Highlights
- Inflexion’s onboarding goes beyond induction, helping new joiners build the knowledge, relationships and confidence to contribute quickly and develop throughout their careers.
- Combining structured training with buddying, early responsibility and exposure to experienced colleagues helps people learn quickly while understanding how the firm operates.
- Culture is spread through experience as well as training and events, with open knowledge sharing helping new joiners understand what works, learn from what does not, and build confidence.
Inflexion is committed to attracting and retaining the best talent through long term careers at the firm. This 3-part series will look at how that is done at different stages, with this first piece looking at how new joiners are supported to establish the relationships, curiosity and confidence that allow them to keep learning throughout their career.
Onboarding at Inflexion is a process rather than a one-off induction, and new joiners learn to operate effectively within Inflexion so they can contribute quickly. The process of helping them build the technical knowledge, relationships and confidence to succeed starts before they arrive and continues throughout their first year.
“A lot of resource goes into bringing the best people in, so it's really in everyone's interest that they go on to do well,” explains Kirsty Tikerpae, Partner and with Inflexion for over two decades. “We ensure people have a strong start, and that includes feeling welcome from day one so they can feel part of and contribute to the team.”
Colleagues spend their early days getting to know the firm and its team. “Their first week is about tours and meeting people’’ Kirsty says.
While it sounds simple, people tell us this ‘precursor onboarding’ is different to other firms.
Building relationships from day one
Every new joiner in the investment team up to Director level is paired with a buddy who can provide an informal point of contact as they find their feet. “It boosts confidence quickly and helps them network internally,” Kirsty says.
Experienced lateral hires may arrive with considerable expertise but still need to understand how that knowledge fits into Inflexion, while those earlier in their careers will need different technical and practical foundations.
New colleagues need time to understand how the firm invests, how its specialist functions support the investment process and portfolio, and – importantly – who to turn to when they need expertise. The sheer volume of learning means onboarding is typically six to 12 months.
Structured learning continues throughout, including introductory technical training relevant to specific roles. such as the ‘Intro to PE’ workshop for those who join from outside of the industry. Inflexion also holds its annual ‘Inflexion Insights’ programme, where colleagues from across the firm – up to Partner level – explain their roles and how different parts of the business work together.
That is particularly important as Inflexion continues to grow and recruit people with increasingly varied professional backgrounds. “I was employee number six in 2004,” Kirsty recalls – we now over 220 people today.
Balancing support with responsibility
Empowering people with trust early on can accelerate learning. Formal training is complemented by live work and exposure to experienced colleagues, with responsibility given early – including board/IC exposure, often within weeks of joining.
Curiosity is one of the characteristics Kirsty sees in people who thrive during their first year. “We give them enough support so they know where to go with questions, but you don’t give them the answer outright,” Kirsty says, adding that the right foundation means they feel confident exploring, asking questions, making suggestions and contributing early in their career with the Firm.
Learning the culture
This combination of support and exposure also helps new joiners understand culture, which is vital but harder to teach formally.
“We learn through each other rather than purely formal training,” Kirsty explains. “You see how other people behave and treat each other and how the firm responds in different situations.”
As investment is inherently about making judgements, Inflexion aims to create an environment where lessons from experience are shared rather than hidden, including through teach-ins that review challenging situations and unexpected outcomes and the lessons learned from them.
That willingness to share experience means onboarding gradually gives way to continuous development.
“Attracting and developing exceptional people is the foundation of Inflexion's long-term success,” stresses Freddy West, Partner and Chief People Officer at Inflexion. “As the firm grows, we need to keep investing in talented people and give them the potential to develop, progress and become leaders themselves This creates opportunities for people to grow with Inflexion and this helps us retain the best people.”
What I learned in my first year
The 12 months through September 2026 saw Inflexion welcome 46 new joiners, bringing the team to over 220 professionals working together.
Cameron Brodeur, Origination Manager for US investment team since September 2025
A combination of two things surprised me in my first few months at Inflexion: the internal global connectivity that you wouldn’t initially expect with a firm that has 200+ professionals across five countries, but also the ease in which I immediately had access to every single person and their willingness to do so.
I really appreciate how much Inflexion lays a foundation for new employees from day one (and even prior to starting). The Insight Days helped me realise that, in spite of being ‘new’, I had the foundation and infrastructure behind me as if I’d been there for years.
I was given meaningful responsibility pretty much on day one! I was immediately introduced to every portfolio company and management team that our US team was working with, in addition to beginning to be included in all advisor discussions to begin building my own network here state side as part of Inflexion.
Astrid Palmstierna, Investment Executive within Business Services team since September 2025
Coming from large-cap PE, I’ve learned the benefits of working in a smaller team and more closely with people across the whole firm which feels more entrepreneurial. It is actually great to be working in a smaller team and more closely with people across the whole firm. The culture really helps as it’s personal and still has the feel of a small firm.
My advice to new joiners is to say yes to events and opportunities to meet people – for example the Roundhouse charity event or netball tournament. There are lots of opportunities to interact with people outside your team. And be sure to ask questions and make use of the experience across the firm, and get involved — the more you put in, the more you get out.
