LBS ETA conference March 2025

I attended the ETA conference hosted by the ETA Club at London Business School, in partnership with IESE Business School, on 28 March 2025.

The event took place in the former Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, a great post-war building designed by Louis de Soissons, adjoining the main LBS building designed by John Nash (of Buckingham Palace fame).

This event brought together searchers, investors and others who are important in the ETA ecosystem. While there was a bias towards UK attendees, there was still good international representation.

My highlights included:

Understanding the seller's perspective

• A thoughtful conversation between partners at Relay Investments about what makes sellers tick and how to get their attention

Using tech in ETA

• Deep dive into the tools that searchers are using - it's a fast-moving space

• Discussion about whether investors could, or should, provide a suite of tools to their searchers - these will vary between geographies

Operational excellence

• Strategies to not only survive, but thrive, in management

• How to maintain efficiency and remain opportunistic - Covid disruption providing a good example of this