After 30 years as the chief executive of a public company, latterly with United Business Media, I crossed over to the world of private equity and became a partner of Kolberg Kravis Roberts (KKR).

I was already well-acquainted with private equity. As an investor in several funds and a member of two advisory boards, I had witnessed consistently good investment returns, seen how investment decisions were made and how companies were managed. There was evidently much more to their success than simply piling on debt and reducing corporate overheads.