Lesson 79: Presence
About the Searcher
When the meeting ended, all I could remember was the phrase, “executive presence.” Sharon Hall, Partner at Spencer Stuart at the time, described the executive presence of a candidate for an executive role at a large company. I was 21 years old, interning for one the top executive search firms in the world. I wanted to learn what recruiters look for when deciding who could be the next leader of a company, and Sharon described this ability to command a room.
Today, Sharon leads the Global Executive Recruiting team at Walmart, but her observation about a leader’s presence stuck with me. When I worked in Private Equity, this lesson resurfaced when a CEO was evaluated in part for their executive presence. Not that they needed to dominate the room, but that person needed the ability to hold the team’s attention. Rather than waiting until they are CEO, that person needs to be ready for the moment on day one.
About Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition
I think about having an executive presence every day while I prepare for ETA. The search process begins with conversations with Sellers, Investors, and Third-party Professionals (Attorneys, CPA’s, Brokers, etc.), and you need to command a conversation if you ever expect to command a room of employees. I am a quiet person. So sometimes, I feel like I need to become a character in a story who steps on stage to command a room. Once I get in character, then I access the tools that prepared me for the moment.
One of the best tools at a Searcher’s disposal is research. Today, I spoke with Kenneth Saffold, co-founder of o15 Capital Partners, a private investment firm. He said, “To help investors get comfortable with you as an operator, present an industry report.” He suggested having an organized portfolio for investors to understand the basics of the industry where I would operate.
After the call with Kenneth, I looked through the investor presentation for Universal Technical Institute (NYSE: UTI), which provides specialized vocational training for skilled trades and healthcare. I learned their skilled trade vertical has consistently higher EBITDA margin than the healthcare vertical, but the healthcare vertical has higher year-over-year revenue growth.
Moreover, the share price of NYSE:UTI more than doubled in 2024 from $12.52 to $25.96. The same year, they acquired Concorde, their healthcare vertical. This research suggests:
Skilled trade education is relatively more profitable than healthcare training
Investors see diversified program offerings as valuable
This may not be the case for all specialized vocational training programs, but the facts help me understand what a good investment looks like. Thanks to that research inspired by a phone call, I can have a stronger presence as I build a command over the facts.
About the Bigger Picture:
My values are to act with love, humility, and wisdom. Wisdom comes from past experiences that show you how to behave in future experiences. It is foolish to believe that I would have executive presence without years of preparation. Moreover, research tells me skilled trade education and diverse program offerings will make my trade school more profitable and more valuable.
My experience at the meeting where I learned about the significance of presence inspired me to spend the rest of my career strengthening that characteristic. Today, I may feel like an actor playing a character sometimes, but tomorrow I will be a real CEO possessing the core competencies shared by the leaders described by Sharon.
This is Lesson 79: Presence. Next week is Lesson 80: Favor.
