Supporting Our Portfolio with the Alpine Executive Experience

What does the program look like in practice?

In replicating the success of the community building within Alpine’s talent programs like CEO-in-Training (CIT) and CEO-in-Residence (CIR), the Alpine Executive Experience (AEx) started in 2021 to support high-performing c-suite executives within our portfolio. AEx is not just about pairing similar roles together and stopping there. Rather, AEx is about connecting the grander executive community together to learn from one another and providing helpful resources to make the most of those connections. We’re also investing in each AEx executive by offering optional monthly workshops with business school professors or AOG leaders that teach executives new skills that they can bring back to their company.

In practice, AEx looks like a group of executives with a variety of experience, backgrounds and tenure. Each member is organized into a cohort of 15 to 25 executives from across the portfolio that meet at the program’s orientation and annual summit, and personalized pods of 3 to 4 executives that meet monthly.

The annual AEx summit provides a time for our executives to invest in themselves. We focus on their own leadership journey, brand and what they can overcome to become an even better leader for their team and within Alpine. At 2022’s summit, for example, we strategized for AEx members’ saboteurs and then discussed their leadership journey, and more.

What are the benefits of joining?

There are many opportunities to expand networks and professional circles, whether with AOG Playbook levers, Alpine team members, or with portfolio executives and peers in the c-suite. Additionally, there’s an opportunity to develop peer coaching skills. AEx members experience a variety of in-depth conversations and meeting cadences, to develop a broad range of connections alongside closer, deeper ones.

Alpine offers a suggested curriculum of topics to guide monthly pod group discussions, but members have the freedom and are encouraged to focus on whatever themes are most useful to them. For example, AEx previously suggested topics for group discussions such as employee retention, artificial intelligence and growing leadership skills.

AEx Spotlight

“After two years of scaling the finance function at Innovative Systems, COO Amanda Sayigh recommended that I join AEx to propel my next phase of growth. In a short time, I have implemented several learnings that have transformed how I approach my role and show up as a leader.

One of the more transformative sessions I attended was a leadership development session called “Immunity to Change,” where we dug into subconscious biases that sabotage our growth and hold us back. I identified behaviors that could be stalling my career growth, and I left with a strategic plan to improve these behaviors and accelerate my development.

I have also benefited from an AOG workshop on best practices for portfolio finance operations. I was able to immediately implement the learnings and apply them to our annual budgeting process for 2024.

I am more engaged after attending AEx orientation. I have a better understanding of Alpine’s strategic initiatives, and it has been powerful to connect with Alpine HQ and my fellow AEx cohort team members. As a lifelong learner, it’s rewarding to attend the monthly workshops and have a community for sharing best practices.” – Robert Merii, Director of Finance, Innovative Systems

How do I join?

Currently, our portfolio CEOs nominate any of their direct reports to join AEx by sharing a recommendation for an individual to join. Nominated applicants are accepted twice per year in April and October and must attend an orientation at Alpine’s offices in San Francisco or New York City. If you have any questions about membership, contact Kiki Couchman at kcouchman@alpineinvestors.com for more information.

Alpine Operations Group (“AOG”) is an affiliate of Alpine and AOG personnel are not employees or partners of Alpine. AOG is compensated separately for their services by portfolio companies, or the funds managed by Alpine, and such amounts do not offset the management fee. Please see Alpine’s Terms & Conditions for more information.