In our latest Quick Fire, we chat with ECI’s Origination Manager, Christy Welsh, about her journey into private equity, common misconceptions about the industry, and the importance of Chaka Khan.
Q: What’s been your favourite part of your first half year at ECI?
One of the best things about joining ECI has been the chance to meet so many interesting people. Being in the Origination Team has felt a bit like getting a passport to speak to founders and management teams – people who have built amazing companies and are so generous with their stories and insights about growth businesses. In my previous role in coverage, most of my interactions were with advisors and PE clients who continue to kindly share their pearls of wisdom with me today. Now I get to learn from management teams as well, which has been valuable and genuinely fun too.
Q: What’s one thing about private equity that you think people get wrong?
There’s a common misconception that private equity is just about injecting cash, cutting costs and moving on. One of my first conversations at ECI was with a founder who asked, “Why should we keep talking? We don’t need cash.” It really stuck with me.
What we offer at ECI is so much more than capital. I often say we’re like teammates on the bench. We’re there when you need us, bringing the combined skills of our Origination, Investment and Commercial teams. Everyone here genuinely wants to help build something better. Cash might be the start of the conversation, but it’s not the really exciting part of our stories. There’s a shared passion for creating long-term value, and it’s about helping founders take their business even further than they thought possible, not stepping in to take over but working side by side.
Q: What’s the most interesting part of working with growth businesses?
At this stage, the possibilities really are endless! There are so many ways to help a business grow and create value. What I find especially exciting is M&A. It’s an area where I can have the most impact, from helping shape strategy to using our Amplifind™360 tool to triage opportunities, and meeting even more teams as potential targets.
People might think origination is just about sourcing a deal and stepping away, but with the businesses we back M&A means that we often stay involved throughout the journey. There’s so much energy and potential with growing businesses, and that’s exactly what keeps the job so interesting.
Q: What are your predictions for deal activity for the rest of 2025?
Confidence has been slowly building. Interest rates have started to come down, and we’ve seen more activity coming through in our market. Of course, the market has also come to expect the unexpected; however, if you look back at the last (almost) 50 years that ECI has been investing, normally things aren’t ever quite as bad as we fear or as good as we hope, it usually levels out.
At ECI, we’re focused on finding great businesses with strong growth, resilience and brilliant management teams, and that doesn’t change when there’s market noise. If anything, times like this can bring interesting opportunities, especially on the M&A side.
Q: How does the ECI subsector model work, and are there any particularly exciting trends you see in your subsectors?
I work across three subsectors at ECI: Data, Travel and HealthTech. At ECI our subsector teams immerse themselves in each market. Our focus helps us have strong relationships, develop deep knowledge, and build real conviction.
As you might expect, one exciting trend across all three of those subsectors is AI. What’s been really encouraging is seeing the shift in how people think about AI. It’s less about replacing jobs and more about helping teams make better decisions. There’s a lot of confidence now in using AI day-to-day within an appropriate data governance framework, and the quality of the AI-driven products we’re seeing in our pipeline reflects that. It’s a very exciting time to be in these subsectors.
Quick Fire with Christy:
If you weren’t in private equity, what job would you love to do?
I love sport, travel, and meeting people, so something that combines all three would be amazing. Maybe following big sporting events and interviewing the athletes. Ideally tennis, as I’m a huge fan.
What Scottish food item do you wish everyone would try?
There is a 5th generation family bakery in St Andrews that makes the best fudge doughnuts!
What’s your guilty pleasure TV show or movie?
If you checked my Netflix, you’d find plenty of RomComs and old-school Bond movies. Sean Connery, of course, is my favourite Bond.
What’s one thing you always have in your bag?
Pen and paper. I much prefer scribbling things down by hand. Typing into my phone’s notes just isn’t the same.
If you could instantly learn a new skill, what would it be?
DJ! I’d play Disco and House and there would be a lot of Chaka Khan in the mix!
