Constellation’s Bonnie Wilhelm on their “buy and hold forever” strategy

Power House

On today’s episode, we have an exclusive, behind-the-scenes conversation with a guest who has an amazing perspective and depth of knowledge in investing and business operation strategy, Bonnie Wilhelm. Bonnie is the CEO of the Andromeda Group and COO of Perseus inside of Constellation Software. Constellation acquires and operates Vertical Market Software (VMS) throughout a broad target of industries, including housing.

In 2023, Constellation acquired two of the most important technology assets in housing: Optimal Blue and Dark Matter, which was formerly Black Knight. Their influence spans far and wide across many facets of the housing and mortgage ecosystem, even if the name isn’t one that you may recognize at first glance.

Bonnie’s conversation with Clayton gives us a glimpse into the intricate investing and operating strategy at Constellation, where they strongly believe in holding acquired businesses into perpetuity. She also talks about decentralizing operations down to day-to-day minutia and how they’re leveraging artificial intelligence to do things such as reduce loan origination time.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• Constellation follows a buy and hold forever strategy, investing in businesses for the long term and understanding customer needs.
• The company focuses on acquiring businesses in vertical markets and adjacencies, allowing management teams to run autonomously.
• The company is particularly interested in the mortgage space and is investing in AI to reduce loan origination time.
• Constellation emphasizes the importance of patience, being prepared for different scenarios, and making rational decisions in cyclical businesses.

Related to this episode:

• Bonnie Wilhelm | LinkedIn
• Perseus Group | LinkedIn
• HousingWire's AI Summit
• HousingWire | YouTube

Enjoy the episode!

The Power House podcast is a show about leadership, markets and entrepreneurship in the housing industry. Each Thursday, Clayton Collins speaks with CEOs and founders from the mortgage and real estate sector to reveal how housing executives think about business growth, operational strategy, and leadership. The Power House podcast reveals the full picture through the stories of the industry’s most impactful leaders. Clayton Collins is the CEO of HousingWire, and the Power House podcast is produced by HousingWire’s Content Studio. Initially launched in 2019 as the Housing News podcast, the show was relaunched as Power House in 2024.

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