Drake Star Partners is a global boutique investment bank focused on the technology, media and communications sectors. Beyond this, it is our core belief that technology has the potential to positively impact our world. That is why we feel privileged to be working with immensely talented entrepreneurs, leading institutional investors as well as visionary tech corporates to help them grow and develop their businesses worldwide.
Biography
Gregory Bedrosian is Managing Partner & CEO of Drake Star Partners. Gregory is an award-winning, seasoned investment banker and private equity investor whose experience spans both domestic and cross-border M&A and private equity transactions across the US, Europe and emerging markets. Amongst his numerous honors, Gregory received the 2016 M&A Advisor Leadership Award and is an M&A Advisor Hall of Fame inductee.
Prior to Drake Star Partners, Gregory was a co-founder of Renaissance Capital, a leading investment bank focused on the emerging markets of Russia, Eastern Europe and Africa and co-founder and General Partner of The Sputnik Funds, a $1 billion private equity investment firm. Gregory began his career in the merchant banking department of Credit Suisse First Boston in London and the leveraged buyout group of Salomon Brothers (now part of Citigroup) in New York.
Gregory is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations and he is a regular speaker and panelist at leading industry and academic forums. He has served on numerous corporate and non-profit boards across the US and Europe. He is currently an Advisor at the Harvard Innovation Lab (i-Lab) and sits on the Business Advisory Council of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. He also chairs the Investment Committee of a $100 million New York-based foundation and sits on the Board of a $100 million emerging markets investment fund. He previously served on the Harvard Business School Alumni Board of Directors (Emeritus).
Gregory holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Q&A
What defines a successful leader?
A successful leader brings a blend of vision, authenticity and grit to harness the human and financial capital of their organization to achieve the goals of their enterprise while also having a positive impact on the people and community they touch.
Culture and talent are important to any company’s success. How do you engage and inspire your workforce?
I have a saying – ‘We have the privilege of working with great companies and great people.’ – which we use both within and outside of our organization. It embodies our core philosophy on team and talent. This saying acknowledges the outstanding contributions our team and clients play in our firm’s success, but it also elevates the game for all by declaring “greatness” and excellence as the bar for our team and our clients.
Innovation and disruption are reshaping industries every day. What do you see as the number one game-changer facing businesses today?
Since our firm focuses exclusively on technology companies, all we deal with day in and day out are innovative and disruptive companies. The trends which are most disruptive tend to be those where technology intersects with traditional industries – such as mobility (electric and autonomous vehicles) vs. traditional auto industry, fintech vs. traditional financial institutions, digital media vs traditional media.
Challenges abound in today’s fast-changing business environment. What keeps you up at night?
I actually tend to sleep quite well – it is an important tool to keep me focused each day. Since the investment banking business is by nature unpredictable and volatile (both clients’ M&A negotiations and internal firmwide matters), as I have matured, I have focused more and more on ensuring I don’t bring those ups and downs to bed with me each night.
Why did you join Bloomberg Breakaway?
To expand and enhance my dialogue and connectivity with a group of peer CEOs and business leaders across industries and geographies.
Even CEOs need downtime. How do you recharge?
Regular exercise and time in nature are key to my ability to recharge. I am also intellectually curious, so I am constantly reading biographies and memoires (for example, have read dozens of works by / about my two favorite historical leaders – Winston Churchill and Teddy Roosevelt) as well as attending lectures, summits, courses, etc. Further to this, I have an innate passion for international affairs, a personal interest that I have found most useful in many of my professional dealings and that has brought me to be actively involved with the Council on Foreign Relations.
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