WEBVTT - Businessweek Extra - David Mussafer 0:00:01.800 --> 0:00:05.520 You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week from Bloomberg Radio. I'm 0:00:05.600 --> 0:00:07.960 Jason Kelly and I'm Carol Masser. Welcome to the Bloomberg 0:00:08.000 --> 0:00:10.720 Business Week Extra. It's our weekly podcast bringing you an 0:00:10.720 --> 0:00:13.440 in depth interview you will not hear anywhere else. And Jason, 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:16.200 you caught up with David Musser. I was so excited 0:00:16.239 --> 0:00:19.360 to do this. I have to say, full disclosure, this 0:00:19.560 --> 0:00:22.440 was an interview that I set in motion right as 0:00:22.480 --> 0:00:25.440 this was getting underway. Mustafer is a guy I've gotten 0:00:25.480 --> 0:00:27.400 to know over the past few years, one of the 0:00:27.480 --> 0:00:33.480 world's leading but maybe lesser known private equity executives. And 0:00:33.760 --> 0:00:35.479 one of the reasons I got to know him was 0:00:35.600 --> 0:00:38.960 he's the lead director, was the chairman of Lulu Lemon, 0:00:39.520 --> 0:00:43.000 an investment that his firm went into twice. He understands 0:00:43.040 --> 0:00:45.519 the world so well. Check it out. Well, David, let 0:00:45.520 --> 0:00:48.160 me start by asking you, first of all, how are 0:00:48.240 --> 0:00:52.040 you like? What's it like for you personally, family wise, 0:00:52.120 --> 0:00:56.880 just sort of as a human being here. Well, I mean, firstly, 0:00:57.200 --> 0:01:00.280 that's the first question that we share with every body, 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:03.160 which is firstly, just how are you doing? Because this, 0:01:03.680 --> 0:01:06.880 the physical element of this is unlike anything we've ever 0:01:06.959 --> 0:01:10.560 dealt with before, and so thank you for asking. Personally, 0:01:10.680 --> 0:01:15.399 I'm I'm doing well, and actually I'm I'm quarantined here 0:01:15.520 --> 0:01:20.800 in outside of Boston. So we're in the suburbs in Boston, 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:25.920 and I've got uh four tunity twenty year old kids, 0:01:25.959 --> 0:01:30.039 and three of them are actually here with us. So, um, 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:33.920 it's been in the face of some really difficult times, 0:01:34.440 --> 0:01:38.960 some unique elements of being with your family. And how 0:01:39.200 --> 0:01:42.160 how is it uh feeling and looking there on the 0:01:42.160 --> 0:01:44.520 ground in Boston. I mean, I know you're outside the city, 0:01:44.560 --> 0:01:46.320 but I know you're in touch with a lot of people. 0:01:46.360 --> 0:01:50.440 You're very active from a civic perspective. You know. I 0:01:50.480 --> 0:01:53.280 feel like different cities and different parts of the country 0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:55.920 are at a different moment here, and you know, we're 0:01:55.960 --> 0:02:00.440 recording on March thirty one, and it's a it's changing daily. 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:02.800 But what does it feel like in and around Boston 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:07.280 right now? Well, I mean, I think it's probably equivalent 0:02:07.360 --> 0:02:10.639 to the major metro areas if you think about obviously 0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:14.320 New York, which is so such the epicenter right now, 0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:17.919 ben Boston is behalf of stuff behind and right there, 0:02:18.160 --> 0:02:21.600 So there's a lot of fear and concern that I 0:02:21.639 --> 0:02:27.280 think exists here in London, in Paris, certainly Madrid, and 0:02:27.639 --> 0:02:31.200 you know, so many of our major metropolitan areas today 0:02:31.240 --> 0:02:34.839 and Boston. You know, we have terrific medical care here 0:02:34.840 --> 0:02:39.359 in the city. But I think everybody is certainly mindful 0:02:39.680 --> 0:02:44.280 of the time and where we sit today at near 0:02:44.400 --> 0:02:48.120 the you know, the peak of this crisis. And so 0:02:48.600 --> 0:02:53.880 let's talk about the firm and your portfolio companies. And 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:55.960 I guess I'd start with the firm. How do you 0:02:56.560 --> 0:03:01.079 everybody started learning these lessons? We are certainly day to day. 0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:03.200 How do you run the firmative time like this remotely? 0:03:03.240 --> 0:03:05.760 This is such a people intensive business in many ways 0:03:05.760 --> 0:03:10.960 relationship intensive. Well, I mean, Jason, the one thing, you know, 0:03:11.000 --> 0:03:16.240 we have offices in UH, Shanghai and Hong Kong, so 0:03:16.960 --> 0:03:20.960 badly we we had a little preview of of how 0:03:21.360 --> 0:03:23.960 we were going to need to manage remotely, and so 0:03:24.639 --> 0:03:29.320 we were prepared and and UH set up for remote 0:03:29.360 --> 0:03:33.000 access once, you know, we got to that point. And 0:03:33.040 --> 0:03:37.120 I think one of the lessons we actually distributed this 0:03:37.240 --> 0:03:41.120 the very first day of our um. You know that 0:03:41.240 --> 0:03:44.760 when we went to remote work worldwide, we shared a 0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:47.640 lessons learned memo that we had asked our team in 0:03:47.720 --> 0:03:52.320 Asia to prepare, and it was both you know, pointers 0:03:52.360 --> 0:03:57.520 serious points, light hearted elements, but the key theme that 0:03:57.560 --> 0:03:59.880 we heard loud and clear was the need to over 0:04:00.080 --> 0:04:05.120 communicate the need for video because as humans, we take 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:09.120 so much of our cues from facial expressions that you 0:04:09.200 --> 0:04:12.640 actually can can't get over the phone like we're doing 0:04:12.720 --> 0:04:16.360 right now. And so, you know, those were some elements 0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:19.080 that we realized early on, we're going to be really 0:04:19.120 --> 0:04:23.040 important to make sure that we were prepared to do that. 0:04:23.680 --> 0:04:25.920 And so is that a situation, David, where I mean 0:04:26.000 --> 0:04:28.200 you sort of have to invest in some infrastructure that 0:04:28.240 --> 0:04:30.320 maybe you would normally have or does all of this 0:04:30.960 --> 0:04:34.640 does all of that already exists for you? Well, I 0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:38.320 think the you know, the critical infrastructure that allows you 0:04:38.400 --> 0:04:42.280 to have access to all of your uh, you know, 0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:45.599 your data as well as to have systems that you 0:04:45.640 --> 0:04:50.119 can use remotely were the access points. But I think, 0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:55.000 like everybody, you know, they're spending much more time in 0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:59.800 the video conversations and so literally you know, just using 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:03.480 WebEx and Zoom and a host of other resources like 0:05:03.520 --> 0:05:07.240 that have become the critical lengths. And we had a 0:05:07.279 --> 0:05:11.400 really incredible Milestone last variety. So, um, like a lot 0:05:11.400 --> 0:05:15.279 of groups, we held a global town hall. We did 0:05:15.279 --> 0:05:17.600 it at ten in the morning, so that was you know, 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:22.200 near midnight in some places of the world, in you know, 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:26.599 in Europe, and we connected all fifteen of our offices 0:05:26.640 --> 0:05:31.240 worldwide and all five hundred people and we actually put 0:05:31.279 --> 0:05:34.760 all five hundred on a zoom and it was incredible, 0:05:34.880 --> 0:05:38.200 you know, doing the whole uh sort of Brady Bunch 0:05:38.279 --> 0:05:43.000 type of visual with your entire office infrastructure and it 0:05:43.080 --> 0:05:48.520 actually worked. And so you know, we're really finding there's 0:05:48.600 --> 0:05:52.280 just so many incredible ways to stay connected and that's 0:05:52.320 --> 0:05:56.240 the most important thing today. Well, and I do wonder, 0:05:56.880 --> 0:06:00.240 you know, as you're looking beyond the firm, I mean 0:06:00.279 --> 0:06:03.400 you're obviously talking to a lot of different c e 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:06.080 o s, you know, CEOs that you have invested in 0:06:06.160 --> 0:06:09.080 that you're you know, you own partner or most of 0:06:09.080 --> 0:06:16.159 the company, um, but also presumably excuse me, perspective investments 0:06:16.160 --> 0:06:18.360 as well. What are you hearing from c e o 0:06:18.480 --> 0:06:22.520 s that you work with closely? Well, I'll tell you 0:06:22.560 --> 0:06:27.200 I've been incredibly impressed with the CEOs that I've spoken to, 0:06:27.440 --> 0:06:30.840 and I've spoken to a lot, so we have about 0:06:30.839 --> 0:06:37.320 eighty portfolio companies globally at Advent and obviously, the you know, 0:06:37.760 --> 0:06:43.520 the pressure and challenges that these these companies face is enormous. 0:06:44.120 --> 0:06:48.040 And you know, to a man or woman that are 0:06:48.120 --> 0:06:54.520 leading our portfolio companies, they have a clarity, focus and 0:06:54.720 --> 0:06:59.880 a resolution that just gives them, gives everyone the competence 0:07:00.160 --> 0:07:03.640 that we've got the tools, we're gonna get through this, 0:07:04.120 --> 0:07:07.479 and you know, and really trying to think about how 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:11.280 do you think of creative ideas to help the company 0:07:11.280 --> 0:07:14.560 in the interim as well as long term solutions that 0:07:14.600 --> 0:07:16.920 are going to help the company be even stronger when 0:07:16.920 --> 0:07:20.160 we get on the other side of this. So, you know, 0:07:20.560 --> 0:07:23.280 c e O s are right in the midst of 0:07:23.360 --> 0:07:27.080 their most challenging times, and so they're not spending a 0:07:27.080 --> 0:07:31.600 lot of time philosophizing about broader issues. They're thinking about 0:07:31.600 --> 0:07:33.800 the here and now. What can they do to protect 0:07:33.840 --> 0:07:37.160 their people, what can they do to make sure that 0:07:37.480 --> 0:07:40.520 we keep everyone safe, and what can they do to 0:07:41.320 --> 0:07:44.480 stay connected with their customers even if they're forced to 0:07:44.640 --> 0:07:49.600 disconnect in certain ways? And so financially, I know that 0:07:49.680 --> 0:07:51.880 there's been a lot of talk among your peers in 0:07:51.920 --> 0:07:55.880 the private equity space of you know, managers telling their 0:07:55.920 --> 0:07:59.160 portfolio companies draw down your lines, you know, make sure 0:07:59.200 --> 0:08:01.920 you have a financial cushion. How much of that did 0:08:01.920 --> 0:08:03.840 you do or did you feel like you needed to 0:08:03.880 --> 0:08:08.760 do well? I mean, I think that we recognized early 0:08:08.840 --> 0:08:12.720 on this is so different than any other crisis we've faced. 0:08:12.880 --> 0:08:16.760 And so we've had different times in all of our 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:21.240 business careers when we've seen a downturn, a recession, a 0:08:21.360 --> 0:08:26.920 deep great recession. We've never had an interruption in global 0:08:27.560 --> 0:08:31.840 uh commerce like we're experiencing today, and so I think 0:08:31.920 --> 0:08:36.320 the need for liquidity we recognized that early on. We 0:08:36.360 --> 0:08:38.640 didn't do it across the board, but went case by 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:41.880 case with our companies and tried to make sure that 0:08:41.920 --> 0:08:45.920 we maximize the liquidity and the tools that they would 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:48.800 have as they went into this. So I feel like, 0:08:49.160 --> 0:08:51.720 you know, we've done the best we can with our 0:08:51.800 --> 0:08:56.080 teams and working closely with them to to to give 0:08:56.120 --> 0:09:00.880 them the tools that um that they need today. So 0:09:00.920 --> 0:09:02.920 I want to ask you a question that we're asking 0:09:02.960 --> 0:09:05.760 all of the top leaders and investors that we're talking 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:08.679 to these days, which is what's the most important and 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:12.480 in your view, maybe underappreciated way that the world or 0:09:12.559 --> 0:09:15.280 at least sort of the investment world in in your case, 0:09:15.600 --> 0:09:21.160 will be different. On the other side of this, I mean, Jason, 0:09:21.320 --> 0:09:24.880 it will be different. And you know, we we don't 0:09:24.920 --> 0:09:28.280 know exactly. But I've spent a lot of my time 0:09:28.520 --> 0:09:32.480 asking talking to so many different people because you know, 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:35.480 to all too often I think we rely on our 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:39.720 own personal experience. If you think to this crisis. We 0:09:39.840 --> 0:09:43.240 knew we had this problem in Asia as late as 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:48.680 early February, and yet because we hadn't visualized this type 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:53.360 of global scenario in our lifetime, it was really hard 0:09:53.480 --> 0:09:57.920 for so many people to visualize, and so trying to 0:09:57.960 --> 0:10:04.720 think about how will things be different? I think, you know, inevitably, um, 0:10:04.760 --> 0:10:06.840 you know, things will and so I think we're trying 0:10:06.840 --> 0:10:10.800 to think about that very question. Uh, there's a prospect 0:10:10.840 --> 0:10:13.439 that you know, it could be a long recovery and 0:10:13.840 --> 0:10:18.480 you could see, you know, entirely different approaches that people 0:10:18.559 --> 0:10:21.880 take given that they've they've spent more time working from home. 0:10:22.000 --> 0:10:24.600 So you know, I don't think we have a hard 0:10:24.640 --> 0:10:29.040 and fast idea to say you're going to see this change. 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:32.839 Partly what's going to happen is that it depends on 0:10:33.200 --> 0:10:37.240 the severity of um you know, how we come out 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:41.440 of this this crisis period, and so I think making 0:10:41.440 --> 0:10:46.400 sure that you're preparing for some pretty difficult times. But 0:10:46.520 --> 0:10:49.079 then there's an optimist in all of us, and in 0:10:49.120 --> 0:10:52.520 so many ways, I think you're always surprised by the 0:10:52.679 --> 0:10:58.120 power and creativity of all of the people that you're 0:10:58.120 --> 0:11:01.360 connected with globally. And I think that's another way that 0:11:01.400 --> 0:11:04.640 we will be surprised that today we're at the peak 0:11:04.720 --> 0:11:09.360 of the concern and and being so nervous about what 0:11:09.520 --> 0:11:12.199 stands ahead of us. But what I think will also 0:11:12.320 --> 0:11:16.040 surprise you is that people will come up with incredibly 0:11:16.120 --> 0:11:21.640 powerful new ways that will shine optimism on you know, 0:11:21.720 --> 0:11:25.679 the future going forward. Well, and to that end, I mean, 0:11:25.720 --> 0:11:29.160 as a private equity investor, you are investing for the 0:11:29.280 --> 0:11:32.840 long term. Your job, quite literally on on behalf of 0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:36.640 your investors is to look around the corner. So through 0:11:37.040 --> 0:11:39.760 you know, your existing portfolio companies, through your teams who 0:11:39.800 --> 0:11:43.560 presumably are still working hard analyzing opportunities. Are there any 0:11:43.720 --> 0:11:48.959 themes that are emerging at this point? Well, I mean 0:11:49.040 --> 0:11:55.000 in terms of themes um you know, clearly the frontline 0:11:55.040 --> 0:11:59.760 businesses are the ones that are facing the enormous pressure today. 0:11:59.840 --> 0:12:05.760 So you know, literally with mandated shutdowns, and so our restaurants, 0:12:05.800 --> 0:12:11.120 our hotels, our businesses that are basically consumer facing are 0:12:11.200 --> 0:12:14.720 all thinking about how do they develop and fine tune 0:12:14.760 --> 0:12:18.520 their business model so that they can lean into whether 0:12:18.520 --> 0:12:22.559 if it's restaurants into curbside delivery take out, or if 0:12:22.559 --> 0:12:26.719 there other consumer facing businesses thinking about ways that they 0:12:26.720 --> 0:12:32.760 connect directly more specifically with their customer. And then longer term, inevitably, 0:12:32.920 --> 0:12:36.520 I think to your previous question, you know, people will, uh, 0:12:36.720 --> 0:12:39.080 there will be some changes. So there was a massive 0:12:39.120 --> 0:12:42.720 wave towards you know, urbanization, and maybe you may see 0:12:43.040 --> 0:12:46.200 you know, some some people say, uh, you know that 0:12:46.360 --> 0:12:48.800 that distance that they had was something that they were 0:12:49.160 --> 0:12:51.480 happy to live with a little bit more So, I 0:12:51.520 --> 0:12:54.960 don't think we know all of the impacts that we're 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:58.199 going to see coming out of this. I think that clearly, 0:12:58.679 --> 0:13:01.439 you know, we were at the peace of the economic cycle, 0:13:01.559 --> 0:13:07.120 and this abrupt stop is something that is something we've 0:13:07.160 --> 0:13:11.280 never experienced before. And so I think, you know, the 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:13.840 hope that and when I talked to so many of 0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:19.160 our CEOs, their first concern is the safety and the 0:13:19.240 --> 0:13:24.560 care of their employees and their broader teams and so 0:13:25.240 --> 0:13:29.080 given you know, the pressure that everyone's under today. That's 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:31.520 a big part of what people are worried about, just 0:13:31.600 --> 0:13:34.160 making sure that that we can do the best job 0:13:34.240 --> 0:13:36.960 we can to help everyone. Yeah, I mean I do 0:13:37.080 --> 0:13:39.440 wonder and this this sort of gets to some things 0:13:39.480 --> 0:13:42.040 you and I have talked about over the years, David, 0:13:42.559 --> 0:13:44.880 especially through your investment with Lulu Lemon, which I want 0:13:44.880 --> 0:13:47.360 to talk about in a minute. But you know, at 0:13:47.440 --> 0:13:51.800 times like this, it does feel like human beings change, 0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:54.800 and human beings you know, can't help but change in 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:57.160 some ways. And I feel like you know you and 0:13:57.200 --> 0:13:59.079 maybe it's because you and I are fellow Southerner as 0:13:59.120 --> 0:14:02.000 we think about these things a little bit differently, um 0:14:02.000 --> 0:14:04.559 maybe maybe than others. But you know, this notion of 0:14:04.800 --> 0:14:07.560 our relationships with people and and sort of the changing 0:14:07.640 --> 0:14:10.319 nature of them, but but also you know, the strong 0:14:10.400 --> 0:14:14.439 reminder of our own humanity. I do wonder how that 0:14:14.559 --> 0:14:18.600 works through you know, the investment world and public markets 0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:22.880 and private markets and businesses to some extent. Well, I 0:14:22.960 --> 0:14:26.000 mean I think you see it going on right now. 0:14:26.320 --> 0:14:31.480 So you know, we put together, we uh a little 0:14:31.600 --> 0:14:34.200 something to share some of these stories with all of 0:14:34.200 --> 0:14:37.600 our c c o s because each of our companies 0:14:38.040 --> 0:14:41.440 are taking on initiatives and they aren't doing it for 0:14:41.480 --> 0:14:44.240 any reason other than it's just the right thing to 0:14:44.320 --> 0:14:47.920 do to try to help people anyway they can. And 0:14:48.000 --> 0:14:51.640 so almost all of our companies are taking on public 0:14:51.680 --> 0:14:55.920 health initiatives. Of create are shifting production if they can 0:14:56.120 --> 0:15:03.640 to create UM protective gear. They're shifting to alleviate pressure 0:15:03.840 --> 0:15:10.880 in hospitals by creating other forms, the other avenues to 0:15:10.880 --> 0:15:14.760 to deal with non emergency treatment they're dealing with. You know, 0:15:15.120 --> 0:15:18.320 I think Bloomberg, you guys had an article yesterday where 0:15:18.320 --> 0:15:22.160 you shared about what we're doing with ain Bridge UM 0:15:22.160 --> 0:15:27.040 where we're actually taking our hotels that we manage and 0:15:27.160 --> 0:15:32.640 working with post responders and healthcare providers to provide housing 0:15:33.080 --> 0:15:37.040 and a safe distance so these healthcare providers can stay 0:15:37.080 --> 0:15:40.680 healthy while they're doing the front line work that's so 0:15:40.800 --> 0:15:45.240 critical right this minute. And so you also, I mean 0:15:45.280 --> 0:15:48.480 this is also a time for philanthropy in in many ways, 0:15:48.520 --> 0:15:51.160 and I know that you and the partners have come 0:15:51.200 --> 0:15:53.960 together to fund some of that. You and I side 0:15:54.000 --> 0:15:56.400 note have worked together on our Brackets for a Cause 0:15:57.360 --> 0:16:01.720 charity effort at Bloomberg which it took a pivot thanks 0:16:01.720 --> 0:16:04.000 to you and and others, you know, to sort of 0:16:04.040 --> 0:16:06.400 direct some of the money that normally folks would be 0:16:06.400 --> 0:16:10.680 betting uh gamely on the n C Double A tournament. 0:16:10.760 --> 0:16:13.400 But but you did something of an even larger magnitude 0:16:13.840 --> 0:16:19.720 with with the firm. Tell me about that. I mean, Jason, 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:22.840 I think that that um. You know, for us, it 0:16:23.000 --> 0:16:25.880 was just a question of what can we do right 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:29.360 now to try to help in any way. And so 0:16:30.080 --> 0:16:34.560 in the scheme of the problem worldwide, you know, the 0:16:34.600 --> 0:16:40.080 need is ammens. But we had Advent came together as 0:16:40.120 --> 0:16:44.680 the partners individually to begin a fund that hopefully will 0:16:44.720 --> 0:16:49.880 be matched or uh multiplied as we begin to distribute 0:16:49.920 --> 0:16:55.240 these funds. And we're channeling this effort towards uh, you know, 0:16:55.360 --> 0:16:58.840 today's equivalent of the first responders, people that are in 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:02.320 the healthcare profession and people that are in frontline positions 0:17:02.680 --> 0:17:08.120 and really trying to support them their families, UM with 0:17:08.280 --> 0:17:11.880 any way we can. And so this is something we created, 0:17:12.280 --> 0:17:15.760 uh and we're the Advent Relief Fund. We funded it 0:17:15.800 --> 0:17:19.840 with twenty million dollars and we're gonna work to get 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:24.480 this out as soon as we possibly can to as 0:17:24.520 --> 0:17:27.560 many people as we can to try to help them 0:17:27.600 --> 0:17:32.440 through this time period. It includes you know, our portfolio 0:17:32.560 --> 0:17:35.920 companies as well and some of their employees. But this 0:17:36.000 --> 0:17:39.480 is a broader effort on behalf of you know, Advent 0:17:39.920 --> 0:17:42.520 to just try to to help anyway that we that 0:17:42.640 --> 0:17:46.040 we can. Quite frankly interesting. Well, tell me a little 0:17:46.040 --> 0:17:50.360 bit about Lulu Lemon. You're the executive chairman there. You 0:17:50.680 --> 0:17:54.679 understand that business, uh innately and for those of you 0:17:54.720 --> 0:17:57.280 who need more information about this is a great story 0:17:58.280 --> 0:18:00.639 I think that we did and then interview that I 0:18:00.680 --> 0:18:04.080 did with you, uh and Calvin McDonald back in December 0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:06.960 feels like a hundred years ago. We were sitting in 0:18:06.960 --> 0:18:10.600 a store together. Those stories now all closed for at 0:18:10.680 --> 0:18:14.280 least a few more days or weeks. Tell me the 0:18:14.359 --> 0:18:18.639 view of this through Lulu. Well, Um, at first I 0:18:18.680 --> 0:18:21.800 want to correct you. I'm now lead director, so incredible 0:18:21.880 --> 0:18:26.639 chairman Glenn Murphy. But um, I'm still you know, very active. 0:18:26.680 --> 0:18:29.680 That's right. I knew that. I apologize. Well, we'll clean 0:18:29.720 --> 0:18:34.959 that up. And in terms of Lulu, Um, you know, 0:18:35.080 --> 0:18:39.840 Lululemon is an incredible business and we're really really proud 0:18:39.880 --> 0:18:44.840 of our involvement. You know, in particular that business, um, 0:18:44.880 --> 0:18:49.480 you know remains incredibly strong. We invested in that business 0:18:49.600 --> 0:18:53.080 near over five years ago and today it's still debt 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:56.320 free with nearly a billion dollars in cash, and so 0:18:56.840 --> 0:19:00.639 they're able to do a lot of things that you know, 0:19:00.680 --> 0:19:04.119 I think again, we're really proud of the leadership that 0:19:04.200 --> 0:19:08.320 they're able to take. So they've committed to um, you know, 0:19:08.480 --> 0:19:12.600 covering all of their store employees for as as long 0:19:12.640 --> 0:19:17.560 as they can, and um they're also doing some amazing 0:19:17.640 --> 0:19:21.080 things to support their ambassadors. So this is these are 0:19:21.080 --> 0:19:23.959 people that are largely part of the gig economy and 0:19:24.040 --> 0:19:29.119 so again they're part of the Lulu world. They are 0:19:29.320 --> 0:19:32.000 Lulu is stepping up in other ways and you'll hear 0:19:32.040 --> 0:19:35.639 more from Calvin and the team directly very soon. But 0:19:36.040 --> 0:19:39.520 they've got a host of initiatives that they're unleashing to 0:19:39.640 --> 0:19:43.480 try to be a supportive citizen. In terms of the 0:19:43.520 --> 0:19:47.800 business itself, the stores are closed and so um you 0:19:47.840 --> 0:19:51.040 know are the stores that are ironically open at Lulu 0:19:51.160 --> 0:19:55.240 or in China. So and our worldwide stores are are 0:19:55.280 --> 0:19:59.840 closed otherwise and so clearly the businesses is shifted to 0:20:00.200 --> 0:20:04.919 online and uh E com And so you know, I 0:20:05.000 --> 0:20:08.240 think that that again Lulu is in a very fortunate position, 0:20:08.359 --> 0:20:12.720 given that people are thinking more about their own personal 0:20:12.880 --> 0:20:17.120 health and wellness in In any event, you know, we're 0:20:17.160 --> 0:20:21.320 confident that that that the company's very well positioned to 0:20:21.440 --> 0:20:25.320 continue to do well when we come out of this well. 0:20:25.359 --> 0:20:27.840 I was thinking as we were preparing for this interview, 0:20:27.880 --> 0:20:31.000 I have gone full ath leisure in my my current 0:20:31.040 --> 0:20:33.560 work arrangement. I don't think I put on a colored shirt. 0:20:34.200 --> 0:20:36.640 I know you make colored shirts too, but I don't 0:20:36.640 --> 0:20:38.760 think I put on a colored shirt. Uh. And in 0:20:38.800 --> 0:20:41.439 the last three weeks, So I mean it is to 0:20:41.520 --> 0:20:43.760 be slightly more serious. I mean, I know that we 0:20:43.840 --> 0:20:47.080 talked about this late last year, this notion that the 0:20:47.200 --> 0:20:50.280 e commerce side was something you guys invested heavily in 0:20:50.440 --> 0:20:52.359 over the past few years, right, I mean that was 0:20:52.400 --> 0:20:56.560 that was almost a redo in many ways. Well, it 0:20:56.640 --> 0:21:00.119 was part of a broader effort to really lean in, 0:21:00.680 --> 0:21:04.399 uh from a data and analytics and technology standpoint, and 0:21:04.480 --> 0:21:09.800 so Lulu had an incredible connection with their customers, but 0:21:09.880 --> 0:21:14.080 they really just hadn't invested heavily to be able to 0:21:14.840 --> 0:21:18.200 to to to work directly in the way that they 0:21:18.240 --> 0:21:23.000 needed to. And so we invested significant dollars in our 0:21:23.080 --> 0:21:28.280 eCOM capability so that um, the experience was better for customers, 0:21:28.440 --> 0:21:34.800 the sortment, the ability to create ideas and offer product. 0:21:35.440 --> 0:21:39.320 But you know, today I think that you know, everybody 0:21:39.400 --> 0:21:42.920 is clearly just trying to think about, you know, how 0:21:42.960 --> 0:21:45.840 do you stay healthy and get on the other side 0:21:45.880 --> 0:21:49.520 of this, and so, um, you know, we're certainly there 0:21:49.560 --> 0:21:54.320 for for people today and uh, you know, please that 0:21:54.400 --> 0:21:57.320 we made some of those investments in the past, but 0:21:58.320 --> 0:22:01.000 you know, I think that that we see so much 0:22:01.040 --> 0:22:06.880 more that we can do, uh to work directly with customers, 0:22:06.920 --> 0:22:10.520 and you know, you're seeing more of what we're offering. 0:22:10.560 --> 0:22:13.960 I think we're offering a host of digital classes and 0:22:14.119 --> 0:22:17.600 other things too, you know, people that are that are 0:22:17.600 --> 0:22:20.719 connected with the company, so that you know, again we 0:22:20.760 --> 0:22:25.720 can just try to connect directly and help out, uh, 0:22:25.800 --> 0:22:29.400 you know during this this incredible time period and retail 0:22:29.480 --> 0:22:34.000 clothes for this foreseeable future. What's the update there? Well, 0:22:34.240 --> 0:22:38.000 I mean I think that that um, you know, the 0:22:38.480 --> 0:22:44.480 need to to really create social distancing and be as 0:22:44.720 --> 0:22:48.439 firm as we can is really paramount to get to 0:22:48.520 --> 0:22:51.480 the other side of this. So short of a therapeutic 0:22:51.600 --> 0:22:54.680 or something that really gets released, we've got to make 0:22:54.720 --> 0:22:58.639 sure that you know, the country um stays healthy and 0:22:58.680 --> 0:23:02.800 you've seen uh, you know the impact of this terrible 0:23:02.960 --> 0:23:09.520 virus isn't uniform. And so seeing the incredible um, you know, 0:23:09.640 --> 0:23:13.040 pain and suffering that its inflicted on places like Spain 0:23:13.080 --> 0:23:16.880 and Italy or certainly something that I think gives everyone 0:23:16.920 --> 0:23:19.880 pause to say, we really need to make sure that 0:23:19.920 --> 0:23:24.639 we do everything we can as a community to stop that. 0:23:24.760 --> 0:23:28.760 And so you know, the commerce and business is a secondary, 0:23:29.240 --> 0:23:31.959 you know, affair until we get on the other side 0:23:32.240 --> 0:23:36.480 of this pandemic. Alright, So, uh, as we wrap up, 0:23:36.680 --> 0:23:40.800 David musta for any any predictions from an investment perspective, 0:23:41.240 --> 0:23:43.160 you know, how do you look at this through that 0:23:43.280 --> 0:23:49.400 lens having invested through recessions, through great recessions, through downturns, 0:23:49.440 --> 0:23:54.240 through uh, you know, international crises, what does this look 0:23:54.320 --> 0:23:57.760 like on the other side for an investor? Well, I 0:23:57.800 --> 0:24:00.520 think what you're you're seeing the impacts all ready. So 0:24:00.680 --> 0:24:06.360 businesses that were weak are certainly going to suffer tremendously 0:24:06.680 --> 0:24:09.800 in this. And so what I think you're going to 0:24:09.920 --> 0:24:15.280 see is strong businesses get even stronger. And you know, 0:24:15.359 --> 0:24:18.720 those are part of the type of investment opportunities that 0:24:18.840 --> 0:24:22.000 we're seeing a lot more today. So certainly they're going 0:24:22.080 --> 0:24:26.919 to be restructuring related opportunities where their businesses that are suffering, 0:24:27.119 --> 0:24:29.879 and you know, maybe you're looking at an opportunity to 0:24:30.000 --> 0:24:33.480 buy the debt at a discount. I think what we're 0:24:33.520 --> 0:24:36.280 thinking about an advent is more of the opportunity to 0:24:36.440 --> 0:24:39.560 invest in great businesses and to really try to help them, 0:24:39.680 --> 0:24:42.680 like we did with Lulu Limit and so you know, 0:24:42.880 --> 0:24:46.960 that's really I think where we've excelled. We've done probably 0:24:47.000 --> 0:24:51.040 a dozen carve out deals where we bought incredible divisions, 0:24:51.200 --> 0:24:54.360 and I know that that you guys saw that we're 0:24:54.520 --> 0:24:59.080 buying Dissan Craft elevators, which which we announced just as 0:24:59.160 --> 0:25:03.040 this pandemic is really beginning to take hold. And so 0:25:03.480 --> 0:25:08.679 leaning in to buy some incredible businesses and really investing 0:25:09.119 --> 0:25:16.000 heavily to help them be even stronger and more impactful 0:25:16.160 --> 0:25:18.040 on the other side of the crisis is the way 0:25:18.080 --> 0:25:20.720 that I think, you know, we'll see and when we 0:25:20.880 --> 0:25:24.760 look back at a time period if you if you 0:25:24.880 --> 0:25:29.960 think back to the oh nine ten crisis, uh during 0:25:30.000 --> 0:25:32.679 the last recession, we were one of the most active 0:25:32.720 --> 0:25:35.879 investors in the world for that two year period in 0:25:36.000 --> 0:25:40.840 private Equity and we bought some amazing companies like TransUnion, World, 0:25:40.920 --> 0:25:46.639 pay Vantive and um. You know, I think that given 0:25:46.680 --> 0:25:51.000 the connection and the stewardship that hopefully, you know, we're 0:25:51.040 --> 0:25:55.000 able to bring, that that's gonna continue to be an 0:25:55.040 --> 0:25:59.760 opportunity for us. And as we you know, get into, uh, 0:26:00.119 --> 0:26:03.200