LSE Focal Point Podcast William Guillet de Chatellus - Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Edgewater Strategy Group
Mar 31, 2026
William Guillet de Chatellus, Co‑founder and Managing Partner of Edgewater Strategy Group and ex-Morgan Stanley/private equity pro, discusses building a plug-and-play deal team. He explains why he left corporate roles to fill a market gap and how Edgewater scales operational value creation. He also touches on founding surprises, hiring, and how AI will reshape M&A execution.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Plugging The Deal Execution And Operational Gap
- Edgewater was founded to fill a market gap: private equity needs both rapid deal execution capacity and hands-on operational value creation.
- William and Hawken combined transaction execution with office-of-CFO support to plug resource shortfalls and deliver post-close improvements.
IBD Deskmates Became Co-Founders
- William and Hawken met sitting next to each other in Morgan Stanley's IBD, built a close friendship, and left after two-year programs into PE.
- Daily lunches and shared stress created a partnership that later underpinned Edgewater's founding.
Deal Flow Lumps Demand External Execution
- PE deal flow is lumpy and internal teams often face two bad options: turn down good deals or overwork staff and risk mistakes.
- A flexible external execution team reduces attrition and preserves deal quality during pipeline surges.