About Charlesbank

An established private equity firm with a consistent track record, disciplined investment strategy and long-standing commitment to the middle market

Our Firm

Charlesbank Capital Partners is an experienced middle-market private equity firm with offices in Boston and New York. Our flagship funds invest across a range of industries, supporting skilled management teams in building strong businesses, primarily in North America. Additionally, we have dedicated credit and technology strategies that leverage our long-standing flagship platform.

Charlesbank’s senior team has worked together for many years, establishing a consistent record of strong returns over multiple business cycles. We bring a flexible approach to the structure of each portfolio company investment, and we are comfortable working in situations that are complex or difficult to underwrite.

Our Heritage

Before establishing Charlesbank as an independent firm in 1998, we managed an investment portfolio directly for the Harvard University endowment. Our firm’s name, inspired by the Charles River that winds past the campus, evokes Harvard’s long-term investment horizon and reputation for excellence and integrity. Today we have a diverse mix of limited partners, including college endowments, foundations, public and corporate pension funds, financial institutions and family offices primarily from North America, Europe and Asia.

Our Mission

To consistently deliver superior returns with carefully controlled risk through a best-in-class professional team and culture

Our Values

We will always be grounded in our firm-wide values.

Four core values inform every aspect of how we manage the firm, serving as our trusted guide for our daily attitudes and actions:

Team

We are one team. Together we are better thinkers, decision-makers and problem-solvers than any one of us alone.

Impact

We partner to build sustainably better businesses. As stewards of our investors’ capital, we act with integrity and dedication to further their long-term interests.

Excellence

We are data-driven and strive to continuously improve. Our individual drive, accountability and contributions are crucial for collective success.

Respect

We treat each other as we want to be treated. Empathy, caring, and an appreciation for diversity bring out the best in each of us.

Our People

At Charlesbank, we are bound together by a common dedication to our firm, our important responsibility to our limited partners and portfolio companies, and our “one team” culture. We care deeply about each other and about conducting our work in a manner consistent with our values. As we continue to grow, we are firmly committed to cultivating an inclusive, diverse workplace that encourages productive dialogue and greater collaboration toward our common goals.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We believe that incorporating diverse perspectives into our investment and portfolio management is vital to our success. To that end, we are committed to growing and cultivating environments at Charlesbank, and in our portfolio companies, that are inclusive of gender, race, ethnicity, culture, age, orientation, identity and experience. Furthermore, we will work to promote diversity of thought and foster innovative perspectives that add value to our decision-making and help us attract and retain the best talent. In our recruitment, we recognize that diversity in a candidate pool increases the probability of building a more diverse team; we therefore commit to taking active steps toward attracting and hiring diverse candidates.

Giving back

As a firm, we advocate direct engagement with our community, and we encourage similar efforts among our portfolio companies, many of which have significant philanthropic programs, corporate social responsibility initiatives and community relations. Charlesbank has a long-standing culture of social responsibility, with staff members of all levels actively engaged in charitable, philanthropic and volunteer activities on the local and national level. In addition to these individual efforts, supported by a matching-gift policy, each year the firm donates to a range of non-profits that seek to improve educational and socioeconomic inequalities, expand social justice and advance global public health.

Environmental, Social and Governance

Charlesbank is committed to being a responsible investment firm that integrates the consideration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into the core of our process. A sound ESG approach both resonates with our principles and values and can also drive sustainable value for our investors by building enduring businesses. As a concerned global citizen and careful steward of our investors’ capital, we are committed to making a positive difference in the businesses and communities where we live and work. Therefore, we will continue to seek ways to further integrate ESG into the lifecycle of our investments, strengthen governance and transparency, and take into account the best interests of all our stakeholders.