As the private equity investment industry evolves and the market environment shifts, the value and significance of specialized post-investment management are becoming increasingly evident. Particularly at a time when "exits" have become the dominant theme in the primary market, investment firms are placing greater emphasis on how post-investment management can help preserve and enhance the value of their portfolio companies while driving operational efficiency and profitability. High-quality post-investment management not only enables institutions to co-create value with their portfolio companies but also supports them in achieving anticipated exit strategies and delivering strong financial returns—ultimately strengthening the firm’s competitive edge in the market.

However, due to the broad and fragmented nature of post-investment management—covering diverse service areas with varying focuses—investment firms often face strategic uncertainties and practical challenges when it comes to delivering meaningful value post-investment. After all, how can they truly excel in post-investment management? And more importantly, how can they leverage post-investment operations to co-create value and maximize exit returns? Recently, Yuanhe Chencun hosted the Kunpeng Hui event, featuring a special panel discussion with Wang Yu, CEO of UAB Medical Group and former Operating Partner at DCP Capital; Zhao Zhitong, Senior Management Consultant at Lenovo Star; Liu Shulin, Investment Director at Lenovo Star; Li Weijin, Managing Director at HouSheng Investment; and Jia Chunhao, Head of Post-Investment Management at Chenyi Fund. Together, they explored the "principles" and "practical strategies" behind effective post-investment empowerment in today’s evolving market landscape. Below is a recap of the insightful perspectives shared during the event:

The Path to Value Creation Through Buyouts: The "100-Day Plan" for Post-Investment Management Takes Precedence Over Due Diligence

Wang Yu, CEO of UAB Medical Group and former Operating Partner at DCP Capital We analyzed Buyout's value-creation journey separately from both the pre-investment and post-investment perspectives. In Wang Yu's view, when industry growth opportunities fade and competition intensifies in an already saturated market, Investment and operations have become the key to enabling organizations to continuously create value and stand out from the competition.

Empowering management improvements for portfolio companies aren’t limited to the post-investment phase—pre-investment value assessment and operational due diligence are equally critical. This includes evaluating business conditions, management strategies, team dynamics, and more. By identifying a company’s key operational elements and assessing its capability fit before investing, firms can develop targeted plans to enhance operations—and, crucially, proactively identify potential risks. Wang Yu emphasized that During the operational due diligence phase, companies should already prepare a "100-Day Plan" for post-investment management—a structured action plan aimed at enhancing operational and management practices following the investment.

Wang Yu believes that, For post-investment management of buyouts, people and teams are the first step in driving change, while the second step involves improving operational efficiency. Take the post-investment operations of Beijing Kyoto Children’s Hospital, acquired by DCP Capital, as an example. Wang Yu noted that after taking over management, his team quickly refocused the hospital’s transformation and optimization efforts on "returning to core healthcare services." This led to innovative upgrades in the organizational structure, with a strong commitment to building a sophisticated medical platform that seamlessly connects healthcare professionals on one end and patients on the other. At the same time, the team has been steadily advancing discipline development, integrating cutting-edge data management technologies, and establishing a clear, streamlined group-level management and delegation system, along with a robust KPI evaluation framework. These initiatives enable the group to consolidate its resources effectively while empowering lower-level units. Importantly, the team continues to closely monitor key KPIs, using budgeting as a precise operational tool to drive dynamic, department-specific management processes—ultimately delivering high-quality, diverse, and patient-centric services.

The key to empowering and elevating early-stage projects: "Number One" Leadership and the Core Team

Zhao Zhitong, Senior Management Consultant at Lenovo Star With Liu Shulin, Investment Director at Lenovo Star The presentation thoroughly dissected specific post-investment empowerment strategies from multiple angles. Liu Shulin, Investment Director at Lenovo Star, explained that Lenovo Star adopts a tiered management approach for its portfolio companies, offering both standard value-added services as well as personalized support tailored to key investees. This includes financing assistance, resource matchmaking, and strategic guidance—along with help during major organizational shifts. Lenovo Star has even transformed its post-investment services into standardized products, enabling it to deliver consistent support to multiple companies simultaneously while continuously refining and enhancing these offerings through iterative reviews and improvements. Meanwhile, focusing specifically on the CEO role, People, matters, and money are the three most important elements in its productized value-added services. Liu Shulin also noted that, among the post-investment services provided to early-stage projects, the most significant form of support is capital financing strategy—covering areas such as business direction and implementation guidance.

"In business first, people matter most," according to Zhao Zhitong, a senior management consultant at Lenovo Star. Especially for early-stage companies, the key to building a successful business lies in its people. If a company ultimately declines, the problems usually stem from three key areas: the founder, the core team, and a misalignment in strategy or business model. Therefore, when developing personalized post-investment services for portfolio companies, Focus has shifted to paying close attention to the founder themselves and building a strong core team. For instance, with CEOs, through systematic interviews and interactive sessions, their teams work alongside the CEO to assess the current status and growth trajectory of the portfolio companies, as well as evaluate risks and ensure operational safety. This collaboration helps the CEO gain a clearer understanding of their company’s development, identify critical issues, analyze these challenges, and ultimately provide actionable insights and tailored recommendations for effective problem-solving.

Zhao Zhitong cited Lenovo Star's post-investment support for Megvii Technology as an example. As an early investor in Megvii, Lenovo Star has witnessed the company’s journey—from its inception to rapid growth—providing multi-faceted value-added services in strategic planning, market research, entrepreneurship training, and industry resource integration, ultimately helping Megvii evolve into a "unicorn" AI enterprise focused on IoT applications.

Characteristics of Post-Investment Management and Exit Strategies for Holding-Style Projects

Li Weijin, Managing Director at Hou Sheng Investment We conducted an in-depth analysis of the characteristics and operational strategies for post-investment management in holding-company-style projects. In Li Weijin's view, risk management is the top priority in post-investment management for such projects. Effective post-investment management, after all, must begin with… Good investment due diligence and analysis continue as before. Generally speaking, the companies being acquired are rarely perfect in every aspect, which is why thorough due diligence before the deal is absolutely critical—it helps you gradually grasp how the company operates. Compared to equity investments, this process becomes especially important in controlling-type projects, where the company’s articles of incorporation take center stage.

Meanwhile, as they move into the formal post-investment management phase, Li Weijin emphasized that rebuilding the team for holding-company-style projects is also a crucial step. Post-investment management of controlling projects is achieved by managing "people," "capital," and ultimately, "operations." "The most important aspect of managing people is building a team that shares a common vision, along with establishing a sound organizational structure and effective performance mechanisms."

Additionally, Li Weijin also discussed exit management for controlling-interest projects. He emphasized that during post-investment management and operations of such projects, it’s crucial to carefully plan the exit strategy, thoroughly understand potential buyers and their key requirements. Ultimately, a company’s business development should align with its exit path—or at least aim for the greatest common ground between the two.

Systematic Building of Post-Investment Management: Division of Three Key Functions and Models

Jia Chunhao, Head of Post-Investment Management at Chenyi Foundation The article comprehensively analyzes the systematic construction of post-investment management from the perspectives of its functions, models, and division of responsibilities within private equity funds. Jia Chunhao notes that, from a value-driven standpoint, the process from pre-investment to post-investment can also be viewed as a journey—from identifying a project's potential value to realizing that value.

The post-investment phase focuses on three key functions: risk management, value-added services, and exit execution. Risk management is essentially value preservation—achieving this by promptly and accurately assessing project status through essential measures, such as tracking and following up on outstanding tasks, maintaining regular communication and on-site visits, and systematically gathering financial and business data. Value-added services, meanwhile, involve proactively building differentiated capabilities and generating incremental value through strategic initiatives like developing and refining growth strategies, optimizing organizational structures, strengthening talent resources, and integrating industry-specific assets and partnerships. Finally, exit execution entails flexibly implementing exit strategies based on both project conditions and market dynamics—a function that has become increasingly critical, especially in today’s challenging exit environment.

According to the principle of materiality, Jia Chunhao noted that funds also differ in their post-investment management functions depending on the level of shareholding, with the key distinction lying in the provision of value-added services.

In terms of post-investment management models and division of responsibilities, Jia Chunhao analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of various post-investment management approaches. Jia Chunhao noted that most domestic institutions currently adopt a collaborative model featuring a clear division between "investment" and "post-investment" roles. This partially addresses the challenges related to manpower and expertise, while also comprehensively addressing the potential conflict between post-investment team and investment team performance evaluations—ultimately enabling seamless coordination between pre- and post-investment activities.