18 questions reported in Advent interviews, organised by the group that asks them. Every question carries a model answer and graded feedback on your own attempt.
Questions
Easy · Medium
Hard
Model builds
Built in the spreadsheet grid
Margin bridges, pricing, procurement and 100-day plans. 14 questions
Tests whether a candidate can create accountability without adding a redundant layer of reporting.
A CEO sends a monthly board pack, but operating problems are discovered too late to correct the quarter. How would you design a weekly operating review?
Tests alignment thinking in a portfolio-company management case.
How would you design incentives for a management team after a buyout?
A common value-creation case in private equity portfolio operations interviews.
How would you identify and execute a pricing opportunity at a portfolio company?
A foundational operating-partner question after an investment closes.
What is a value creation plan, and what makes one credible?
The operating partner's first deliverable after close.
You've just closed a buyout of a founder-owned manufacturer. What's in your 100-day plan?
A commercial-excellence case in portfolio operations recruiting.
Revenue is flat despite a larger sales team. How would you diagnose sales force productivity?
Post-close integration is a frequent value-creation case for buyout operations teams.
What would you prioritise when integrating an add-on acquisition into a portfolio company?
An operating-partner question on turning reporting into accountability.
What should a productive portfolio company board meeting accomplish?
A value-creation judgement case where a headline cost saving conflicts with customer and execution risk.
A portfolio company can close one of two plants, saving $6m of annual fixed cost. The move requires $10m of capex and $4m of cash restructuring cost, takes 18 months, and reduces spare capacity from…
A portfolio-operations case sequencing a corporate carve-out separation without disrupting customers or cash collection.
You are supporting a sponsor-owned carve-out of a distribution business. The purchase agreement is signed, but the target relies on the seller's ERP, cash-management and customer-service teams.…
A portfolio-operations prioritization lab where every initiative competes for the same management capacity.
A newly acquired industrial distributor is behind plan. The operating partner has capacity for only two major workstreams this quarter. Rank the interventions as operating facts and management…
A portfolio-operations case requiring an associate to sequence a turnaround plan under tight management capacity.
You support the operating partner at a sponsor-owned food-service distributor. EBITDA is below plan and liquidity is tightening. Rank the interventions as the facts change, then issue a 60-day…
It happens in roughly a third of buyouts, and how you handle it determines the outcome.
Eighteen months in, the CEO is not delivering the plan. How do you decide whether to replace them, and how do you do it?
Operating partners are hired to answer this, and the ordering is the answer.
A portfolio company has $300m revenue and a 12% EBITDA margin. The plan requires 18%. Where do you find 600bp?
LBO modelling, leverage capacity, value creation plans and exit paths. 4 questions
Underwriting an entry requires a view on the exit. Funds ask this at IC.
A sponsor is ready to exit a portfolio company. Compare a strategic sale, a sponsor-to-sponsor sale, an IPO and a continuation vehicle.
Core to how sponsors think about people risk in a deal.
Why do sponsors want management to roll equity? How is a management incentive plan typically structured, and what does it tell you if management refuses to roll?
Tests how you'd actually run a workstream as an associate.
You have three weeks of exclusivity on a mid-market manufacturing business. Structure your commercial diligence. What are the three questions you must answer before the investment committee?
Tests whether you think like an investor rather than a modeler.
What are the three drivers of returns in an LBO? Rank them by how much you'd rely on each when underwriting a deal today, and explain why.
Write your answer, get it graded on technical accuracy, completeness and communication, and see exactly which mechanic you missed.
Company tags reflect where a question type is commonly reported in interviews. They are not sourced from, endorsed by, or affiliated with Advent.