Level 1
Foundation
Build the operating partner vocabulary and the hundred day structure. No prerequisite.
$199
USD, one time
Enrol in Level 1The Operating Partner Credential
The COPPE Programme
Certified Operating Partner in Private Equity. Three levels that take you from the language of value creation, through the arithmetic underneath it, to the seat where you are the one who has to decide.
3 levelsSelf paced, no cohortAssessed by examinationCertificates do not expire
Three levels, taken in order. Each is bought separately, when you are ready for it.
Three levels, because competence arrives in three stages
Level 1 gives you the language. Level 2 gives you the arithmetic. Level 3 establishes that you can use both when the situation has already gone wrong.
Most professional credentials stop at the first stage and call it a qualification. A candidate learns a vocabulary, sits a multiple choice paper, and receives a certificate that establishes they attended.
The COPPE programme is built the other way around. Each level is assessed on something harder than the one before it, and the final level cannot be passed by recall at all. You are given a company that is already off thesis, a corpus of documents that disagree with each other, and no right answer to find.
Level1
You learn the language
Foundation
The value creation levers, the hundred day structure, the governance relationship with a portfolio company chief executive, and the language a sponsor expects in a board pack.
Level2
You learn the arithmetic
Applied Value Creation
The same practitioner run through a full hold period on a worked case: entry model, debt schedule, sequencing decisions, exit bridge, and the evidence a buyer will demand.
Level3
You are validated under pressure
Intervention
You are appointed to a company already off thesis. Diagnose the drift, establish what the capital structure will permit, decide, and defend that decision to a board that would prefer a different answer.
Where each level sits
Level 1 is not easy, it is foundational. What changes as you climb is not only how hard the theory gets, but how much of your mark depends on doing the work rather than knowing the answer.
Theoretical difficulty
▲
▶
1
Level 1
Foundation. The language, learned properly.
2
Level 2
Applied. The arithmetic, on a worked case.
3
Level 3
Intervention. Hard theory, and a decision you defend.
Practical rigour
Level 1 assessed by examination
Level 2 supervised certification on a five year case
Level 3 marked capstone and examination, both required
Enrol level by level
Each level is bought on its own. Nothing is bundled that you have not reached yet.
Level 2
Applied Value Creation
The arithmetic, run across a full hold period on one worked case. Requires Level 1.
$349
USD, one time
Enrol in Level 2Level 3
Intervention
A company already off thesis, no right answer, a capstone and an examination. Requires Levels 1 and 2.
$499
USD, one time
See Level 3How it is taught
One company, carried the whole way
Every level is built on a worked case company rather than on abstract examples. Level 2 holds a business from entry to exit across five years. Level 3 drops you into a different company that is already in trouble, with roughly seventy documents that were written by people with their own reasons for writing them.
Nothing in the programme is assessed by attendance. Level 2 carries a supervised certification. Level 3 carries both a marked capstone and a written examination, and you need to pass both.
What a completed programme establishes
You can size it
Turn a value creation initiative into a number a sponsor will underwrite, and show the arithmetic that produced it.
You can sequence it
Know what the capital structure will permit, and in what order, so the plan is affordable before it is argued.
You can defend it
Hold a position in front of a board that would prefer a different one, and say what would change your mind.
Who the programme is for
Built for
- Operating partners, and people being moved toward an operating partner seat.
- Portfolio company chief executives and chief financial officers working to a sponsor.
- Corporate development and finance professionals who sit on the other side of the same conversations.
- Anyone who is judged on what the business actually did rather than on what was presented.
Probably not for you if
- You want a credential you can complete in a weekend.
- You are looking for an introduction to finance. The programme assumes you can already read a set of accounts.
- You need live teaching or a cohort to keep you moving.
- You want templates rather than judgement.
How the programme works
Order
Levels are taken in sequence. Level 2 requires Level 1, and Level 3 requires both.
Pace
Self paced throughout. No cohort, no fixed start date, and no live sessions to attend.
Assessment
Each level ends in its own certification. Level 3 requires a marked capstone and a written examination, and you need to pass both.
Certificate
No certification expires. There is no renewal fee and no continuing education requirement.
Questions
Do I have to buy all three at once?
No. Start at Level 1 and work up. Level 2 assumes the vocabulary and structure Level 1 builds, and Level 3 assumes both. Each level is bought separately when you are ready for it.
How long does the whole programme take?
There is no deadline and no cohort. Every level is self paced and each carries its own access period, which begins when you enrol in that level rather than when you start the programme. Most candidates take between one and two years across the three.
Can I stop after Level 1 or Level 2?
You can. Levels 1 and 2 each end in their own certification and stand on their own. Level 3 is the point at which the credential stops being about what you know and starts being about what you would do, which is why it is assessed differently.
Is there a better price for taking more than one level?
The Operating Partner Track bundles Levels 1 and 2 with the Strategic Power Pack at $379 rather than $573. Level 3 is bought separately once both are complete.
Do the certifications expire?
No. None of the VCII certifications expire, there is no renewal fee, and there is no continuing education requirement.
Begin at Level 1
There is no application and no start date. Enrol in Level 1 and work at whatever pace your week allows. Level 2 opens when you are ready for it, and Level 3 when both are behind you.
Three levels, taken in order. Each is bought separately, when you are ready for it.