BDT & MSD Partners

Byron Trott and Gregg Lemkau share authority as Co-CEOs. Trott, the founder of BDT, and Lemkau, formerly co-head of investment banking at Goldman Sachs, jointly lead the firm's investment and advisory platform. Michael Dell, as advisory board chairman, provides strategic guidance but day-to-day allocation sits with the Co-CEOs and their senior partners.

The MSD side traces to Michael Dell's family office, MSD Capital, which managed his personal wealth starting in 1998 and later became MSD Partners when it took external capital. The 2023 merger combined that vehicle with Byron Trott's BDT Capital Partners. Dell now chairs the advisory board and remains a significant capital anchor but is not involved in daily operations.

It operates as a hybrid. The MSD legacy brings permanent, discretionary family capital, while the BDT legacy contributes a merchant banking model that advises other founders and families on bespoke transactions. The merged firm deploys both its own balance sheet and external discretionary capital, giving it the duration flexibility of a family office with the deal flow of an investment bank.

BDT & MSD Partners primarily executes direct transactions — control and minority equity investments, private credit, and real estate acquisitions. It is not marketed primarily as a fund-of-funds or LP commitment vehicle, although its venture arm has incubated companies like Tom Brady's wearables startup. The emphasis remains on concentrated, relationship-sourced positions.

The firm's property portfolio includes 550 Madison Avenue in New York, the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai in Hawaii, the Boca Raton Resort & Club in Florida, the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World, and the Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole, among other hospitality and mixed-use holdings. These are typically held as direct, long-duration assets.

Sourcing relies on the principals' century-long combined Goldman Sachs network, deep relationships with family-business owners, and the Dell ecosystem. The firm positions itself as a single-counterparty advisor for complex capital events — generational transfers, recapitalizations, and growth equity — that founders want kept off broad auction.

Byron Trott built a decades-long advisory relationship with Warren Buffett starting at Goldman Sachs, where Trott became known as Buffett's trusted banker. Berkshire Hathaway has been both a client and occasional co-investor alongside BDT, though the relationship is advisory and transactional, not a formal partnership.