Edward B. Berk - Faculty & Research - Harvard Business School
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Edward B. Berk

Senior Lecturer of Business Administration


Ted Berk is a Senior Lecturer of Business Administration in the Finance Unit at Harvard Business School. He teaches Finance I & II in the required curriculum.

Ted retired in 2016 as a managing director of Bain Capital, one of the world’s leading alternative investment firms, after nearly 20 years as a private equity investor. Ted was based in London for the majority of his career, where his primary focus was private equity investments supporting consumer-facing businesses in Europe. Ted held a number of leadership responsibilities at Bain Capital over the course of his career, including coordinating the European investment committee and recruiting.

Ted has broad investment experience, including high-growth situations, international expansions, founder transitions, and operational turnarounds. He has worked across Europe and in North America, South Africa and Japan.

Prior to joining Bain Capital, Ted worked as a consultant with Bain & Company in the United States. He graduated from Harvard Business School, as a Baker Scholar and Siebel Scholar, and he holds a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from Harvard College. Ted also attended the Ecole Polytechnique (Paris) as a Jean Monnet fellow.

Cases and Teaching Materials
  1. AirFox (A): Embracing the Blockchain and an ICO

    Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Edward B. Berk and Nate Schwalb

    In summer 2017, Victor Santos, CEO of AirFox, considered whether to pivot his startup towards a new product built with blockchain—a quickly growing technology at the time. AirFox was an early stage startup that sold Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) to small telecom companies. AirFox was generating revenue and had a pipeline of interested customers, but it was running low on cash. In addition, Santos was finding it difficult to secure further venture capital investment. In the meantime, blockchain protocols were growing in popularity in technology circles and many blockchain projects were securing investment via Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Santos and his team brainstormed a new business, which would launch a new blockchain currency to facilitate financial services for unbanked and underbanked customers in emerging markets via their smartphone. Santos had to decide whether to go forward with the new plan despite regulatory risk, execution risk, and vocal opposition from some employees and investors.

    Keywords: Blockchain; cryptocurrency; Initial Coin Offering; ICO; Business Startups; Finance; Currency; Strategy; Decision Making; United States;

    Citation:

    Bussgang, Jeffrey J., Edward B. Berk, and Nate Schwalb. "AirFox (A): Embracing the Blockchain and an ICO." Harvard Business School Case 818-097, May 2018. (Revised January 2019.)  View Details
  2. Altoona State Investment Board & Bain Capital Fund XI

    Josh Lerner and Ted Berk

    Considers the decision faced by state pension fund manager Rod Calhoun as he decides whether to invest $200 million in Bain Capital's eleventh global buyout fund: Bain Capital Fund XI. For the fund, Bain was offering its limited partners a choice among three different fee structures: first, a "conventional" fee structure of a 1.5% management fee with 20% carried interest and a 7% preferred rate of return; second, a 1% management fee with 30% carried interest and a 7% preferred rate of return; or third, a 0.5% management fee, 30% carried interest, and a 0% preferred rate of return. Should Calhoun invest in Bain? If he should, which fee structure should Calhoun choose?

    Keywords: Capital; design; entrepreneurship; Equity method; finance; Leveraged Buyout; management; management buyout; private equity; venture capital; Capital; Design; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Leveraged Buyouts; Management; Private Equity; Venture Capital; Banking Industry; Massachusetts;

    Citation:

    Lerner, Josh, and Ted Berk. "Altoona State Investment Board & Bain Capital Fund XI." Harvard Business School Case 218-022, August 2017.  View Details