Crisis, Leverage, and the Death of the Hockey Stick: Whyte CEO Nikki Hawyes on Surviving the PE Cycle

Nikki Hawyes is one of the most private-equity-experienced executives in cycling. Across three PE-backed businesses—Fisher, Zyro Fisher, and now Whyte Bikes—she's lived through every phase of the cycle: rapid growth, near-administration crisis, secondary buyouts, and exits. In this episode she shares a refreshingly candid view of what actually works when private equity meets the bike business: why realistic growth beats hockey-stick projections, how focus drives turnarounds, and why she set the terms before signing on.


Read the latest 'The Business of Cycling' Blog

Sign up for 'The Business of Cycling' Newsletter