Searchlight Capital Partners

The firm is led by Founding Partners Andrew Frey (Chief Investment Officer), Darren Glatt, and François Dekker, who sit on various portfolio company boards and drive the investment committee process. Day-to-day execution is handled by a partnership of managing directors and principals across New York, London, Miami, and Toronto. Amanda Good, Partner and Head of Value Creation, leads the operations team that supports post-acquisition transformation across the portfolio.

Searchlight targets control and influential minority investments in telecommunications infrastructure, media, and technology. The firm favors assets with physical or contractual moats — fiber networks, outdoor advertising real estate, and regulated broadband providers — where its in-house regulatory expertise, including former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, can provide an edge. The investment team has deployed over $6 billion across 18 TMT transactions during the career of Partner Darren Glatt alone (per the firm).

Searchlight invests across the capital structure, including both private equity and private debt. The firm runs Searchlight Opportunities Funds — separate vehicles that target opportunistic credit and structured solutions — alongside its core buyout strategy. Jim Dougherty was hired as CFO of the Opportunities Funds in 2025, signaling continued investment in the credit platform.

Searchlight's most publicly cited investments include Ziply Fiber, a Pacific Northwest fiber-optic operator; Consolidated Communications, a broadband provider taken private with Searchlight's participation (per Bloomberg, 2024); and Adams Outdoor Advertising, the largest privately held out-of-home media company in the United States. In Europe, notable holdings include Flowbird Group, a parking technology company.

The value-creation team is led by Partner Amanda Good, who previously spent over a decade at Hg where she chaired the Portfolio Review Committee. Her group includes a dedicated European lead, Owen Cartier, a former Bain & Company partner. The team operates alongside the investment staff, embedding operators in portfolio companies post-acquisition rather than relying on external consultants.

Searchlight deploys capital across North America and Europe from its offices in New York, London, Miami, and Toronto. The firm’s team structure is deliberately transatlantic: investment professionals in London and New York collaborate on sourcing, and the value-creation team has separate leadership for the European and North American markets.

Because Searchlight manages both equity and credit, the firm can remain invested in a portfolio company through different stages of the capital structure without being forced to exit when traditional private equity funds would. Tom Hendrick, a Partner who previously led U.S. origination and trading at Strategic Value Partners, leads the firm’s efforts on the credit side, which gives the partnership the flexibility to pivot between instruments as conditions change.