A comprehensive guide to the operating partners of the leading private equity firms
Historical Evolution
Onex Corporation, founded in 1984, long relied on an entrepreneurial investment approach led by its deal teams and portfolio company management. Unlike some peers that introduced operating partners earlier, Onex only formalized a dedicated operating partner function in recent years. In 2021, the firm appointed its first Head of Portfolio Operations – a milestone marking the official launch of an in-house operations team. This move was driven by recognition that systematic value creation expertise could complement Onex’s traditional deal-making strengths. President Bobby Le Blanc noted at the time that “strong operations acumen and effective execution are differentiating factors in private equity investing” for continued success. Thus, Onex’s operating partner model evolved as a response to competitive pressure to deliver operational improvement, transforming from an ad-hoc, deal-team-led approach into a structured program in the 2020s.
Structure and Scale of Current Model
As of 2025, Onex’s operating partner model is centered on a growing in-house Portfolio Operations group. This team is led by Managing Director Wes Pringle, the Head of Portfolio Operations, who joined Onex Partners in 2021. Pringle sits on the Onex Partners investment committee to ensure full integration with the deal team. The model emphasizes internal staff over external consultants – Pringle was hired specifically to build out Onex’s internal operational capability. Under his leadership, Onex has been expanding its operations team across its offices in Toronto, New York, New Jersey, and London. The team’s scale is modest but growing; it functions as a centralized resource supporting Onex’s mid- and large-cap private equity platform (Onex Partners), while smaller portfolio companies under ONCAP (Onex’s middle-market arm) may still rely more on external advisors or Onex’s broad network. Geographically, the operations group is based primarily in Onex’s North American headquarters but serves portfolio companies across North America and Europe. Overall, the structure is relatively centralized, with a dedicated head and a nascent team of operating professionals that plug into deals firm-wide, reflecting Onex’s late but accelerating adoption of the operating partner model.
Key Features and Practices
Onex integrates its operating partners throughout the investment lifecycle. The Head of Portfolio Operations works alongside deal teams from due diligence through ownership to exit. In diligence, this means assessing operational improvement opportunities early; post-acquisition, the operations team oversees implementation of value creation initiatives and tracks performance. Onex’s operating professionals focus on areas like process efficiency, cost optimization, and growth strategy execution across the portfolio. They partner closely with portfolio company management rather than micromanage – acting as advisors and project leaders to drive key initiatives. Pringle’s mandate, for example, includes “implementation, monitoring and measurement” of value creation processes, and assisting management with strategic and operational improvements across Onex Partners companies. Operating partners often join portfolio company boards to provide governance and guidance, ensuring that Onex’s operational priorities (such as margin expansion or digital enablement) are pursued by management. A distinguishing practice is the integration of the ops head into the investment committee, which means operational insights inform decision-making on new investments and resource allocation. This tight integration helps Onex’s deal professionals and operators work as one team (“complete integration with the broader team”. In practice, Onex’s operating partners facilitate initiatives like lean manufacturing programs at industrial holdings, revenue optimization in services businesses, and post-merger integrations for add-on acquisitions. The overall approach is hands-on but collaborative: the operating team provides tools, metrics, and execution support while empowering portfolio CEOs and their teams.
Philosophy and Differentiators
Onex’s philosophy toward operational value creation is rooted in its entrepreneurial culture and emphasis on partnership. The firm historically prided itself on being a strategic partner to management teams, and the operating partner model extends that ethos by offering management concrete help to realize their growth plans. Onex believes that marrying strong operational execution with its financial acumen yields superior results – hence the view that operational excellence is a key differentiator in private equity. A unique element of Onex’s model is the direct inclusion of the operations head in investment decisions, reflecting a core belief that value creation planning should start before an investment is even made. Compared to peers, Onex was slower to build an in-house ops team, but it is now differentiating itself by the depth of integration between its operators and deal professionals (many peer firms keep these functions somewhat separate). Onex also maintains a relatively broad industry focus (from healthcare to aerospace to retail) and thus its operating partners are chosen for general management and process expertise rather than narrow sector specialization. This generalist operator model aligns with Onex’s practice of rotating them across different portfolio companies as needed. The firm’s approach remains collaborative – viewing operating partners as “partners to management” (not just consultants) – consistent with Onex’s long-standing principle of aligning interests with portfolio company leaders. Overall, Onex’s operating partner philosophy is about combining an entrepreneurial, management-friendly approach with the rigor of in-house expertise, aiming for “consistently differentiated operational performance” to drive investor returns.
Examples and Case Studies
Because Onex’s dedicated operations team is relatively new, its impact is just beginning to show. One illustrative case is found in Onex’s industrials portfolio: Celestica, a Toronto-based electronics manufacturer in which Onex has been involved for decades, benefited from operational input in its transformation. Onex helped “fix up” Celestica over time by improving manufacturing efficiency and streamlining its business, contributing to Celestica’s growth into a market leader. More recently, after hiring its Head of Portfolio Operations, Onex has applied a more systematic playbook to companies like WestJet Airlines, acquired in 2019. The operating team worked with WestJet’s management on cost rationalization and fleet optimization during the challenging pandemic period, helping the airline emerge leaner and better positioned for recovery (an effort aligned with Onex’s view that execution and operational agility create long-term value). Additionally, Onex’s operations professionals have been active in the firm’s largest current holding, Gluskin Sheff (wealth management), focusing on integrating that business and driving efficiency after Onex’s acquisition. While specific results are not publicly broken out, Onex has indicated that its portfolio operations group has begun delivering tangible benefits such as improved KPIs tracking, faster post-merger integrations, and a more disciplined approach to operational improvements across the board. As Bobby Le Blanc summed up, “Wes will play an important role in the continued success of Onex Partners,” highlighting early wins in developing the operations team and demonstrating Onex’s commitment to value creation beyond just financial engineering. Going forward, the firm plans to share more case studies as this model matures, expecting that operational initiatives will translate into margin expansion and growth acceleration in upcoming exits.
