Béla Szigethy and Stewart Kohl operate
by the Golden Rule. The standard of
treating others as they want to be treated was used in creating The Riverside Co.’s
15 business principles, which have helped it
grow into a large private equity firm.
The principles include making sure
investors’ interests always come first; putting integrity and honesty at the heart of
the business; seeking employees who meet
high standards and fit into the culture;
stressing teamwork; and looking critically
at all activities and valuing health, safety
and environmental responsibility.
Following these guidelines, Riverside has
grown from a small business in a tiny
Manhattan apartment to a large firm in
Cleveland, with 14 offices worldwide and
120 employees. Szigethy started the firm in
1988, while Kohl joined in 1993.
Riverside invests in premier companies
at the smaller end of the middle market
and is consistently ranked a top quartile
performer in the “Performance Monitor,” published by Private
Equity Intelligence.
Riverside has focused
on buying small niche
leaders, growing the
companies and then
selling those businesses as mediumsized entities.
Riverside has created many unique business models for a private equity firm, including a centralized deal-sourcing team and a marketing and branding
program.
Szigethy and Kohl are most proud of their
employees and the relatively low turnover
rate at Riverside due to careful selection,
advancement opportunities and compensation. Employees are encouraged to maintain
a work-life balance, and that notion is reflected in incentives such as flextime, remote
officing and part-time work arrangements.
Employees are also encouraged to become active in their community. The firm recently
created a fund to donate money to organizations that employees work with.
The co-CEOs also conduct weekly meetings with employees to go over the status of
and encourage discussion regarding deals.
The two are constantly finding ways to improve the company so it continues to be a
fun place to work and provides strong
returns for investors.
HOW TO REACH: The Riverside Co., (216) 344-1040 or
www.riversidecompany.com
