Kevin Landry is CEO of TA Associates, one of the oldest and most significant private equity firms in the world. The firm focuses its attention on making investments in private companies and helping them build their businesses.
Kevin Landry did not start out as the success he is today. At one point, he was just a 16-year old boy who literally had his head in the clouds. On his father’s Cessna airplane, you could say that Kevin Landry really had nowhere to go but up. After a short stint in the army, he was hired fresh out of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Finance by TA Associates founder Peter Brooke in 1968. He often talks of it as his only white-collar job.
Over the many years in business, TA Associates’ strategy has evolved and Kevin Landry has been onboard every step of the way. It became clear right away that with his down-to-earth character, coupled with his preference for informality, that he would go places even with his feet planted firmly on the ground.
Under his leadership, TA Associates has adapted a more conservative approach that is better suited to the aggressive industry of today. Landry takes it upon himself to make sure that the company does not get caught up in the hubbub.
TA Associates, which holds $10 billion in assets under management, stands out from other private equity firms because of their thorough investment practice. While other private equity firms acquire more than 50% in debts on a regular basis, TA Associates’ does not go up to more than 30%.
Kevin Landry was also on the board of directors of several companies like Ameritrade Holding Corporation, Biogen, Alex Brown Incorporated, Continental Cablevision, Keystone Group, Standex International Corporation, Instinet Group, the National Venture Capital Association, and SBA Communications.
