Message from the TPEC Director

Welcome to the inaugural issue of the Thunderbird Global Private Equity Center (TPEC) Quarterly Newsletter. This Quarterly is designed to be a leading platform for the dissemination of knowledge in global private equity by featuring in-depth analyses of contemporary issues confronting global private equity by top industry professionals.

I hope you find the insights of our renowned panel of leading private equity professionals and academics both intriguing
and beneficial, as they endeavor to reveal the effects of the recent economic and political events on global private equity.

New President, New Congress: What It Means for Global Private Equity

By Douglas Lowenstein
President, the Private Equity Council

With an historic election behind us – and the Democratic Party firmly in command of both the White House and Congress – 2009 is shaping up to be a year of stepped-up activity on key issues affecting the private equity industry. Read more

Is Private Equity Good for Brands?

By Jonathan Knowles, Founder and CEO, Type 2 Consulting
and Dr. Richard Ettenson, Associate Professor & Thelma H. Kieckhefer Research Fellow in Global Brand Marketing, Thunderbird School of Global Management

One trend that has gone largely unremarked in the business press is how private equity firms have expanded the range of asset classes in which they are prepared to invest. Private equity investment has historically been focused in sectors such as manufacturing, mining and telecom: industries with high levels of physical assets. However, it is interesting to note the extent to which private equity has increasingly been targeting companies whose asset bases include significant amounts of intangible assets – primarily brands. Read more

Private Equity in a Struggling Economy

An interview with Christopher Bancroft Burnham,
Vice Chairman & Managing Director,
Deutsche Asset Management
By Rush Baker (T-bird ’09)

In this exclusive interview, Thunderbird MBA candidate Rush Baker ’09 asks Christopher Burnham, Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Deutsche Asset Management, the tough questions about the state of the private equity industry amidst this economic downturn. Find out his thoughts on the impact of increased regulations, strategies in private equity, and how global markets can best find liquidity. Read more

Thunderbird International Business Review (TIBR) Fall Issue Dedicated to Private Equity

This 80-page special issue of the TIBR, a practitioner business journal featuring cutting-edge research and thought leadership on global business practices throughout the world, is dedicated solely to discussion of the current private equity market. Featuring articles by PE professionals from around the globe, this issue offers insight from the industry's top leaders.
To purchase downloadable articles from the special edition, click here.

Featured authors include: Chris Efird, AAI Global Equity; Kurt Geiger, European Bank for Reconstruction & Development; Joseph Quinlan, US Trust-Bank of America Wealth Management; Amit Ratanpal, ICICI Bank of India; Dr. Zeinab Karake Shalhoub, DIFC Investments LLC.

Stay on top of global business trends - subscribe to TIBR.

In Other News

• Thunderbird Knowledge Network on global private equity
• Thunderbird Global Private Equity Center moves into historic Founder's Hall
• Private equity to the rescue in turbulent economic times
• Private equity becoming more public, Chicago fed banker says
• "Impact of Global Private Equity" study updated with new analysis
• Is private equity the white knight in this economic turmoil?