An Introduction to Mike Sotirhos
As we chart the next phase of WestCap’s growth, we welcome Mike Sotirhos as our Head of Capital Formation and Strategy. In this capacity, Mike will lead and further institutionalize WestCap’s Investor Relations team and co-investment process, broadening the firm’s global investor base and driving expansion into new markets across Asia, Europe and the MENA region. He will also be responsible for new product development, including working with WestCap’s portfolio companies to distribute their products and services.
In this Q&A, we hear from Mike about his background, what brought him to WestCap, where he sees the markets going, and the role he’ll play in shaping the firm’s future.
How did you land at WestCap?
L.T. and I have known each other for a very long time and spent many great years working together at both Blackstone and Merrill Lynch. I’ve been following the goings on at WestCap since the firm’s establishment so when he called to tell me about his ambitious plans, and specifically, how he wants to evolve the firm’s Investor Relations function, I knew it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. It’s really wonderful to work with a team of people whom I trust and respect to help build a lasting and world-class business.
For the last 25+ years, I’ve focused on fundraising, business development and market strategy for dozens of Private Equity firms globally. My most recent role was as a Senior Managing Director in the Institutional Client Services Group working with Blackstone’s various Private Markets businesses which included the firm’s flagship Private Equity, Life Sciences, Growth Equity, Secondaries and Tactical Opportunities groups. I hope to apply all that I learned from the many wonderful years I spent, and terrific people I had the pleasure of working with at Blackstone here at WestCap.
Tell us about your new role.
My role was primarily established to address three distinct initiatives. First, to broaden and institutionalize our already strong Investor Relations function. Second, to spearhead the firm’s Business Development activities. Third, to help our Portfolio Companies, many of which themselves have Products or Services that are attractive to our constituents, get access to our markets. It became clear to L.T. and the Management Committee that as the firm continues to grow globally, we needed our team to grow with it and I am committed to help broaden our outreach, institutionalize our policies and procedures and ensure our Investment Partners get the absolute best institutional caliber service and engagement available anywhere. Terrific recent hires like Simon Kinzett, who is spearheading our IR efforts across the Middle East, as well as Europe and Australasia, is a good example of that growth plan and he is really making a wonderful impact toward that goal already.
In your view, how does WestCap differ from other growth equity firms
out there?
A lot of growth equity firms say they’re operators, but we truly are. Over half of our employees are operators and bring senior level leadership, depth of experience and functional expertise from some of the world’s most consequential and well known technology companies – Airbnb, Apple, Google and Uber, just to name a few.
At WestCap, there is a very specific and targeted focus around technology-driven, asset-light marketplaces in industries where our team possesses extensive know-how. We aren’t viewed as just capital, we are viewed as strategic partners whom these founders look to for help to grow their businesses. Having in-house resources to address any need, confront any problem and provide a solution is vastly different than the cookie cutter growth firm strategy, and allows us to build deep and lasting relationships with the companies we invest in. We have a patient, long-term mindset, and know what it takes to scale the companies who put their trust in us. That has proven to be deeply impactful over time and has become more important than ever over the last few years and amid today’s challenging market conditions.
How are you thinking about your role, and WestCap’s overall strategy, given the macro headwinds everyone is anticipating in the year ahead?
The investment world is still in a state of dislocation. From an institutional perspective, many investors are still overweight in private equity, and our focus area, growth equity, has suffered from several years of undisciplined behavior and the mispricing of risk from a broad swath of practitioners which affected the entire sector. That said, technological advancement is arguably the most essential component of what drives our economy, and every major technology firm of consequence has been a growth stage company at some point. So, while the market is still going through its reckoning period, I know for certain it will come back stronger, better, and drive outsized returns for firms like WestCap before too long. We’re playing the long game and already see the benefits of our strategy playing out amid the industry shakeout, so I think the future is bright.
How are you thinking about your role, and WestCap’s overall strategy, given the macro headwinds everyone is anticipating in the year ahead?
I’m really looking forward to building a market leading organization again! L.T. and the WestCap team have pioneered a really compelling Operating Equity approach and I’m eager to do everything I can to help this great group of people take this firm, and the companies we invest in, to new heights.
Connect with Mike on LinkedIn or at ms@westcap.com.
