Power Brokers: Rodney Cohen of the Carlyle Group

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RSM national private equity leader Don Lipari interviews The Carlyle Group managing director Rodney Cohen about what he has to do to get deals done.

Don Lipari, RSM: What’s your day like when you’re in investing mode?

Rodney Cohen, Carlyle: There are periods where you’re incredibly busy, and then there are periods that are somewhat more challenging. We tend to find, in our sizes, there’s always something to do. But it’s all about processing. It’s all about opportunity identification. And good or bad, like it or not, a tremendous amount of this business is still face-to-face. You have to get in a room with people and hear their story and listen to what they’re saying.

Unfortunately, it’s a lot of frog kissing. So it’s all about volume of meetings, volume of opportunities. I always say to people, “I don’t really think of myself as working or not working.” I could be at a cocktail party on a Saturday night and someone comes up to me and says, “I have a business that I…” And my ears totally perk up.