainstorm one day and then jumping on a plane to one of our portfolio companies the next to provide hands-on support. It keeps me on my toes and constantly learning, which is what I love about this job. Just when I think I've seen it all, something new comes along that surprises me. There's never a dull moment in the world of an Operating Partner!

I am always happy to discuss the role for those seriously contemplating a similar role at an investment firm.

Interesting Reads From Around the Web
I consume a lot of articles and from time to time, I share them in the OP. If you come across something relevant for the OP audience, feel free to send to me for future inclusion. I reserve all rights for what is published in the OP.