After completing his Master’s at London Business School, Ioannis Savvides joined Mayfair Equity Partners’ investment team for a 10-week private equity internship.
He worked across three live investment projects, building an LBO model, contributing to Investment Committee analysis and researching businesses across Mayfair’s focus digital ecosystems. Here, he reflects on what the internship taught him about private equity, Mayfair’s culture and his own career ambitions.
Why choose a private equity internship at Mayfair Equity Partners?
Two reasons stood out to Ioannis: the size and make-up of the team, and the firm’s sector focus. “What I liked about the firm was how small the team was and how diverse the background of everyone was,” he said, “and second, that the firm focuses on the digital economy.” Having spent his career on the sell side, he wanted to understand investing from the other side of the table.
“I always wanted to become an investor. My purpose of coming to London was to find an internship or a full-time job in a private equity firm.”
Previous internships earlier in his career had varied significantly in the level of responsibility they offered, so he joined without many assumptions about what an internship with Mayfair would involve.
What does an intern in the investment team at Mayfair actually do?
“There wasn’t a typical week. I had different tasks almost every day.”
Ioannis joined two meetings on his first day and five or six during his first week. Over the internship, he worked across three live projects as well as investment research. His work included building an LBO model during a non-binding offer process and waterfall & funds flow analysis for an exit from a portfolio company, contributing to analysis for an Investment Committee paper, conducting ecosystem research, preparing company one-pagers and developing management presentations for digital health and EdTech businesses.
“Every week was something different. It was very interesting for an internship.”
What was the biggest learning curve during your internship?
Ioannis arrived with two objectives: build an LBO model and learn to think more like an investor. The modelling objective was relatively straightforward, the mindset shift was harder.
Early feedback on his Investment Committee work was consistent: get to the point, form a view and communicate it clearly. “You have to be direct. It’s A, B, C, D. I wasn’t to the point. After 10 weeks, I’m not there yet, but I’ve come a step closer.”
What is the culture like at Mayfair Equity Partners?
The level of responsibility was one surprise, the firm’s culture was another.
“They embraced me from day one as if I was a proper member of the investment team. They treated me like an equal and took me seriously.”
That did not mean expectations were low. Ioannis describes Mayfair as a high-performance environment where people work hard, and partners expect a great deal from the team.
During introductory conversations with the team in his first week, he noticed the same qualities repeatedly coming up when colleagues described the people they wanted to work with: ambitious, smart and hardworking, but also empathetic, proactive and equipped with common sense.
Did the internship change your view of private equity?
Yes, partly. Ioannis came in wanting to join an investment team full-time, but he’s leaving wanting to sit closer to the operating side, to the people PE firms place inside portfolio companies as CEOs or chairs, rather than as a board observer with limited day-to-day influence: “I like the idea of having control of what I do”.
What advice would you give future MBA interns at Mayfair?
Ioannis believes that an internship is very much what the intern makes of it. Asking follow-up questions, adapting to different working styles and actively looking for opportunities to learn are essential.
“They should be willing to learn. Some people give instructions in a different manner than other people, so they should know how to ask the follow-up questions to get the most out of this experience.”
Above all, he recommends arriving ready to contribute rather than simply observe.
After Mayfair, Ioannis is moving to Berlin for a full-time position as a Senior M&A Associate with a well-known online marketplace. His verdict on his 10 weeks at Mayfair? “It was an invaluable experience that I would do again and again.”
