Dear IPEM friends,

We are so close to meeting for the first time in over a year! I hope that you enjoyed a well-deserved summer break and are now preparing to join us in Paris next September 8/9. To date, 863 companies / 301 GPs / 346 LPs totaling 2,292 delegates have confirmed their attendance. This is already beyond our original targets – and confirms unique bonds within the IPEM community. Thank you so much for showing us such a thrilling support! (FOMO? We are back to the office and ready to register you if you haven’t already…)

We have so much to catch up on at Longchamp. While I am not sure if the pandemic is completely behind us, IPEM’s take is that it is now time to think of the future and to discuss the challenges and opportunities that this crisis is leaving behind. With the right mix of capital, creativity and grit, every problem has a solution. The amazing invention, production and rollout of vaccines can be compared – as a leading biotech VC told us – to sending the Apollo mission to the moon in a few months’ time. When capitalism (and private equity) is at its best – what can stop it?

Alas there was no place to hide this summer and even in the most remote hideaway, the dire consequences of climate change, news of social unrest in emerging economies, rising geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty were hard to miss… The Olympic Games were among the most cheerful moments we had this summer. One can only admire the top performances of these ambitious, hardworking, purpose driven men and women. By many ways, they reminded me of the private equity industry and of the entrepreneurs it is backing – and it was a pleasure to watch athletes break new records despite the empty Tokyo stadiums.

So please, when you come back from holidays bring this olympic fighting spirit with you to Paris Longchamp! There are many reasons for private equity to cheer about (as a top PE firm CEO put it recently, “we are fortunate to be in a growth business – and almost every day, the business gets better”). There are also many challenges (and opportunities) for the industry down the road. It is now time for private equity to meet again and to play its part.

Looking forward to seeing you very soon!

Antoine COLSON
and the IPEM team

#welovePE #weloveIPEM