Susanna Berger – Managing director, general counsel for Europe, KKR & Co
Year of qualification: 2002
University of Chicago Law School, 1997-98
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, 2000-06
Avenue Capital Management, 2006-08
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, 2008
KKR & Co, 2009-present
I joined KKR 15 years ago. At that point the team consisted of about 40 people focused purely on private equity. Fast forward and there’s been a huge shift – today we are an alternative asset manager; we cover multiple asset classes including infrastructure, real estate and credit.
There has been a big shift in the industry. When I started, PE was entirely unregulated. Regulation only came in shortly after I joined, which was right around the time when KKR became a listed company. That required in-house lawyers to deal with the new regulations. Transactions have also become more complex – you have more capital chasing more complex deals – particularly in infrastructure – and regulators are picking up on all of those. The industry and the job have very much transformed. I was the first lawyer at KKR in Europe and am very proud to see the growth of our internal legal team.
In Europe, most people joining our team have an M&A background. That said, we are very focused on ensuring we have a broad skillset across the team. Importantly, we are always looking for people who are willing to expand their horizons given the diversity of our work, and who can adjust easily and move along with the deal flow. One day we may work on a transaction, and the next on a compliance issue – you need people who enjoy the fast-paced and diverse nature of our jobs.
In terms of how the in-house role is set to develop, what happens next depends on the market backdrop and the flow of deals. Throughout different cycles, you need people who can adapt quickly. For example, before the financial crisis, during the dot-com bubble, many believed the internet would be a panacea for everything, but it actually became an area for distress; flexibility is crucial. In-house teams must always be prepared to pivot and respond to these changing market dynamics.
Private equity is very relationship-driven. For our deal teams and the companies we support, a key skill is being able to develop relationships, and demonstrate how we can collaborate effectively. That is also how we work across our teams internally where collaboration is essential to get the work done. As for the legal team, we aim to position ourselves as business partners, not obstacles, and focus on finding creative solutions. We have very broad exposure across transactions, which allows us to draw on past examples and best practices to offer valuable advice to our deal teams.
I have always really enjoyed working with my team and the business teams. I feel fortunate every day to be able to work with lots of smart, creative people who are also very persistent in delivering their best work. I also like the fact that every day is different.
Private capital is a super creative, relationship-driven industry. Often the investment teams will have been pursuing investment opportunities for many months or even years. To do the job well, you need to sit with the different deal teams and understand their thinking. As an in-house lawyer you are often at the table for many months, if not years, before things go to external counsel. You get to help shape the deal.
One of our core strengths in private equity is building up trust. You can’t expect the founder of a business to just wake up one day and sell to a particular private equity firm. It often takes many years of ongoing conversations before it comes to a deal.
You have to be able to balance competing demands, which can sometimes be a challenge with a lean team. Another challenge is always staying ahead of the curve with a constantly changing regulatory environment. Given the nature of our job, we have a strong focus on anything related to transactions, but this is also evolving and there are other areas too. For example, ESG has been a big focus for several years; we often work closely with KKR’s ESG team given our strong focus on sustainable investing.
I think in-house teams will slowly get bigger, but they will never replace external law firms.
