Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

We sat down with Brookfield Private Equity CEO Anuj Ranjan.

We were live from Berlin, which becomes the “capital of private capital” in June as private equity industry leaders make the annual pilgrimage to the city for one of the marquee private equity conferences, SuperReturn Berlin.

With Prosek Partners and former Bloomberg TV journalist Deirdre Bolton as my producer, along with her team, we took over a Tiny Space cabin to hold big conversations with some of the industry’s leading alternative asset managers.

Brookfield has a rich legacy as an asset owner and operator of some of the “businesses that drive the global economy.” Brookfield is a firm where skin in the game (~25% of every fund includes an investment from Brookfield’s balance sheet) meets scale and synergies across its investment platform.

Now, they are looking to own what’s next.

What will the next era of private equity require? A different approach, according to Brookfield Private Equity CEO Anuj Ranjan.

The conversation that Anuj and I had in the Tiny Space cabin covered big themes.

Brookfield is investing in the megatrends that are driving the world’s economy across its platform, from digitalization to decarbonization to deglobalization. The firm’s focus on industrials in its private equity business makes it well equipped to invest in essential companies, as Brookfield aptly describes their investment focus as “own[ing] the boring that makes the exciting possible.”

Anuj and I had a fascinating conversation about the current state of private equity and what it will take to drive value in a new era for the industry where “12 is the new 5.” We covered:

Brookfield’s history as an owner-operator.

How the firm’s long-term perspective informs its investments in and ownership of private equity-backed companies.

Anuj’s experience investing in India was an exercise in patience and how it’s informed his investment career.

Why today is the era of “roll up your sleeves private equity.”

How Brookfield is approaching value creation in industrial companies.

Where Brookfield believes they can leverage AI to create post-deal operational value creation.

Why Brookfield partnered with OpenAI to create DeployCo in order to scale enterprise AI deployment.

Where we are in the adoption curve of physical AI and robotics.

Bio

Anuj Ranjan is Chief Executive Officer of Brookfield’s Private Equity Group and Brookfield Business Corporation. In this role, Mr. Ranjan is responsible for the investments, operations, and expansion of the Private Equity business, in addition to managing Brookfield’s external strategic partnerships. He is a member of Brookfield’s Executive Committee.

Mr. Ranjan joined Brookfield in 2006 and has held various positions within the company and its affiliates. He established and previously led Brookfield’s India and Middle East operations.

Mr. Ranjan holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Ivey Business School at Western University and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alberta.

Thanks, Anuj, for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and passion about private markets and how to create value through operating companies better.

Show Notes

00:00 Introduction

00:23 Meet Anjun Ranjan

02:02 Brookfield Goes Global

02:07 First Private Equity Fund

02:20 Moving Around the World

02:26 Building in India and MENA

02:39 Emerging Markets Lessons

02:45 Industrial Investing in Growth

03:14 Deal Frenzy in India

03:38 Why the Bubble Burst

03:42 Five Years of Patience

03:48 Learning via Portfolio Entry

03:54 First Big India Buys

04:12 Scaling the India Playbook

04:14 Proving Institutional Control

04:32 India Results at Scale

04:46 Exporting the Model

04:53 From Regions to Global PE

05:03 Growing Through Headwinds

05:31 Roll Up Your Sleeves Private Equity

05:40 Operational Value Creation

05:48 Brookfield Platform DNA

06:18 Balance Sheet Advantage

06:30 Long-Term Investing Culture

06:50 Rewarded for Waiting

07:18 Middle East Long Game

07:57 Testing Tech on Balance Sheet

08:15 Owning What’s Next

08:26 AI Needs Land and Power

09:57 Platform Collaboration Culture

10:38 Cross-Platform Underwriting

12:23 Westinghouse Nuclear Bet

13:57 Energy Transition Tailwinds

14:13 Why Carve Outs Are Hard

14:33 People Make the Carve Out

15:50 Picking the Right Divisions

17:07 Transformational Underwriting

17:42 Pricing Power Playbook

19:03 From Five to Twelve Returns

20:17 Carve Outs Create Alpha

21:25 AI for Industrial Efficiency

22:13 Data Before AI

23:34 Predictive Maintenance Example

24:57 Physical AI and Robotics

26:26 Digitizing the Factory Floor

26:52 When Robotics Clicks

28:06 DeployCo with OpenAI

28:34 From Innovation to Execution

29:31 Best AI Investment Angle

29:38 Buying Boring Businesses

30:32 Building the Right Team

31:21 Hiring Tech Leaders

31:53 Blockbuster vs Netflix

32:38 Closing Reflections

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