Private Equity & The Focus On Operational Expertise - Ken Mehlman, KKR

SuperReturn U.S. - http://www.informaglobalevents.com/yt... • The notion of private equity using more and more operational expertise to generate returns and improve businesses -- what makes KKR different in this respect? How do you stand out from other firms as most claim the same thing? • One of the main differences we have is that we have 60 people in our firm who are operational experts and these experts go into a company for a period of 18-24 months and focus on the specific business area that we think that company can operationally enhance. • Why the focus on operations -- why does it seem to be the hot topic? The private equity industry is first and foremost about solving problems for companies and how we can make them better. Operational focus takes this alignment to the next level. • KKR and General Petraeus - General Petraeus will lead an effort called the KKR Global Institute and will build on helping us understand macroeconomic, geopolitical, governance, environmental, regulatory external factors that in today's world are really important to the success or failure of an investment and are really important to helping our companies do even better. • What impact has Romney's run for president had on the private equity industry and will this have a lasting impact or simply be a blip?