My guest on the first episode of Private Equity Masters is John Toomey, one of two members of the Executive Management Committee at HarbourVest Partners. For more than thirty years, HarbourVest has invested across all parts of the private equity spectrum - in funds, secondaries, and direct co-invests. Today, it oversees over $75 billion of assets and canvasses the world.    Our conversation discusses the early days of private equity investing, evolution of strategies across primaries, co-invests, and secondaries, international expansion, best practices of managers, the next wave of growth opportunities, and risks in the space.   John has a unique perch at the top of the industry and offers a wonderful perspective to kick off the mini-series. Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List Read the Transcript

Alex Rodriguez had a 25-year professional baseball career, highlighted by appearing in 14 MLB All-Star Games, winning the 2009 World Series Championship as a member of the New York Yankees, and hitting 696 home runs including more grand slams than any other player in history.    He is also is the Chairman and CEO of A-Rod Corp, an investment holding company he started at age 20 in 1995 that today spans investments in real estate, venture capital, a SPAC, and recently announced, the Minnesota Timberwolves basketball team.   Our conversation covers Alex’s early interest in business, lessons he learned from Warren Buffett, Magic Johnson, and Greg Norman, the strategy of A-Rod Corp, time management, leadership, and identification of partners. We then turn to his investment activities in real estate, the Slam Corp SPAC, venture capital, and the Minnesota Timberwolves, and we close discussing Alex’s reflections on his year-long suspension from baseball in 2014 and the future of A-Rod Corp.   Learn More Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google   Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe Monthly Mailing List  Read the Transcript