Succession

Nearly 10 years ago, in April 2015, I published a blog called “Confronting the ‘S’ word: Dealing with general partner succession.” As the founder and managing partner of Vintage, I wanted to ensure that Vintage would survive after I retire. Succession management is more critical now than ever before. [The succession process] requires an open and genuine dialogue between the senior retiring and incoming management teams. Implementing the succession process early: A fund management team needs to start the process and implement the mechanisms at least five to seven years before the current leadership team transitions out. It is common for the founding or the current managing partner to start phasing out in their late 50s or early 60s.