Sarah Kim, CD&R Partner, addressed 150 industry participants in a keynote fireside chat at the Kayo Women’s Private Equity Summit. Interviewed by Carolyn Vardi, partner at Ropes & Gray, Ms. Kim shared perspective on her career path and on the evolving investment environment, including the impact of technology on the healthcare industry and how investors are navigating this evolution.
“There's no lack of recognition that the world has shifted and will continue to shift at an accelerating pace. But in some ways, healthcare is one of those industries that has historically moved very slowly,” said Ms. Kim. “People have been talking for decades now about the shift in the US from fee for service to a more value-based orientation. Yet it's only in the last few years that we've seen real traction around that, enabled by technology that has actually been accelerated by COVID. There continues to be pockets of reluctance to change, but it seems to us that the writing's on the wall and things are moving at a different pace now.”
A key theme throughout Ms. Kim’s remarks was the importance of embracing change and finding opportunities through forward thinking, whether that be entering into new markets or embracing new technologies and approaches.
Ms. Kim leads CD&R’s pharma/pharma services investing efforts after joining CD&R in 2008. She plays a key role in the Firm’s investments in Covetrus, Huntsworth (board member), and M2GEN (board member), as she did with the Firm’s previous investments in Diversey, HD Supply, naviHealth and ServiceMaster. Previously, she held positions at Metalmark Capital, McCown De Leeuw & Co., and Goldman Sachs & Co.
About Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
CD&R is a private investment firm with a strategy predicated on building stronger, more profitable businesses. Since inception, CD&R has managed the investment of more than $35 billion in 101 companies with an aggregate transaction value of more than $150 billion. The firm has offices in New York and London. For more information, please visit www.cdr-inc.com.