Kevin Waddell is an Operating Partner at Transom, where he focuses on driving operational transformations across the firm’s portfolio companies and supports investment due diligence.
How did your career path lead you to Transom?
Kevin Waddell: My career path had three major phases before Transom. First, I was an engineer designing computer systems and chips, where I learned the importance of detail and accuracy in my work. Next, I worked in consulting where, in direct contrast to my engineering experience, I learned to deal with ambiguity. After that, I spent 12 years running a specialty distribution business called SemiTorr where I first worked with Transom, who owned SemiTorr at the time.
I really enjoyed working with Transom, as I felt they were proactively and productively involved in the business. They trusted me and my team to run the company but were very supportive and helpful whenever I raised an issue or had a challenge that would benefit from another set of eyes and brains.
After Transom sold SemiTorr, I stayed in touch, and Transom’s need for an Operating Partner felt like the exact right opportunity. It felt like the perfect intersection of consulting and operations, with a group of people that are smart, relish challenges and are a lot of fun to be around. I’ve been a formal employee for just over two years now, and working here has been everything I hoped it would be.
How does Transom’s approach to partnering with management teams differ from others?
KW: There are a few ways. First, we focus on deeply understanding the business and the underlying economic and value drivers, which helps us identify opportunities and team up with management.
Second, we bring our real-world operational expertise to the table. We’ve been in the seat and faced many of the same challenges that our management teams encounter, which enables us to be more effective and empathetic in problem solving.
Third, we look to be additive wherever we can and don’t expect our management teams to be able to do everything on their own. Issues will arise where some distance and different experience can be helpful. We can often provide that, and if we can’t, we will go find it.
Last, we’re very egalitarian. No hubris. No pride of ownership. It’s all about solving problems and moving things forward. Whoever can help will help.
What makes a great portfolio company partnership?
KW: It is very important to have an open, effective and trusted relationship with a high-quality management team. We can’t help if we don’t know what’s happening, and it’s harder to help if we learn about the issues late in the game. That’s certainly not to say we crawl all over our management teams; we look to them to run the company and come to us when they need us.
What is the most important lesson you have learned in your career so far?
KW: Over the course of my career, I’ve learned that success isn’t just about strategy or execution—it’s about understanding people, navigating complexity with empathy, and keeping perspective in the face of challenges. A few key lessons stand out:
1. Listen and probe for understanding. It’s really important to meet people where they are.
2. What appears to be irrational behavior may actually signal a lack of your own insight into someone’s needs and motivations. Try to explore them more deeply.
3. The sun will rise in the east tomorrow. No matter how bad a situation seems, there’s a way to get through it and, more often than not, things will be better on the other side.
What’s a hobby or passion that you pursue outside of work?
KW: In terms of time spent, reading is my number one passion. I read fiction almost exclusively, since I get enough business at work and enough non-fiction from the world, but my favorite book is Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow. It’s well-written, meticulously researched and illuminates the conniving that went on behind the scenes of politics at the time, which oddly provides some comfort for the politics of today.
My other “passions,” that I more aptly call “self-inflicted pain,” are running and golfing.
Emily Steckhan, for Transom Capital
Email: emily.steckhan@fgsglobal.com
(631) 702-0111