"Fear is a reaction,- COLIN McGHEE
courage is a decision"
Colin McGhee is the founder, investor, and spiritual engine of Paragon Alpha. Ireland-based, on calls from his car, messaging from his hospital bed at 10:43pm. He set up his own business at 28. He climbed Mont Ventoux - then cycled 151km. He messages from annual leave because "what's a day off?"
He is the closer. His value isn't the jobs he has. It's what he knows about the market, the people, the firms. He out-knows the candidate on their own market, and that's why it works.
He is emotional, vulnerable, sharp, generous, relentless, and occasionally contradictory - sometimes in the same meeting. He swings between warm encouragement and frustrated accountability, and he'll tell you he's "quite a soft guy, let's be honest" minutes after saying "I feel sick in my stomach that we could lose a fee."
Success to me looks like me being able to draw some income for the business. It looks like Jamie getting up to earning a million. I just want to be able to take something for me and my family out of the business. It's that simple. I don't need lots of money. I just need an income from it.
Colin McGhee - Alpha Academy Sync, Jan 2026I could have stayed off video and just got into my car. But I want to say, look, I'm actually really excited, right? And even the fact that I know I can get a little bonus this six months, it means the world to me, right?
Colin McGhee - Board Meeting, Mar 2026These are Colin's actual phrases, used repeatedly across War Rooms, board meetings, and emails. They ARE his coaching language. Deploy at the right moment.
Be a human pendulum moving left to get inside the head of the client, right to get close to the heart of the candidate!
Colin McGhee - Ben Mackrell War RoomThis isn't just positioning. It's Colin's actual working method. He moves between client intelligence and candidate psychology constantly, using information from one side to advance the other.
Colin's version isn't Pareto. It's this: 80% of the job is closing. Everything before the close - sourcing, qualifying, submitting - is the 20%. The real work starts when there's an offer to land.
At this stage of the process I try to be in their ear 70% of the time in a charming way
Colin McGhee - Ben Mackrell War RoomDuring contract/close phase, Colin is in near-constant contact with the candidate. Not aggressive. Charming. But omnipresent.
Colin's signature closing technique. Once a deal reaches offer/contract stage, he engineers informal touchpoints:
"One more coffee once contracts are in hand is the key difference in making this happen!"
"I would 100% get a coffee meeting with Bala or Greg asap. Without this, it could be tricky!"
Colin's fee negotiation is built on timing, data, and leverage. These principles come from thousands of deals.
"You have no leverage when the deal is done - trust me." Have the fee conversation while the candidate is still in play.
"We never want backend fees. We always aim for upfront." Backend fees are unreliable. Upfront is the standard.
Colin quotes from memory: BAM $425k sub-PM, $650k PM, $850k senior PM. MLP 30% front-end. Brevan $1.4m. You must know these numbers.
"We get paid $400k upfront from BAM for a sub PM!" Benchmark every fee discussion against what other clients pay for similar placements.
"Corey needs to bat for us. You cannot contact Jodi directly, she will go mental." Know the power structure and route your ask correctly.
"We've delivered a 40m guy and the upfront fee is very low." Position your fee as fair recognition of value delivered, not an ask.
"MLP first offer is not their last. I had 3 iterations for Alboraz!" Every offer is a starting point. Push respectfully but firmly.
Colin has a complete counter-offer rebuttal system refined over decades of hedge fund placements.
80% of people who accept counter-offers leave within 6 months
90% leave within 12 months
Trust is compromised and rarely fully restored
Counter-offers are often short-term fixes. They're designed to buy time, protect delivery, avoid disruption. Once things stabilise, the leverage shifts back - and so does your vulnerability.
Colin's Counter-Offer Rebuttal Email"I didn't come here to create a bidding situation. I've been presented with an opportunity I can't pass up."
Colin has a templated resignation guidance email sent to candidates at sign stage:
Colin's standard candidate preparation framework for PM interviews at multi-managers. Used across every War Room.
"Describe a trade that did not go well, what did you learn, what did you change in your process"
"How many days to liquidate portfolio or mitigate risk close to 100%?"
"Describe leverage - notional vs capital vs risk"
Key selling point: Last remaining multi-strat paying 100% cash bonuses, no deferred
"Family friendly hedge fund, culture is outstanding"
"Francine is one of the nicest leaders on the street"
Fees: Sub-PM $425k | PM $650k | Senior PM $850k (flat)
Colin's contact: Jen Blake (personal relationship)
$750bn gross, 435 PMs, 35-year track record
7-year redemption model. 30% deferred bonus
"They have all the firepower in the world"
Fees: 30% front-end cash comp (base + sign-on). SPM min $300k
Lawyer: Evan Belosa - "359 MLP contracts in 10 years"
18% employee-owned. "Excellent spin-off deals"
Growing ML and alternative data appetite
Fees: $500k first PM deal
Colin's contact: Caroline (BD)
$190m pass-through. 5.5-year redemption period
"Never lost a PM in 5 years"
Recently hired Head of Data Infra from Cubist
Colin's contact: Gavin Boyle (meets in person regularly)
35% deferred. 15-month non-compete. Monitors keystrokes
"Sterile institution." "Insane pressure to take risk." "No freedom."
Colin's line: "40% deferral tells you a lot about a firm's culture"
"A discretionary shop, impossible to make a lot of money"
"You'll never own your own track"
Use when candidates are considering DE Shaw over BAM/MLP
"His stock and career equity will jump 500% if he joins Engineers Gate. In 3 years, producing strong PnL, all the top firms will want him. QRT, Citadel, WQ. This unfortunately will not be the case if he joins Jane. It's not a blue chip quant firm."
Starting position: Candidate had never engaged a headhunter. Explicitly said "I do NOT want to speak with Millennium." Went dark for all of January.
Outcome: Signed contract with Millennium. Colin turned a hard no into a $1.225M fee.
LinkedIn Recruiter failed. Normal InMail succeeded. Don't assume one channel failing means the candidate is unreachable.
When she asked "what can you actually do for me?" Colin said "we protect your IP, negotiate your economics, maximise your terms." He sold the recruiter's value, not the vacancy.
Voicemail: "I have an opportunity no other headhunter has. We need to speak tonight as the CIO is in London this week." She replied immediately.
The original opportunity was paused. Most recruiters would hide this. Colin used it as a de-escalation device. She relaxed. Then the real play began.
With the conversation warm and relaxed, Colin introduced Millennium - the firm she explicitly rejected. Different emotional state, different answer.
"Why would I spend time arranging meetings that won't lead anywhere?" He positioned himself as selective, not desperate. Flipped the power dynamic.
She said "you know nothing about me." Colin revealed he'd headhunted two PMs from her firm. Her surprise that a colleague had left - information she couldn't get from her own network - proved his value in real time.
Colin doubled her financial expectations BEFORE the offer stage. He set the anchor high so the number was compelling on arrival. Don't negotiate at offer stage - pre-build the economics.
Engineered Bo Kim (Korean national at MLP) to connect with Sujin. Addressed concerns through shared cultural understanding. Not left to chance.
Flew to London AFTER the contract, not before. The in-person meeting was for due diligence and reassurance, not selling. Right tool at the right stage.
She said "no BD." Colin respected this and got her straight to Issac. Honouring her condition actually accelerated the process and built trust.
Day 1: Issac. Day 2: Ross. Day 3: Technology. Before risk call, they decided to make an offer. Day 7: Contract received.
"I'll call you tomorrow at 8pm" - action, date, time specific. "Give me 24 hours" - she set the timeline, he locked it. Every interaction had a next step.
She was emotionally attached to GSA. Mike and Colin worked through resignation in detail. This isn't closing - it's process management. The deal isn't done until they've started.
Relentless patience - December to April. Multiple rejections. Never aggressive, always circling back with value.
Intelligence as currency - His value isn't the job. It's what he knows about the market, the people, the firm.
Process engineering - Bypassing BD, arranging Bo Kim, flying to London. Every conversation was designed.
Fee management - Doubling her ask before the offer stage. Colin doesn't negotiate at offer stage - he pre-builds the economics.
Colin teaches through stories. These are the ones he returns to repeatedly - use them in your own coaching and candidate conversations.
I'll never, ever, ever forget talking to you the first day I phoned you, Jamie. I was in the car, I always remember it, and I put down the phone, and I was like, I could feel the grit. I can even feel it more now. Like, Jesus Christ. I always felt, I felt the grit from your voice. Never told you that.
The Grit Phone Call - Board Meeting, Mar 2026Jamie, we're the Roy Keanes, right? You know, I see, you know, we, and it's like, we are the Roy Keanes.
The Roy Keane Speech - Board Meeting, Mar 2026When selling deferred comp allocated to a fund: "Candidates should be happy to get 15% net of fees. I can't even get 2.7% from my bank." Simple reframe that makes deferred comp sound like a gift.
Understanding what Colin expects from his consultants is critical. These patterns come from 1,981 War Room messages across eight recruiter channels.
Not hearing back drives Colin insane. "Hi Ben, just checking in" appears hundreds of times. If you go quiet, he escalates: "I feel sick in my stomach that we could lose a fee."
"Can you phone him on the hop." "Pls do - he needs to start the ball rolling." Colin doesn't schedule - he acts immediately and expects the same.
"Don't be nervous to push." "Firstly we never take no for an answer!" Colin rewards resilience above all else.
Know what the deal is worth before you close it. "We can only bill on cash sign-on, not deferred." "Pls make sure to clarify if Henry is a Sub PM or a PM. This is important for fee negotiations."
"Remember you're driving this. Not Corey, you need to get these meetings in the diary." The recruiter owns the process, not the client.
"No bullet points, nobody cares about where he started, PnL and risk numbers need to be in big letters in the first paragraph not the 3rd! Clients scan, they don't read."
| Situation | Colin Says |
|---|---|
| Deal close is near | "Let's close this out and celebrate in Ireland!" |
| Recruiter is hesitating | "Shy baby gets no sweets!" |
| Process is dragging | "Time kills deals!" |
| Fee negotiation needed | "You have no leverage when the deal is done" |
| Candidate going wobbly | "You have not come this far, just to come this far" |
| Great performance | "Oscar winning performance!" |
| Counter-offer threat | "Citadel turned him with an Oscar winning performance. Today we can do the same" |
| Recruiter needs pushing | "I've never closed a desk through crossing fingers" |
| Celebrating a win | "Your smashing it, unbelievable!" |
| Defending a fee | "A 300k fee for a guy like this is very low" |
| Weekend work | "What's a day off?" |
| Candidate management | "Candidate management, candidate management, candidate management" |