Many of us are still in the holiday mood, so we’ll keep it light this Monday morning.
We’re going to speak about life lessons, specifically going with your gut in the workplace. That’s one of the tips from Four Billionaires and a Parking Attendant: Success Strategies of the Wealthy, Powerful, and Just Plain Wise, the recent book from Chris Ullman, the former director of global communications at Carlyle Group. Four Billionaires features some of the biggest names in private equity and finance, including Orlando Bravo, cofounder and managing partner of Thoma Bravo; Arthur Levitt, the former head of the SEC; and many current and former Carlyle executives: David Rubenstein, Glenn Youngkin, William Conway, and Daniel D’Anniello. Ullman worked with all 14 of the execs mentioned in the book, observing how these accomplished people conducted themselves in the world. “[I] saw what worked and what didn’t… And [tried] to emulate the positive and avoid the negative in my own personal life,” Ullman said in a text to Fortune.
Ullman worked closely with Adena Friedman, the current CEO and chair of the Nasdaq, who served as CFO of Carlyle from March 2011 to June 2014. During Friedman's tenure, Carlyle joined the ranks of large private equity firms, like Blackstone and KKR, that listed their shares. Carlyle went public in May 2012.
Public companies typically report earnings every quarter, which includes hosting a call where analysts can question executives on their company’s results. Carlyle, in May 2013, after a year as a public company, was looking at reporting numbers below Wall Street analysts’ expectations, Ullman wrote. “We hadn’t lost money; we just hadn’t made as much profit as some people had hoped or predicted,” Ullman said.
Friedman, Carlyle’s CFO at the time, was responsible for the integrity of the firm’s results. To help get Carlyle execs in the right mood for their call, Friedman came armed with a secret weapon: white T-shirts with big smiley faces on them. Both Friedman and Ullman put on the T-shirts. She offered one to each member of Carlyle’s C-suit, including the three cofounders, the COO, the head of IR, and the head of external affairs, who was Ullman’s boss.
The execs chuckled at the gesture but refused to put on the T-shirts, leaving only Friedman and Ullman to wear them. Ullman said he felt momentarily awkward, and while the situation could’ve caused Friedman to question herself, ultimately it didn’t. She remained focused on her goal. She and Ullman kept their shirts on, and they launched into the call.
Ullman remembers the T-shirts as a joyous distraction in a hard moment, but also something more significant, a sign of someone who was willing to think and act differently.
Friedman would stay at Carlyle till she was named chief executive of the Nasdaq in January 2017, becoming its first female CEO. She frequently makes Fortune’s list of most powerful women, ranking 55th this year.
Ullman, founder and president of Ullman Communications, was inspired by working alongside her. "I hope," he said, "more people follow Adena’s lead.”
Lawsuit: Private equity firms typically try to keep any arguments or scandals out of the public eye, so a PE firm suing a former MD is a big deal. That’s the case at One Equity Partners, which spun out of JPMorgan in 2015. In June, the PE firm fired David Han, a senior managing director at OEP, for cause. About a month later, Han filed a “books and records" complaint in Delaware Chancery Court, seeking access to OEP company materials, a person familiar with the situation told Fortune. Han claimed his termination was retaliatory and would improperly deny him carried interest in funds he helped to manage, Axios reported. The matter was resolved in October, the person said. Now, One Equity Partners has sued Han, claiming he was the “anonymous source” cited in a Wall Street Journal story that reported an SEC investigation of OEP. The firm also claims Han contacted One Equity’s investors and made false allegations about the firm to them, according to a Nov. 20 lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court. OEP’s lawsuit accuses Han of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty of loyalty, and tortious interference with business relations. Han could not be reached for comment.
Luisa Beltran
Twitter: @LuisaRBeltran
Email: luisa.beltran@fortune.com
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