Australasia’s most experienced private capital manager
- ~40
- years’ experience
- 86
- platform investments
- $4.5B
- invested since 1987
About CPE Capital
CPE Capital (CPEC) is Australasia's most experienced private capital manager. It has been managing institutional private capital investments since 1987, having made 86 platform investments across $4.5 billion in funds.
CPEC undertakes control buyout transactions, enters into founder partnerships and provides growth investments for mid-market companies in Australasia, including those which possess significant offshore operations or ambitions.
CPEC’s long history of sustainable performance across all investment cycles is based on its ability to identify situations and opportunities that offer growth on a risk adjusted basis.
Experience, flexibility, nimbleness and a specialist functional team structure are CPEC’s core attributes.
CPEC was founded by industry pioneers, Bill Ferris AC and Joe Skrzynski AO, but since 2014 the firm has been managed by its next generation, making it Australasia’s first successful private equity leadership transition.
Our core principles
Value Creation
We are disciplined investors that seek strong fundamentals, and management teams we can partner with to execute a clear vision.
Collaboration
Our deep networks allow us to find and actively manage the right investments to deliver mutually beneficial outcomes.
Innovation
We seek new ideas and ways of doing things for the benefit of CPEC, our portfolio companies and our investors.
Our pioneering spirit
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1987
In 1987, our founders, Bill Ferris and Joseph Skrzynski, established institutionally funded private equity in Australasia. For the next thirteen years, they managed four funds.
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2000
In 2000, they created CHAMP Private Equity in collaboration with Castle Harlan in New York and raised CHAMP I. At the time, it was the largest domestic buyout fund in Australia and the first time a major commitment from an overseas institution was received.
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2014
In 2014, John Haddock was appointed Chief Executive Officer.
The firm’s leadership transition to the next generation was a first of its kind in Australasia.
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2019
in 2019, CHAMP refreshed its brand to become CPE Capital (CPEC), capturing the firm’s 32 year history under one name.
As industry pioneers, Bill Ferris and Joe Skrzynski maintain a close connection to CPEC.
John Haddock
Chief Executive Officer & Chief Investment Officer
John has been integrally involved in CPE Capital's (CPEC's) investment program since joining the firm in 2002. He assumed overall responsibility for the business in 2014, when he was appointed CEO and CIO.
John’s direct operational experience has seen him perform interim management roles in portfolio companies, with a specific focus on effecting business improvement initiatives. He has also been responsible for a number of CPEC’s investments, including Accolade Wines (2018), Alleasing (2016) and United Malt Holdings (2010), all of which won AVCAL Deal of the Year awards.
Prior to joining CPEC, he worked in the M&A and Equity Capital Markets divisions of Credit Suisse and the Structured Debt Division of Westpac Institutional Bank.
He is an Associate of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia, an active member of Bronte Surf Life Saving Club and was previously a board member of Lifestart.
John holds a Bachelor of Economics (Economics and Finance) with Merit and a Master of Commerce (Advanced Finance) with Merit from the University of New South Wales.
Bill Ferris AC
Co-Founder
Bill Ferris, together with Joseph Skrzynski, are co-founders of the group now known as CPE Capital. He is a 48-year veteran of private equity in Australasia, having founded Australia's first venture capital firm in 1970.
In November 2015, Bill was appointed by the Australian Government as Chair of the Innovation and Science Australia Board. He is also currently a member of the Harvard Business School Asia Pacific Advisory Council. Some of his former recent directorships include Chair of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and Chair of the of the Federal Government’s Health and Hospitals Fund Advisory Board.
Bill was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1990 for services to the export industry. In 2008, he was made Companion in the Order of Australia for his philanthropic activities as a leader in support of medical research and his role in the establishment of the private equity sector in Australia.
Awards honouring Bill's contribution to the private equity sector include Private Equity International 2013 "Leader of the Year, Asia-Pacific", the Asian Venture Capital Journal Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008 and an AVCAL Lifetime Contribution Award in 2008.
He holds an honours degree in Economics from the University of Sydney and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, where he graduated as a Baker Scholar in 1970.
Bill is the author of three books: “Really Making a Difference” published December 1993, “Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained” published March 2000, and “Inside Private Equity”, published January 2013.
Joseph Skrzynski AO
Co-Founder
Joseph Skrzynski, together with Bill Ferris, are co-founders of the group now known as CPE Capital. Joe first became involved with private equity in 1970 when he was appointed to manage a pool of private investments for a wealthy industrialist. This pool included successful investments across all stages of private equity, including seed capital, expansion capital and a management buy-in privatisation of a public company.
He has held numerous portfolio company directorships since 1987, including publicly listed company directorships in Australia and Asia, on behalf of both the AMIL and CHAMP Funds.
Joe has been active in the Australian industry association AVCAL, including time as its President. His contribution to the industry has been honoured with the AVCJ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008 and the AVCAL Lifetime Contribution Award in 2008, both awards being shared jointly with Bill Ferris as the managerial recipient of those awards.
He has also been active in community affairs for more than 40 years. He has held several governmental senior appointments, including Chairmanships of The National Capital Development Authority, the Sydney Opera House Trust and broadcaster SBS.
Joe is currently a member of the international boards of Human Rights Watch and The Conversation Media Group and is a director of Philanthropy Australia and The Observership Program.
He graduated with honours from the Faculty of Economics, University of Sydney in 1969, was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1993, and in 2008 became an Officer in the Order of Australia for services to the industry and philanthropy.
Our investments
