Brookfield: The private markets giant that flies below the radar

Ross Butler speaks with David Nowak, President of Brookfield’s Private Equity Group. David leads Brookfield’s North American private equity business and its evergreen strategy. He brings a contrarian, operations-led viewpoint shaped by more than a decade working across one of the world’s most integrated alternative-investment platforms.

We explore how Brookfield focuses on essential-service businesses that are misunderstood, how it leverages information advantages drawn from its global infrastructure, real estate, renewables and energy-transition platforms, and why its dual-sponsorship model between investors and operators produces repeatable value creation across market cycles.

Brookfield’s approach is not thematic. Instead, it targets situations where perceived risk diverges from actual risk. David discusses the Westinghouse acquisition as an example: nuclear power was deeply out of favour, yet Brookfield’s renewables team demonstrated it remained indispensable to regional power grids. Operational work then doubled EBITDA. A similar framework guided the acquisition of Clarios, where market consensus around electric vehicles failed to reflect realistic adoption rates and operational improvement opportunities.

A large part of Brookfield’s private equity model centres on operations. Around 35 senior operators sit directly inside the investment floor, and every deal is jointly owned by an investor and an operator from diligence through exit. Over half of Brookfield’s private equity returns have come from operational improvement, not leverage. Investment professionals also spend a year inside a portfolio company before promotion, building practical judgement that informs decision-making back at headquarters.

David also unpacks Brookfield’s exit discipline, the benefits of long-dated and permanent capital, and why resilient, essential-service companies tend to attract strategic buyers regardless of market cycles. Finally, he discusses culture, humility and career progression, offering grounded advice for young professionals entering private markets.

Key themes

• Contrarian investing and misunderstood essential-service businesses
• Information advantage across Brookfield’s multi-platform global footprint
• The pilot / co-pilot model between investors and operators
• Operational value creation and secondments into portfolio companies
• EBITDA improvement through pricing, supply-chain and organisational work
• Evergreen capital, strategic exits and long-hold flexibility
• Culture, apprenticeship and career development in private equity

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹💼 Learn more at: 🌐 www.brookfield.com/it-takes-industryDavid Nowak: https://www.brookfield.com/about-us/leadership/david-nowakBrookfield’s Private Equity Group: A Global leader in acquiring and driving operational transformation in industrials and essential business services. Ross Butler: Founder and Host Fund Shack 🌐 www.fund-shack.comCONNECT on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/rossbutler1/🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹 📘 Pre-order Ross Butler’s book 👉 Invest Like a Barbarian: Share in the spoils of the Private Markets revolution ♾️ http://q-r.to/Invest-Like-A-Barbarian#investlikeabarbarian 🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹Fund Shack is the private capital podcast with in-depth conversations with investors, founders, and thought leaders shaping the future of private markets. Its were Private Markets meets private Wealth. 📩 Subscribe to our Substack: https://privateequitypodcastfundshack.substack.com/🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹
00:00 Why Brookfield avoids thematic investing

01:00 Evolution of Brookfield’s PE strategy

03:00 Essential-services focus; 06:00 Dual-sponsorship model

09:00 Integrated open-floor culture

12:00 Westinghouse case

15:00 Operational EBITDA gains

18:00 Investor secondments

20:00 Clarios and EV cycles

24:00 PE in higher rates

28:00 Strategic exits

31:00 Alignment and pricing discipline

33:00 Culture and apprenticeship

35:00 Career guidance

38:00 Closing reflections