Be a CEO - Introduction to Search Funds

Do you have an entrepreneurial mind-set and you are looking for a big opportunity?
Are you an investor or family office and you want to learn about this 30% IRR asset class?
This presentation is for you!

This panel session is designed to introduce the funded search model to aspiring entrepreneurs and investors interested in this asset class. A Search Fund (or entrepreneurship through acquisition) is an innovative way for a young entrepreneur – typically an MBA graduate - to run his or her own business. Search funds also offer a unique investment opportunity yielding exceptional return for investors and entrepreneurs. Over the last 20 years search funds have grown in popularity from North America to Europe and other parts of the world.

The event will be conducted by Simon Webster, LBS alumnus, experienced UK investor and first person to raise a SF in the UK, Tobias Raeber, an experienced search fund partner who acquired and is currently managing a company, and Alex Tuya and Patrick Boulter, LBS Alum and partners at a search fund who recently closed fund raising. Complete bios below.

Simon Webster
Simon Webster learnt about the search fund model while studying at LBS. He was the first person outside of the USA to raise a search fund. He acquired a business and between 1995 and 2005 he grew it from £3.5m to £30m sales and EBITDA from £0.4m to £2.4m. He successfully sold the business in December 2005 and stayed on as CEO until 2007. Simon has various business interests but is an investor and mentor of search fund entrepreneurs and he has invested in over 30 search funds. He is a member of the IESE International Search Fund Conference Board and he has been a guest speaker at INSEAD, IESE, Judge and LBS.

Tobias Raeber
In early 2015 Tobias acquired Herchenbach Industrie-Zeltebau GmbH (www.herchenbach.dewww.herchenbach.co.uk) with his Search Fund Kronos AG (Zurich, Switzerland). They searched for 18 months until closing and geographically focused on both Germany and Switzerland. Prior to this, Tobias worked in management consulting for Oliver Wyman, in real-estate as well as in hospitality. In running Herchenbach, Tobias mainly focuses on the Sales & Marketing topics and the international activities in both France and UK. In the 4 years since the acquisition, the business has expanded to the UK, France and BeNeLux and doubled revenues, EBITDA and workforce. Tobias was born in Switzerland, speaks 6 languages and has a MSc from Bocconi University and a BSc from Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne. He is married, lives in London and enjoys travelling, yoga and skiing.

Alex Tuya
Alex is originally from Spain, where he started his career as an engineer in Hewlett Packard. He quickly moved to sales and business development, and relocated to the UK in 2011 to take on a role looking after a large global business unit in the Outsourcing Services business. Since then he has also helped Everis (one of Spain's largest consultancy companies) grow in the UK and has been an IT Director at Burberry.

Alex developed an increasing interest in Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition and Search Funds while supporting various Spanish companies establish in the UK. In the beginning of 2018 he and his partner Patrick set up Blue Knot Partners, intending to acquire a UK SME to drive long-term growth with a focus on digital transformation and international expansion.

Alex holds a degree in Telecommunications Engineering and a degree in Business Management, and earned his MBA at London Business School with academic distinction, as well as an student award for transforming the experience of his peers. He is married and has three children. Besides spending time with his family, Alex has a passion for sports (football, tennis and triathlon) and is an avid piano player.

Patrick Boulter
Patrick is British and began his career in the British Military. After passing out at the RMAS, he served with the KRH (Royal Armoured Corp) for four rewarding years. With the intention of blending Military skills with the private sector he left the Army and founded his first company in Hong Kong and worked with a small team for the next four years (selling goods into China). After a change in family circumstances Patrick ceased work in the Far East and started as a Managing Consultant for CITI (UK) and soon ran a business critical account for the company.

This led him to be fully sponsored to conduct his MBA at London Business School and met Alex. Patrick came across the Search Fund Model in his second year, which together with the LBS experience reignited his entrepreneurial spirit and founded Blue Knot Partners with Alex.

Patrick is married and they have one 16-month old son. Around his young family, he enjoys real tennis, sailing and music.

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Co-hosted with: Entrepreneurship Club

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