David Barrett is the founder of David Barrett Partners, a leading executive search firm focused exclusively on buy-side asset management. Prior to founding DBP in 2005, he spent 19 years in the search business, including long stints at Russell Reynolds Associates and Heidrick and Struggles. He began his career as a self-professed failed equity research analyst in the early 1980s. David is a graduate of Yale University and Columbia University Business School.
In just the last two years, David’s firm has completed searches for the Chief Investment Officer positions at Harvard University, Dartmouth College, University of Texas Investment Management Company, TIFF, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, each a multi-billion dollar pool of assets.
Our conversation explores the search process for senior asset allocators, including the business of search, the interview process, governance structures, and trends. Anyone with a thought to navigating their career will pick up nuggets of insight throughout the conversation.
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Show Notes
3:22 – How David got into search
4:56 – Explaining search as a business
6:44 – Competition with other search firms
7:13 – How to be a customer-centric business
8:59 – The search process
10:31 – The science side of search and where to find candidates
12:10 – Comparing the track records of candidates
13:09 – The art side of search
14:32 – Assessing the selected candidates
15:45 – What David looks for in interviews
16:50 – Presenting the candidates to the client
17:58 – Which opinions are included in search
19:22 – Measuring success
21:36 – The “easiest” searches
22:47 – Working with clients whose preferences are different from David’s
25:29 – David’s biggest mistake
26:49 – Dealing with fee pressure
28:16 – Use of technology
29:46 – Biggest challenge in search
33:45 – Closing questions
