About Lakeview
Lakeview Investment Partners LLC ("Lakeview"), is the private investment arm of Lakeview Capital, Inc., the family office of Jay Alix. Our team members have deep experience in the areas of operations, finance, corporate governance, consulting and private equity investing. Lakeview's investment approach seeks to perpetuate growth by combining our experience with our extensive network, permanent capital base and a corporate governance approach that strikes the proper balance between advising and mentoring management teams and providing them with freedom to operate.
Capital Base & Objectives
The family office is our sole Limited Partner, so the nature of the capital we manage is patient and flexible, with a uniform objective: long-term compounded growth. Lakeview aims to grow this capital by partnering with world-class management teams and investing in industry-leading, middle-market companies. We have no fixed “exit date.”
Experience & Network
Cumulatively, Lakeview's team has executed hundreds of transactions over several decades. We encourage our management teams to leverage the extensive relationships our team has built over many years of doing deals and operating businesses, not just in the context of financings and M&A, but also in major operational initiatives like customer introductions, vendor selection and high-level hires.
Investment Structures
Lakeview’s broad investment mandate in the middle market provides the flexibility to pursue a range of investment structures. We approach each opportunity as a blank slate to design deals and capital structures in a manner suitable to their unique circumstances while avoiding unnecessary complexity.
We have a deep understanding of the risks and benefits of employing financial leverage, and tend to favor more conservative debt levels, especially at the onset of an investment. We aim to establish resilient capital structures and balance sheets that provide our management teams with the operational flexibility necessary to both overcome adversity and act opportunistically.
We are comfortable being a minority partner and are able to invest throughout the capital structure (preferred equity, junior/mezzanine debt), although our preference is to invest in common equity.
Investment Authorization
Lakeview’s small, flat and agile investment team enables us to process information efficiently, make decisions promptly and provide timely feedback. Rather than wasting time navigating multiple layers of bureaucratic committees, our team can build consensus and secure requisite authorization quickly. We are not reliant on outside functions or committees and have no financing contingencies for our own capital.
Corporate Governance
We take corporate governance seriously and adhere to established best practices. Our governance requirements are similar to those of institutional funds and relate mostly to capital allocation parameters and reporting.
We put in place strong boards formed with members that bring experience and sector knowledge to our partners. We are proponents of consensus building prior to board decisions, and strive to always ensure board votes are confirmatory in nature. Respectful cognitive debate is healthy and welcomed.
We are not involved in day-to-day operations of our portfolio companies, preferring to delegate responsibility to the management team.
Management Style
Lakeview places great trust in our management teams as stewards of capital and companies, and believe in ensuring close alignment through incentive equity and performance-based compensation tied to clear, measurable long-term goals. We strive to leave a trail of positive long-term relationships and goodwill with management teams in current and prior deals.
The support and guidance we provide management teams is what distinguishes us from being a mere capital provider. With roots in the human capital professional services industry, people and culture are of utmost importance in evaluating opportunities and managing our portfolio. We aim to develop cultures within our portfolio companies that promote:
Acting with integrity, professionalism & personal respect
Open & direct communication
Continuous improvement
Making informed decisions based on situational analysis
Common sense, humility and candor
all of which generally leads to pleasant, stimulating and rewarding work environments for our management teams and the organizations they run.
Time Horizon
As a family office, we’re unencumbered by contrived exit timelines that are increasingly commonplace in the private equity industry. We have a longer-term outlook than most investors, consistent with our philosophy that making decisions with an eye toward enterprise perpetuation is the only way to be a good steward of capital and companies.
What this translates into in practice is a nimble, opportunistic approach to exit planning—no investment timeframe is ever predetermined. By staying flexible we’re able to keep our eyes open to reinvestment opportunities and realize the efficiencies they offer relative to follow-on investments. This has the added benefits of more closely aligned incentives and stability within the capital structure for our portfolio companies.