The week begins with the Private Equity Identification and Screening (I&S) committee, which takes place at the start of every week. During the meeting, we conduct an in-depth pipeline review, in which we identify, consolidate and screen all the investment opportunities for the fund that were received in the past week. After 'filtering' the new opportunities, we move to the more advanced deals across the pipeline and further assess what the status and next steps would be for each.

STAFF MEETING 

The team prepares for the week ahead. We list priorities based on the I&S committee and our prior commitments and assign responsibilities accordingly.

LUNCH

CONFERENCE CALL WITH THE COO OF TARGET COMPANY

A call is organized with the COO of the target company to go through the detailed agenda and schedule for internal due diligence meetings in the upcoming days. The Due Diligence meetings are set to take place in India on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

PREPARATION FOR DUE DILLIGENCE SESSIONS

I compile all the relevant material received by the target company and the intelligence unit. I then revise the status of the information request to ensure that all is on track and that all necessary data and information for tomorrow's sessions have already been received.

AIRPORT DROP-OFF

We are picked up from the office by the airline car. We arrive at the airport, check-in and wait in the lounge for the flight to board. We take advantage of time in the lounge to get something to eat, catch up on emails, weekend stories etc.

FLIGHT TO INDIA 

We take-off on the semi overnight flight to Bangalore, India.

DAY TWO

BREAKFAST 

We start the day later than usual due to our late arrival the night before. I am up by 8.30 and go for a quick jog in the nearby park. Bangalore weather is fantastic and the scenery is beautiful. This gets rid of any jetlag. I my colleagues for a proper breakfast, and we are off to the target company offices.

INTRODUCTION TO THE COMPANY

We are given a very warm welcome by the company. We are greeted with flowers, which is apparently custom in India. They give us a tour of their offices and introduce us to most of the personnel.

COMMERCIAL DUE DILLIGENCE SESSIONS 

The sessions are kicked off. We settle in a conference room, and management begins its presentations. These meetings are usually intensive, with a great deal of content being presented.

TEAM LUNCH 

The office building has a charming rooftop terrace, where they serve lunch for all employees. We are served a delicious, yet 'extra' spicy meal, which is considered mild by Indian standards.

COMMERCIAL DUE DILLIGENCE SESSIONS (CONT'D)

After taking some time to catch up on emails, we resume commercial due diligence meetings for the rest of the afternoon.

DINNER AND HOTEL 

We are invited to dinner by our hosts in a nearby restaurant that serves a formula, which I particularly like – Open BBQ. Food is delicious, yet we are still not accustomed to the spice level – something to work on. We head back to the hotel in time to get some sleep for the long day ahead. Tomorrow we catch a morning flight to Mumbai to meet with some key clients.

DAY THREE

AIRPORT DROP-OFF

We are picked up from the hotel to be dropped off to the airport to catch a domestic flight from Bangalore to Mumbai. We travel with the company's senior management. After checking in, we wait in the lounge and discuss company issues with the company's management. The flight takes-off at 8.00. The plan is to fly in and out of Mumbai on the same day and later head to Delhi.

BACK-TO-BACK CLIENT VISITS AND INTERVIEWS

We arrive to Mumbai, and drive across the city to visit two of the target's largest clients. The meetings include interviews with the key interfaces on important topics such as the nature of commercial relationships with the target as well as the overall satisfaction in the services offered, what they would like to see improved, how do they rank the target vis-a-vis its competitors, etc.

LATE LUNCH AND DRIVE TO THE AIRPORT

On our way back to the airport, we stop by a hotel near the airport and get some lunch. Our flight to Delhi takes off at 20.00. My team and I use the time at the at the airport lounge and in the plane to draft the due diligence document that highlights the key findings from our visit. The document would then have to be presented to the Investment committee on Sunday.

ARRIVAL AT THE HOTEL

We check in. I make a quick stop by the business center to scan and send the slides I had prepared for the due diligence document. They are received by the production team in Dubai, who would then work on them for the next half of the day. I catch up on emails, chat with a few friends, then go to bed. It's been a long day.

DAY FOUR

BREAKFAST AND INTERNAL TEAM MEETING

I have breakfast with my team and we recap on the priorities for the rest of the week. The schedule for the day will be tight, as we have one client visit left, after which we catch an afternoon flight back to Dubai. There was still quite some work to be done in the day before sending the document to the investment committee members on Thursday (Giving them time to review it prior to the investment committee meeting on Sunday).

FINAL CLIENT VISIT

We drive from the hotel to the client premises, slightly outside the city. This being the largest client meant the meeting was very critical in our due diligence, and there had to be meticulously managed.

QUICK LUNCH

We have lunch in a restaurant that serves Punjabi cuisine (The spiciest so far...). After a quick and satisfying meal, it's time to head back to the airport to catch our flight back to Dubai. We thank our hosts for their hospitality and bid our farewells.

FLIGHT BACK HOME

After checking in at the airport, I manage to find a connection to the internet and download the slides that were completed by our production team in Dubai. There is still quite a lot of work to do on the document. We plan the flight time and split responsibilities efficiently in order to have it completed by the time we land.

DAY FIVE

TRAINING

I attend a very interesting training on the Tower Management space in the Middle East and Africa, in which the market as a whole is discussed, as well as the different business models, investment opportunities etc. The training has some theory and some case studies for us to discuss in groups.

COMPILE THE INVESTMENT COMMITTEE PACK

The Investment Committee meeting takes place at the start of the following week. The team consolidates all the material to be presented during the meeting, including the document highlighting the findings from the internal due diligence conducted in the week.

LUNCH

Lunch with some of my colleagues in a nearby Italian Restaurant.

WEEKLY ADMIN

I spend some time getting some admin work out of the way. Mainly expenses after travel etc.

MEETING WITH AN INVESTMENT BANK

Meeting with representatives from an investment bank who bring some interesting investment opportunities for the fund's consideration. These are interesting times in Private Equity, as opportunities are abundant and cash is king, which makes those opportunities far more interesting.

STATUS UPDATE WITH THE TEAM

Since we have all been quite busy in a variety of meetings and trainings all day this is the time to have a quick update on all fronts. The team sits and discusses the priorities for the coming week.

DRINKS!

The weekend is already here, we all go have some drinks together at a nearby bar to kick-start the night.