Exchanges The Business Builder: New Mountain Capital's Steve Klinsky
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Mar 31, 2026 
Steve Klinsky, founder and CEO of New Mountain Capital, a business-builder in private equity managing ~ $60B. He discusses building companies the long way, transforming firms like Blue Yonder, sector focus on defensive growth areas, how AI and private credit fit into portfolio strategy, and why leadership selection and five-year operational plans drive value creation.
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Write A Five Year Thesis And Use Multiple Value Levers
- Develop a detailed five-year value creation plan and monitor it constantly after acquisition.
- Use a toolkit of 20–24 levers like pricing, salesforce, add-ons, international expansion, and management upgrades.
Choose CEOs With Proven Track Records
- Hire CEOs based on demonstrated past success and proven track records rather than charisma alone.
- Source leaders from the sector, rely on deep sector coverage, and supplement teams where divisions are orphaned or founders are retiring.
Sector Selection Is Dynamic And Defensive
- New Mountain rotates sector coverage annually and avoids once-profitable areas that later became unattractive, like post-secondary tuition-heavy education.
- Current focus includes infrastructure services, accounting firms, insurance services, healthcare tech, and select software at value.