Chris Watt
Managing Partner
I’m one of the Managing Partners at ECI and as well as being a member of our Investment Committee, I also Chair the Partnership Board. I joined ECI in 1999 having spent 5 years at Arthur Andersen. It was at the end of this period, when I was working exclusively on buyside advisory projects for a range of private equity firms, that got me really excited about crossing the Rubicon and becoming an investor.
25 years later, I’m still here and loving it. One of the great things about private equity is that you never stop learning. Whether it was my first IPO with ATG or our first Continuation Fund with CSL, it shows that even after a long career in PE, there are still plenty of opportunities to develop and grow. Having developed something of a focus on the travel sector in my early career, over the last few years I have been involved with a broader range of investments spanning EdTech, pet food, financial services and online marketplaces.
“I worked Saturdays in Woolworths (I’m sure it is just a co-incidence that most places I worked pre-ECI met an untimely demise!). Duties included manning the tobacco counter and policing the pick ‘n’ mix area. The former was helpful in ensuring I never became a smoker!”
“Pulp Fiction. I re-watched it recently with my son and it has stood the test of time. There can be few movies with so many memorable scenes and quotable lines.”
“It never gets dull. We continue to find new and interesting businesses to back and management teams to partner with. The more you do the more you learn. I think one of the great strengths of ECI is our ability to capture what we have learned from our vast experience, refine it, and apply it to new situations.”
