Farhan Siddiqi: BayPine Operating Partner’s Timeless Ideas on our Technological Future

Interviewed by Linnéa Jungnelius

“Transformation is like turning the unfamiliar into the familiar friend that you never thought you needed, and watching it open doors to new realms that you had not dreamt about being possible,” according to Farhan Siddiqi.

Over the last 20 years, Farhan shaped and pioneered some of the most visible and successful digital transformations in the consumer and financial sectors, holding leadership positions with Ahold Delhaize, McDonald’s, Bank of America, and Target.

As chief digital officer of Ahold, he cracked the code on digital change for its 20 brands. It’s no surprise that when Ahold acquired FreshDirect, he was asked to serve as interim CEO and pivoted the company from survival mode to growth mode.

Farhan took the private equity plunge in 2021, today an operating partner at BayPine, a private equity firm with an unrelenting focus on modernization that invests in core-economy, market-leading businesses. His rare vantage point from holding roles as Operating Partner, CEO, and Chief Digital Officer give him an edge in delivering digital capital and guiding portfolio leaders.

On this episode of the Brilliant People Podcast, Linnea Jungnelius, Global Head of Marketing & Strategy at Acertitude, sat down with Farhan to unravel his timeless ideas on our technological future – and how it all ties together in PE value creation. Themes like building trust, earning respect, and leading teams are the undertone to his success and how he guides others to follow in his footsteps. Of course, he also throws in a bold idea or two on how machines are becoming more human and humans more machine.

Linnea: Farhan, there is immense power in knowing what motivates you in life and as a leader. And if there’s one thing I know about you, it’s that transformation of any kind drives you. Why is this an exciting lane for you?

Farhan: At the heart of it is the thrill of a challenge. Solving a complex problem, solving a new puzzle, is what excites me; the potential of what it can transform into and what you can unlock.

There is this perpetual desire for learning, too. Many truly new experiences that we have are just an instantiation of something we've already done before. So, this is one way of keeping it interesting for me and avoiding life from going into autopilot.

When you think about transformations as big challenges, they each present an opportunity for you to evolve, adapt, and unlock a little bit of professional and personal growth. It's almost like turning the unfamiliar into the familiar friend that you never really thought you needed and watching it open doors to new realms that you had not dreamt about being possible.

Linnea: Of course, today, you’re with a firm where digital transformation is fundamental to its value creation plans. You joined BayPine as the firm debuted its first fund in 2020. I imagine this was a bit of an adjustment from prior roles as CEO and CDO with Ahold. What was the biggest learning curve as you transitioned into private equity?

Farhan: Switching over to private equity brings upon its own dynamics and challenges. Since I had led so many different transformations and made transitions across different industries and companies, I drew upon that experience.

There is more common than uncommon between public and private companies. Obviously, there are the usual things like financial structures, leveraged structures, the role of M&A in driving core growth, a finite hold period, and involved investors and boards that are different from public companies. For the most part, running a good company is running a good company. The fundamentals are still the same in terms of how you set a strategy, how you bring in rigor to execution, and how you lead teams. So, there is a lot to draw upon of what you do in a public world and apply it to the private world.

If think about things to keep in mind as you make these transitions, there are three areas that are worth calling out:

Sector
When you're in operating roles, you're primarily going deep within your own sector while you draw inspiration from a lot of the best companies across the world. You're learning from them, you're getting inspired, and bringing innovation into the sector you're trying to transform.

For the most part, you're going deep in your own sector, though there might be some exceptions. You can think about conglomerates, and there are a lot of companies that operate in the intersection of different industries, like Consumer & Financial Services, Financial Services & Healthcare, Healthcare & Consumer. Still, the problem you're focused on is within those sectors. Private equity gives you the luxury of going deep into multiple sectors at the same time, which is very stimulating.

Private equity gives you the luxury of going deep in multiple sectors at the same time, which is very stimulating.

Control
The biggest transition and challenge that people face is your role and the control you have.

In a way, think of going from being a driver to being the GPS. Both are crucial, but they're different. The good part is that you are still entering the end destination on the GPS, so you're involved in that part, but you must lead through others.

This type of role is that of governance. You're helping the management teams, but you're not the driver and executor, especially in public companies. But with something like Ahold, which was a holding company of 20 brands, you have to lead through others. You're setting the direction and enabling the management teams of 20 independently running companies.

Scale
The third one I would call out is scale - and it might not be applicable to everybody, but I went from working for Fortune 50 companies to middle market. The scale you operate at, the challenges and problems you solve, and your starting points are very different.

When you work for large companies, some fundamentals and the foundations are normally there. What you're trying to do is work on intermediate and advanced problems that are going to drive you and give you an edge to be a leader in the space. In middle market companies, sometimes you have to build a foundation. In tandem, resources pose interesting challenges, both in terms of capital and talent. So, there's a lot of adaptation you need to be able to navigate these dimensions.

Your role is to make the CEO, management team, and company successful.

Your role is to make the CEO, management team, and the company successful. You're leading through them, you're enabling them, and you have to build trust. Trust is like fine wine: it has to age, and it takes time, and you really have to enable them to actually put the points on the board.

Linnea: Having experience in both roles, as a CEO and as an OP, I’d love your perspective on what makes for solid OP-CEO relationships. How can OPs build trust and partner with CEOs effectively?

Farhan: I think that is the most important aspect. A lot of private equity groups are still trying to figure this out: the role of the operating partner, how involved they're going to be, and how they enable the team. As an OP, your job is to act as a partner to the CEO and the management teams.

First, you need to help create the strategy to support the value creation plan. You develop it with them, even though you may have done some work in the diligence phase. It needs to be a management plan that they can get behind, and they need to feel like it is theirs. You can be a thought partner.

And then to execute on that, you must help them think through the talent. Where are the gaps in the talent strategy? Do they have the right capabilities in place? Use your network of resources, whether it's direct talent or partners that you work with. It could be from search firms to leadership firms, to consulting firms, to data analytics companies – across the whole spectrum.

Help guide them on that journey and deliver against the plan. You can bring a lot of rigor, but it has to be a respectful partnership where they are in the driver's seat and you're an enabler, coach, and available partner. Are you willing to do that based on your expertise and can you support them in the interim? If the opportunity presents itself, take an operating role within a portfolio company for a short period to enable them to succeed.

Linnea: Any watchouts you would offer – where have you seen OPs stumble?

Farhan: I think it's in the dynamics. Whenever I was in the CEO seat or even a functional seat, I would play a governance role, but in the end, you want to be in charge. You don't want someone else always looking over your shoulder. I doubt any CEO truly enjoys having an involved board, so you have to respect that. Let them also do the “pull,” where you provide guidance. Sometimes, where you can misstep is being more directive than required.

Ideally, spending the time, building the relationship, and knowing that the very clear goal of your job is to make them successful goes a long way. Communicate with them and spend time and energy, like any relationship. If you don't invest the time and just focus on numbers and delivering your value creation plan, it will set you back on the agenda overall.

Linnea: Let’s dive into your exciting work of taking companies on tech transformations. When you get brought into a deal, first off, how early do you tend to get involved and second, how do you go about developing an agenda and prioritizing the projects that will pay off most in the hold period?

Farhan: That's the multimillion-dollar question. We get involved from the get-go. Once the deal is starting to be close to something that we're really interested in, we get involved in the diligence phase, evaluate what the potential is going to be, and where we can drive meaningful value in terms of a growth plan.

I don't see the digital agenda as separate from the company agenda.

I don't see the digital agenda as separate from the company agenda. You start with the company strategy and value creation plan. You look for which customers you are serving and what their value proposition is. How are you going to deliver that value proposition? This tends to be mostly in the commercial aspects of the business.

Then there are the operational aspects of the business: what activities do they engage in? How do they leverage operational factors to deliver against the value proposition? If you look across all of that, there is tons of opportunity to do it better and smarter. This is where your data and analytics, intelligent automation, whether it's algorithmic or robotic, comes in to modernize the functions, and you can unlock part of the value proposition.

With digital, you may be able to introduce new channels, develop the core growth forecast of the company, and determine the digital agenda and where the focus
needs to be. Whether it's technology systems, talent you need to bring in, ways of working, changing the culture, and bringing in new methodologies – they’re not used to this, and it is all part of the value creation plan.

With that, you have to prioritize and focus in a deliberate way by conducting a proper business case on key strategic initiatives. You should look 3-4 years out, whatever length your hold period is, and that should drive your one-year plan. The one-year plan should give you your quarterly plan: the objectives, goals, measures, and tactics.

Linnea: As you get into diligence, what are the important questions our listeners can ask to similarly identify and prioritize digital initiatives for their distinctive companies?

Farhan: Don't try to do a templatized version because if you give a template to any company and say, “Okay, this is your strategy,” it probably won’t work. You have to understand the business model, and when you understand the economic model, that will help answer where you need to really focus and where the biggest potential is.

Again, it has to be about the company, the industry, and where it is on its maturity track. If you can draw parallels to other industries and companies that have done it, that will give you the gap analysis, and the art of what is possible because you have seen the proof points. Draw upon those examples to really figure out what you can do. Think big. When you look at a company, this is your time to really think about a growth strategy and draw inspiration from a broader canvas.

Linnea: Tech disruption, as you know, is as much about execution as it is a mindset. How do you go about shifting the culture of portfolio companies that you work with to embrace change and become more tech forward?

Farhan: It's an education, so almost think of it as an infusion of the concepts – like talent – that you have to lead the way with. You must have time to be an evangelist. One of the biggest things that you must do as a leader and change agent is to be a bridge builder. There is a lot of knowledge at every company you go into, and you have to take the time to learn about how that works, but then there are also aspects that you bring to the table. If you don't bridge the gap, there will always be a disconnect. Spend the time to get to know them, learn them, and then build the credibility to be able to explain what digital can do for them. What has
always worked for me is to visualize any use case and show what it would look like in the future.

Then the ingredients matter, so there's an education and evangelization piece. You get buy in from people and they need to feel like it's their plan too. Then, of course, it's about talent bringing the right skill sets and partners that can help them on that journey. You're pulling all these levers to show them what the art of possibility is, as well as how you are going to get there.

The other thing is, don't expect everybody to get behind the entire agenda at any point in time. It is very important to paint the bigger picture and vision and pick a few critical items to focus on. You can have proof points that hold meaningful value. Don’t get caught up in the shiny objects and focus on innovation first. First, focus on commercial aspects. Later, you will earn the liberty to say, “Let’s go differentiate and innovate somewhere else.”

Don’t get caught up in the shiny objects and focus on innovation first. First, focus on commercial aspects.

Linnea: How do you apply experience from earlier in your career when you were chief digital officer of large global organizations? What learnings can middle market companies take from the digital best practices you saw and put in place at brands like Ahold and McDonald's?

Farhan: I think storytelling helps, especially if you can draw parallels to what you similarly faced at a much larger, more complex scale with more resistance in a larger organization. How did you focus on certain things and how did you bring people along to help get things done? Share some of the things that didn’t work – where you fell and what didn’t work is equally as important.

The best way for anybody to get behind your agenda or believe you is if you have good proof points. When you have proof points that they can experience, that helps them get on board quite fast. That's why McDonald's is a beautiful example, because no matter who you talk to, they have somehow experienced what's happened at McDonald's. That works in our favor.

Linnea: A lot of leaders know that AI can be very powerful, whether it’s automating decisions or automating tasks. Could you share an application or two of ways you’ve deployed AI?

Farhan: Right now, one of the portfolio companies we have is one of the largest dermatology platforms in the U.S. and is comprised of medical dermatology as well as cosmetics and other aspects. We've looked at use cases that help providers be more productive, such as items that are infused in the diagnostic aspects. If you think about the initial exams; they are very visual, they look at the skin and they can detect whether it has “X” amount of “X” to whether something needs a biopsy. There is a lot of innovation happening in these diagnostic tools with AI and powerful smartphone cameras.

We are piloting two or three of these diagnostic imaging solutions, and they all have different business models and slightly different technologies. We're in the early stage of testing these solutions, and there could be decision tools, which are built upon these, that the doctors can use. Very quickly, it provides you with a database of what diseases might be, whether they are skin conditions, a medical reaction or something akin to a travel-based epidemic. The other tech that we're experimenting with is a digital scribe, which is for doctors’ note-taking purposes. It is collected straight from voice and structured into electronic medical records. There are solutions that are coming out that we are piloting, but we're working with automating the entire flow, so it becomes a structured, accurate, patient record very quickly.

Linnea: There is a big human element to digital transformations. Nothing happens without the right team. So, let's talk about leadership within the context of middle market, tech enabled companies. What are the core qualities you look for in a CEO?

Farhan: When I think of CEOs, and all senior leaders, I hold certain qualities in very high esteem. As the senior leader, you have to demonstrate these things, but for a CEO, they become exponentially heightened.

Strategic thinking
We are solving problems. Either they're strategic problems or tactical, operational conundrums, but they all involve problem solving. As a CEO, the additional thing you have to do is not only think about solving the right problems but think about the right questions. Where are you going to put your focus, your team’s focus, and resources? Are you addressing the right issues and thinking about the long view?

Driving results
When I look for CEOs, they need a track record of delivering results multiple times that can be attributed to them and their work. People are on the bus who claim credit for that, so you have to really sift through and figure out, “Okay, what did I drive?” You can’t be a one-hit-wonder. Having a solid track record is very important.

Team leadership
This is the most important of all – how you deliver the results and charge people against a mission. It’s all about how you lead people, and the culture of a company is set by the top two layers – the CEO and the management team – and is dictated upon how they interact with each other, make decisions, and it sets the tone for the entire company at large.

Financial acumen
CEOs have to know the details, the business model, and the unit economics.

Industry & PE expertise
In private equity, industry expertise becomes very important, and having worked for a prior sponsor-backed asset gives you a gold star. You’ll be dealing with a very involved investor or a board that is much more involved than in the public sphere. Additionally, they must understand the role of M&A in driving growth. The frequency is very high, especially in middle market and private equity. Rollups are very much part of the strategy and driving synergies. Understanding capital structures is also very important.

Linnea: And is there anything you commonly seek as you build out the Top 25, the next layer of management?

Farhan: In these terms, I used to say to people, “Be a smart router, don't be a dumb router.” I do not appreciate people who just take information to the top and pass it to the next level. Every leader has a responsibility to process and add value from a thinking and results perspective.

Be a smart router, don't be a dumb router.

Technical and domain expertise become very important. Do not underestimate the technical aspects of a digital leader. Hire someone who’s done it before. I still see a lot of companies placing the next rising star under digital. You would never do that with a CFO or even a sales leader, and digital is complicated. It has a lot of breadth, but it also has a lot of depth. Hire someone who understands the domain because that’s going to be the difference between what great looks like versus otherwise.

Linnea: Finally, being that you have a digital overlay to everything that you do, are there any new skills that are hitting your Scorecard now that maybe weren't before?

Farhan: I wouldn't say that yet. Now is the time when applications are coming out and the broad world is talking about or misrepresenting them because you don’t hear about a program or software anymore, since everything is AI. But AI has been there, and so has robotics. Focus on data and analytics, marketing, and product as I think these truly hold.

There isn’t anything emerging now that I think is an essential skill. I think cultural change is the hardest part, and the biggest hurdle you’ll face is everybody loves the idea of change until you try to implement it. You have to change your ways, too, and getting everyone on board and having them move along is the hardest part. Strategy is easy, execution is hard. The companies that do it right are executing at the right pace.

Linnea: As we start to wrap things up, let's look forward to the future. What digital advancements excite you the most in their potential to evolve and improve the working world?

Farhan: I'm going to be a little provocative here because at any point in time, you have two or three technologies that everybody just chases and thinks, “That’s it, it’s going to change the world.”

We talk a lot about machines becoming human, but we don’t talk about humans becoming more like machines.

We talk a lot about machines becoming human, but I don’t think we talk about humans becoming more like machines. What fascinates me is the advancements that are happening in human augmentation. If you think about the neuro link or brain interfaces, and how that can help us advance as humans, our learning processes could truly change. Think about the interesting dance between technology and humans and how it could affect how we work, where we work, or why we work.

Linnea: And how do you keep your own digital skills sharp?

Farhan: I am a junkie. I consume content in every format as much as possible. I read a lot and ingest as much content as I can. I travel frequently, so the flying and travel times are perfect for multitasking. The information is there, and it’ll get pushed to you. It’s up to you whether you want to ingest it or not.

Linnea: Any specific sources that are go to’s?

Farhan: I like the tech forums and seeing what’s out there. Flipboard is a starting point for me. Based on what I choose, I see what content comes up, and dive deep into it. You have online education platforms like edX and Coursera. It’s a matter of carving the time out to learn, and there is no shortage of resources.

Linnea: I have to ask, what is the one piece of technology that you can't live without?

Farhan: It has to be my phone. It’s almost a body part. You feel incomplete the moment that device is not attached to you because that's your interface into the whole digital world.

Linnea: Are there any parts of your life that you leave tech-free or that you do to balance out the time we all spend on screens?

Farhan: I sleep tech-free (haha). There's no chip implanted, and I put my phone away. Yoga is another time where you can put your phone in the locker room and disconnect from it.

Linnea: At Acertitude, our purpose is to unleash human potential. So, in each episode, we like to define brilliance in a few ways. I'm going to hit you with a quick lightning round if you could please fill in the blanks.

Farhan:

Purpose is… the guiding force that helps you drive meaningful impact and fuels personal and professional fulfillment.

Leadership is… the fine art of herding a bunch of cats and convincing, inspiring, and engaging them to chase after the same laser pointer. It’s about unlocking the full potential of each individual and making these individuals a well-oiled, purring machine – and having fun while you’re doing it.

Success is… when you meet someone on the street and you can, without talking about what you did, share moments and they experience delight because of something that you were a part of. It’s about leaving things in a much better place than how you found them.

Brilliant leaders are… trustworthy, authentic, empathetic, visionary, mission-driven, and leave an impact behind that even the most stubborn spreadsheet cannot quantify.

Digital leaders are… forward-thinking, change agents, constant learners, domain experts, and bridge builders. They must bridge the build – the from, the to – it’s their responsibility.

I perform at my best when... there is a big, hairy challenge, and I’m inspired and empowered; when I can surround myself with people who can get equally dedicated and excited about the big goal and mission and not about the petty politics of the day to day.

Thank you to Farhan Siddiqi, Operating Partner at BayPine, for joining us on today's episode. We hope all of you walk away with new insights on how to effectively tackle the operating partner role, navigate digital challenges, and uncover new pathways to greater value and growth.

That's it for this episode of The Brilliant People Podcast. If you found this conversation valuable, be sure to subscribe, rate and review the show wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Acertitude on LinkedIn for the latest insights on how to lead and perform at your best.

Until next time, stay brilliant at work. And put your phones down…or not. Your call.

Defining brilliance with Farhan Siddiqi

	Purpose is:	the guiding force that helps you drive meaningful impact and fuels personal and professional fulfillment.
	Leadership is:	the fine art of herding a bunch of cats and convincing, inspiring, and engaging them to chase after the same laser pointer. It’s about unlocking the full potential of each individual and making these individuals a well-oiled, purring machine – and having fun while you’re doing it.
	Success is:	when you meet someone on the street and you can, without talking about what you did, share moments and they experience delight because of something that you were a part of. It’s about leaving things in a much better place than how you found them.
	Brilliant leaders are:	trustworthy, authentic, empathetic, visionary, mission-driven, and leave an impact behind that even the most stubborn spreadsheet cannot quantify.
	Digital leaders are:	forward-thinking, change agents, constant learners, domain experts, and bridge builders. They must bridge the build – the from, the to – it’s their responsibility.
	I perform at my best when:	there is a big, hairy challenge, and I’m inspired and empowered; when I can surround myself with people who can get equally dedicated and excited about the big goal and mission and not about the petty politics of the day to day.