FMG Leading Taps Will Busch, III to Lead the Firm’s Growing Private Equity Advisory Practice

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--To meet growing demand from private equity clients, human capital advisory firm FMG Leading has announced that Will Busch, III, Managing Director, Growth Strategies, will assume leadership of the firm’s Private Equity Practice. Mr. Busch specializes in helping PE investors utilize human capital and organizational growth levers to drive value creation at the portfolio-company level. He designs innovative yet pragmatic human capital solutions to inform diligence, post M&A integration and growth acceleration activities. Mr. Busch will manage the strategy and direction of FMG Leading’s private equity-focused efforts while continuing to advance growth initiatives for both clients and the firm.

Mr. Busch takes on this role at a time of rapid growth for the private equity industry and FMG Leading itself, which has seen its PE client base triple in the past 18 months.

“More and more, private equity investors understand that while value creation plans might look good on paper, they can become extremely messy once human beings start executing on them,” said Mr. Busch. “Effectively mitigating this risk requires a high-level of discipline and rigor, staples of FMG Leading’s approach. We use advanced analytics to create a human capital playbook, complementing existing strategic roadmaps, to best drive financial growth and performance.”

He adds: “It’s not surprising that PE firms are increasingly recognizing the outsized value of their people in the wake of a pandemic and a national reckoning on racial justice. With newly elevated consciousness, investors have become more attuned to human and organizational dynamics, from diversity, equity and inclusion to workplace culture – areas that, with meaningful attention and investment, not only yield social goods but more profitable and sustainable businesses.”

Mr. Busch’s past positions include executive roles at Korn Ferry and Gallup. In addition, he worked with the Illinois State Department of Commerce, under the direct support of the Governor, to build a predictive analytic tool that identified and developed multiple cohorts of high-potential minority entrepreneurs across the state. By leveraging this model, Illinois became the first state to utilize a behavioral science approach to drive job creation.

“The strategic value of human capital advisory work is contingent on the expert use of data instead of just gut instinct,” said Dr. Matt Brubaker, CEO of FMG Leading. “Will’s background in analytics, as well as private equity’s human capital needs, makes him an especially strong leader with a clear vision that will guide the future growth of our Private Equity Practice.”

Mr. Busch earned his Master of Business Administration from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and his Bachelor of Business Administration from Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a long-standing member of the advisory board for Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, a catholic non-profit organization that provides safe, nurturing, and residential treatment for at-risk youth across the Chicago Community.

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