Golub Capital’s David Golub - inside the mind of one of private credit’s pioneers

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

We went to Golub Capital’s New York office to sit down with Co-CEO David Golub.

David Golub and his brother Lawrence both started their careers in private equity. It was their experiences in private equity in the 1990s that turned them into private credit pioneers.

Lawrence and David have built Golub Capital into a $95B private credit behemoth, largely due to their pioneering decision to create the “one-stop” unitranche loan solution for sponsor-backed companies after spotting a gap in the sponsor finance market. 

Fast forward over 30 years, and Golub Capital is one of the leaders in private credit. 

David discussed how Golub has spent the balance of its life as a scaled specialist credit manager “honing the competitive advantages” that make the firm so unique. Golub has built a cadre of 200 high-quality sponsor relationships with many of the industry’s top private equity firms, which call on them when they are seeking sponsor financing for their companies.

David and I had a fascinating conversation that covered everything from the early days of private credit to the story of pioneering unitranche loans to what LPs should look for in GPs to the psychology of relationships and partnerships. We discussed:

What David and Lawrence saw in the early days of private equity informed how they decided to build Golub.Why the unitranche loan became popular with private equity sponsors.What Golub looks for in relationships with private equity sponsors.Why focus has been a key driver of scaling Golub’s business.What LPs should ask GPs when evaluating their fund and firm.Why LPs should evaluate GPs based on how GPs think about their own business.The psychology of relationships and partnerships.How David’s experience being surrounded by a family of psychologists and psychiatrists has given him an edge in investing, negotiating, and building win-win relationships.

Bio

David Golub is Co-Chief Executive Officer of Golub Capital, a market-leading, award-winning direct lender and experienced private credit manager. As of April 1, 2026, Golub Capital had over $90 billion of capital under management, a gross measure of invested capital including leverage. Golub Capital partners with institutional investors and family offices, offering tailored solutions for investors’ credit asset strategies. The Firm specializes in delivering reliable, creative and compelling financing solutions to companies backed by private equity sponsors. Golub Capital has been a top 3 U.S. Middle Market Bookrunner each year from 2008 through Q1 2026 for senior secured loans of up to $500 million for leveraged buyouts. Golub Capital has been consistently recognized with industry awards, including Lender of the Year, Americas (Private Debt Investor, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024) Lender of the Decade, Americas (Private Debt Investor, 2023), Senior Lender of the Decade, Americas (Private Debt Investor, 2023), Senior Lender of the Year, Americas (Private Debt Investor, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2023, 2025) and BDC Manager of the Year, Americas (Private Debt Investor, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2023).

Mr. Golub is active in charitable and civic organizations. Mr. Golub is a member of the Founder’s Council of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, where he was the first board Chairman and a long-time director. Mr. Golub is Co-Founder and Chair of the Golub Capital Nonprofit Board Fellows Network, which operates at 20 leading business schools; its mission is to make nonprofit boards more effective by training hundreds of MBA students each year to become highly skilled nonprofit directors. Mr. Golub is a member of the Association of Marshall Scholars’ Director’s Circle and previously was a member of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council. He has served on the boards of the Loan Syndications and Trading Association, the Hudson Guild and the World Policy Institute. Mr. Golub is on the board of directors of Burton Snowboards and has served on the boards of numerous public and private companies.

Prior to joining Golub Capital in 2003, Mr. Golub was a Managing Director of Centre Partners, a leading middle market private equity firm, and of Corporate Partners, a Lazard-sponsored $1.5 billion private equity fund formed to acquire significant minority stakes in established companies.

Mr. Golub earned his AB degree magna cum laude in Government from Harvard College. He received an MPhil in International Relations from Oxford University, where he was a Marshall Scholar, and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar.

Thanks, David, for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and passion about private credit, the business of asset management, and the psychology of relationships.

Show Notes

00:00 Introduction

01:23 A Message from Ultimus Fund Solutions, Our Sponsor

02:26 David’s Career Shift to Credit

06:07 Sponsor Finance Market Gap

10:56 Unitranche Origins

12:47 Crisis As Catalyst

14:25 Distressed Value Lens

16:21 What Makes A Good Business

19:39 Relationships And Game Theory

21:26 Capital Isn’t Proprietary

25:39 Being First Call

26:21 Managing Growth Carefully

27:29 Fundraising Versus Opportunity

28:08 Only The Paranoid Survive

29:17 Staying A Specialist

29:45 Capacity And Performance

32:47 Scale As Advantage

36:23 Raising Capital Follows Winners

37:12 Future PE Picks Few Lenders

37:52 Credit Partner as A Signal

38:37 Doing Homework on Sponsors

39:02 Big “n” Investing Mindset

39:16 Risk Real vs Perceived

41:30 Press Noise and Redemptions

42:22 Darwinian Moment Ahead

42:54 Why Terms Improve Next

44:42 Portfolio Stress Reality Check

47:51 Junior Debt Trouble Spot

48:10 Underwriting the Manager

51:06 Ask the Why

52:00 What Keeps You Up at Night

54:13 Culture of Constructive Doubt

54:57 Testing Analytical Thinking

55:53 Building the Wealth Channel

56:45 Early Days Wealth Fundraising

58:11 Diversifying the Investor Base

01:00:45 Decades Mindset and Focus

01:01:35 Specialization and Infrastructure

01:02:39 More of the Same 

01:03:21 Adjacencies Like GP Secondaries

01:03:42 Continuation Vehicles Rationale

01:05:22 Psychology and Relationships

01:06:48 Problem Solving Builds Trust

01:07:51 Authenticity Over Tactics

01:09:23 Closing Reflections

A Word from Our Sponsor, Ultimus

This episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus, the full-service fund administrator and transfer agent powering asset managers in private and public markets. As alts go mainstream, you need real expertise to handle complex fund structures, connect with key distribution partners, and handle sophisticated compliance, reporting, and transparency demands.

That’s Ultimus: high-tech, high-touch solutions for over 450 clients and 2,500 funds with $775B in assets under administration. Backed by an expert team of over 1,200 employees, they place client service at the core of their busin...