Mastering Private Equity: Transformation via Venture Capital, Minority Investments and Buyouts

by Claudia Zeisberger, Bowen White, Michael Prahl

**50,000+ copies of the first edition sold**

**Mastering Private Equity – Second Navigating New Horizons in Private Markets**

Mastering Private Equity, the definitive guide to private equity (PE) since 2017, has been fully updated to reflect the current state of the industry, the latest market data, and the innovation reshaping the private capital industry.

Written for a professional audience, the Second Edition of Mastering Private Equity is a valuable and unique reference for investors, finance professionals, students, and business owners looking to engage with PE firms or invest in PE funds.

**What's New**

While preserving its core focus on education, the Second Edition highlights the latest industry developments,

A more measured and resilient Venture Capital space, following steep repricing of risk in 2021 and 3x increase in downrounds in 22-23 the rapid expansion of Private Debt, catalysed by a high-interest rate environment and the strategy’s edge in a traditional fixed income portfolio Buy-and-Build Strategies, and PE investor’s ability to create category leading businesses and grow platforms via acquisition PE Secondaries are de jour, as the market delivered liquidity in an inflationary and low exit environment the step-change in responsible and impact investing, from “interesting” in 2017 to “essential” in 2025 the Democratization of Private Capital, introducing high-net-worth individuals to the asset class
Join the authors and two dozen senior industry contributors for a masterclass on the essentials of private equity and the trends driving the industry’s sustained growth. 

378 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 16, 2025

About the author

Professor Claudia Zeisberger is one of the best networked figures in the private capital space, combining her academic expertise with over 35 years of experience in financial markets. As an advisor and angel investor, she partners with boards and leadership teams to drive growth and scale startups. A professor at INSEAD, a top-ranked business school with campuses in Singapore, France, the US, and the UAE, she is a global citizen, an award-winning author, and a trusted advisor to corporations, institutional investors, and governments. In her role as a "Professional Devil’s Advocate," she frequently provides independent perspectives on investment and risk-related decisions.
Professor Zeisberger is a founding member of KKR’s Sustainability Expert Advisory Council (SEAC) and serves on the advisory boards of Standard Chartered Ventures (SCV), Linzor Capital, and KaizenVest. She also works with select nonprofits as a volunteer board advisor and is the CEO of 5 Quadrants, a research and risk management advisory firm.
At INSEAD, she created and leads Managing Corporate Turnarounds, a highly regarded MBA elective featuring a bootcamp-style online simulation centered on an iconic car brand’s struggle with bankruptcy. She also teaches INSEAD’s Risk Management elective, a natural extension of her work in corporate restructuring and private capital. Recognized for her exceptional teaching, she has received INSEAD’s Best Teaching Award for her Private Equity elective for three consecutive years and has been honored with the Dean’s Commendation for Excellence in MBA Teaching annually since 2008.

Full CV: https://www.insead.edu/faculty-resear...
Personal Website: https://claudiazeisberger.com/
http://masteringprivateequity.com/)