🎥 Golub Capital’s David Golub - inside the mind of one of private credit’s pioneers

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast. We went to Golub Capital’s New York office to sit down with Co-CEO David Golub. David Golub and his brother Lawrence both started their careers in private equity. It was their experiences in private equity in the 1990s that turned them into private credit pioneers. Lawrence and David have built Golub Capital into a $95B private credit behemoth, largely due to their pioneering decision to create the “one-stop” unitranche loan solution for sponsor-backed companies after spotting a gap in the sponsor finance market. Fast forward over 30 years, and Golub Capital is one of the leaders in private credit. David discussed how Golub has spent the balance of its life as a scaled specialist credit manager “honing the competitive advantages” that make the firm so unique. Golub has built a cadre of 200 high-quality sponsor relationships with many of the industry’s top private equity firms, which call on them when they are seeking sponsor financing for their companies. David and I had a fascinating conversation that covered everything from the early days of private credit to the story of pioneering unitranche loans to what LPs should look for in GPs to the psychology of relationships and partnerships. We discussed: What David and Lawrence saw in the early days of private equity informed how they decided to build Golub. Why the unitranche loan became popular with private equity sponsors. What Golub looks for in relationships with private equity sponsors. Why focus has been a key driver of scaling Golub’s business. What LPs should ask GPs when evaluating their fund and firm. Why LPs should evaluate GPs based on how GPs think about their own business. The psychology of relationships and partnerships. How David’s experience being surrounded by a family of psychologists and psychiatrists has given him an edge in investing, negotiating, and building win-win relationships. Bio David B. Golub, Co-Chief Executive Officer David Golub is Co-Chief Executive Officer of Golub Capital, a market-leading, award-winning direct lender and experienced private credit manager. As of April 1, 2026, Golub Capital had over $90 billion of capital under management, a gross measure of invested capital including leverage. Golub Capital partners with institutional investors and family offices, offering tailored solutions for investors’ credit asset strategies. The Firm specializes in delivering reliable, creative and compelling financing solutions to companies backed by private equity sponsors. Golub Capital has been a top 3 U.S. Middle Market Bookrunner each year from 2008 through Q1 2026 for senior secured loans of up to $500 million for leveraged buyouts. Golub Capital has been consistently recognized with industry awards, including Lender of the Year, Americas (Private Debt Investor, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024) Lender of the Decade, Americas (Private Debt Investor, 2023), Senior Lender of the Decade, Americas (Private Debt Investor, 2023), Senior Lender of the Year, Americas (Private Debt Investor, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2023, 2025) and BDC Manager of the Year, Americas (Private Debt Investor, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2023). Mr. Golub is active in charitable and civic organizations. Mr. Golub is a member of the Founder’s Council of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, where he was the first board Chairman and a long-time director. Mr. Golub is Co-Founder and Chair of the Golub Capital Nonprofit Board Fellows Network, which operates at 20 leading business schools; its mission is to make nonprofit boards more effective by training hundreds of MBA students each year to become highly skilled nonprofit directors. Mr. Golub is a member of the Association of Marshall Scholars’ Director’s Circle and previously was a member of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council. He has served on the boards of the Loan Syndications and Trading Association, the Hudson Guild and the World Policy Institute. Mr. Golub is on the board of directors of Burton Snowboards and has served on the boards of numerous public and private companies. Prior to joining Golub Capital in 2003, Mr. Golub was a Managing Director of Centre Partners, a leading middle market private equity firm, and of Corporate Partners, a Lazard-sponsored $1.5 billion private equity fund formed to acquire significant minority stakes in established companies. Mr. Golub earned his AB degree magna cum laude in Government from Harvard College. He received an MPhil in International Relations from Oxford University, where he was a Marshall Scholar, and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar. Thanks, David, for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and passion about private credit, the business of asset management, and the psychology of relationships. A word from AGM podcast sponsor, Ultimus Fund Solutions This episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus, the full-service fund administrator and transfer agent powering asset managers in private and public markets. As alts go mainstream, you need real expertise to handle complex fund structures, connect with key distribution partners, and handle sophisticated compliance, reporting, and transparency demands. That’s Ultimus: high-tech, high-touch solutions for over 450 clients and 2,500 funds with $775B in assets under administration. Backed by an expert team of over 1,200 employees, they place client service at the core of their business, helping you navigate complexity during your fund structuring or launch and then supporting you through every stage of growth. Whether you’re already in the market or thinking about entering private wealth, you can trust their team’s deep expertise in retail alternatives to help you reach your goals. Learn more: ultimusfundsolutions.com or email [email protected]. We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream. Show Notes 00:00 Introduction 01:23 A Message from Ultimus Fund Solutions, Our Sponsor 02:21 Meet David Golub 03:21 David’s Career Shift to Credit 05:24 Joining Forces with His Brother 06:18 Sponsor Finance Market Gap 11:23 Origin of The Unitranche Loan 13:19 Crisis as the Catalyst 14:03 Underwriting Differently 15:19 Distressed Value Mindset 17:01 What Makes a Good Business 20:42 Relationships And Game Theory 22:19 Capital Isn’t Proprietary 27:02 Being First Call 27:58 Managing Growth Carefully 29:45 Only The Paranoid Survive 32:08 Job One Is Performance 35:43 PE Industry Underwriting 36:59 Raising Capital Follows Winners 38:47 Future PE Picks Fewer Lenders 39:27 Credit Partner As A Signal 41:01 Risk Real Vs Perceived 42:15 Cycle Headwinds Explained 43:25 Press Noise And Redemptions 45:43 Why Some LPs Lean In 47:15 Two Narratives Debunked 47:27 Stress Drivers Under Surface 48:51 Manager Dispersion Worsens 50:07 Junior Debt Warning 50:27 How To Underwrite Managers 53:21 Ask For The Why 54:24 Best LP Questions 56:53 Culture Of Balanced Thinking 57:47 Interviewing For Rigor 58:48 Building The Wealth Channel 59:41 Early Fundraising Origins 01:01:14 Investor Diversification 01:04:44 Decades Mindset And Focus 01:05:48 More Of The Same Strategy 01:06:31 Adjacencies And Secondaries 01:06:45 Why Continuation Vehicles Fit 01:09:42 Problem Solving Relationships 01:11:06 Authenticity Over Tricks 01:12:21 Repeat Game Negotiation 01:12:37 Closing Join over 17,100 Substack subscribers & followers, 46,000 LinkedIn and podcast followers, and syndication to the 330,000 Bloomberg Terminal userswho are thought leaders and executives from top private markets firms and wealth management like Blackstone, Apollo, Ares, KKR, EQT, Carlyle, Blue Owl, CVC, TPG, Brookfield, Vista, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, Fidelity, iCapital, Franklin Templeton, Nuveen, Hg, Permira, Stonepeak, Hamilton Lane, StepStone, Partners Group, General Atlantic, Hightower, Focus Financial, Corient, Cerity Partners, and more. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit altgoesmainstream.substack.com