Brookfield's Anuj Ranjan - "own the boring that makes exciting possible": AGM Live at SuperReturn

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

We sat down with Brookfield Private Equity CEO Anuj Ranjan. 

We were live from Berlin, which becomes the “capital of private capital” in June as private equity industry leaders make the annual pilgrimage to the city for one of the marquee private equity conferences, SuperReturn Berlin.

With Prosek Partners and former Bloomberg TV journalist Deirdre Bolton as my producer, along with her team, we took over a Tiny Space cabin to hold big conversations with some of the industry’s leading alternative asset managers.

Brookfield has a rich legacy as an asset owner and operator of some of the “businesses that drive the global economy.” Brookfield is a firm where skin in the game (~25% of every fund includes an investment from Brookfield’s balance sheet) meets scale and synergies across its investment platform, which spans private equity, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and energy.

Now, they are looking to own what’s next.

What will the next era of private equity require? A different approach, according to Brookfield Private Equity CEO Anuj Ranjan. 

The conversation that Anuj and I had in the Tiny Space cabin covered big themes.

Brookfield is investing in the megatrends that are driving the world’s economy across its platform, from digitalization to decarbonization to deglobalization. The firm’s focus on industrials in its private equity business makes it well equipped to invest in essential companies, as Brookfield aptly describes their investment focus as “own[ing] the boring that makes exciting possible.”

Anuj and I had a fascinating conversation about the current state of private equity and what it will take to drive value in a new era for the industry where “12 is the new 5.” We covered:

Brookfield’s history as an owner-operator.How the firm’s long-term perspective informs its investments in and ownership of private equity-backed companies.Anuj’s experience investing in India was an exercise in patience.Why is today the era of “roll up your sleeves private equity?”How Brookfield is approaching value creation in industrial companies.Where Brookfield believes it can leverage AI to create post-deal operational value.Why Brookfield partnered with OpenAI to create DeployCo in order to scale enterprise AI deployment.Where are we in the adoption curve of physical AI and robotics?

Bio

Anuj Ranjan is Chief Executive Officer of Brookfield’s Private Equity Group and Brookfield Business Corporation. In this role, Mr. Ranjan is responsible for the investments, operations, and expansion of the Private Equity business, in addition to managing Brookfield’s external strategic partnerships. He is a member of Brookfield’s Executive Committee.

Mr. Ranjan joined Brookfield in 2006 and has held various positions within the company and its affiliates. He established and previously led Brookfield’s India and Middle East operations.

Mr. Ranjan holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Ivey Business School at Western University and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alberta.

Thanks, Anuj, for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and passion about private markets and how to create value through operating companies better.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to SuperReturn

00:07 Meet Anuj Ranjan

00:55 From Software to Finance

02:03 Building India and Mideast

02:48 India Deal Frenzy

03:17 Five Years of Patience

03:22 Learning Before Buying

03:28 First True Buyouts

04:06 Profits and Team Growth

04:16 Taking Model Global

04:32 Growth Amid Headwinds

04:58 Roll Up Sleeves Private Equity Era

05:06 Operational Value Creation

05:12 Brookfield Platform DNA

05:33 Balance Sheet Advantage

05:54 Long-Term Investing

06:12 Patience Gets Rewarded

07:14 Testing Tech on Balance Sheet

07:32 Owning What’s Next

07:41 AI Needs Hard Assets

07:58 Brookfield at the Center

09:09 One Firm Collaboration

09:51 Platform Informs Deals

11:27 Westinghouse Nuclear Bet

15:19 Picking the Right Carve Outs

16:34 Pricing Power Example

17:51 From Five to Twelve

18:59 Why Carve Outs Win Now

20:05 AI for Industrial Ops

20:53 Data Before AI

22:12 Predictive Maintenance Story

23:31 Physical AI and Robotics

24:52 Digitizing the Physical World

25:33 Humanoid Robotics Timeline

26:28 Deploying AI at Scale

26:56 Execution Beats Innovation

27:52 Best AI Investment Thesis

28:00 Buying Boring Businesses

28:52 AI Ready Leadership Team

29:30 Hiring Real Tech Leaders

30:00 Blockbuster vs Netflix

30:43 Closing Reflections