Rafael Rivera

Critic
DISC Type : C

Director at KKR

New York, New York, United States

Overview

Rafael Rivera is a Director at KKR within the Capstone team, focusing on human capital and implementing broad-based employee ownership programs. A former McKinsey associate partner, he holds an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School and an MPA in International Development from Harvard Kennedy School.

He is a passionate advocate for shared ownership and has a background in public and social sector engagement, including research in rural Cambodia. Rafael also plays a leadership role in KKR’s Hispanic and Latino Employee Resource Group, reflecting his commitment to helping others grow professionally.

Rafael co-authored a study on the benefits of combining sanitation marketing with poverty-targeted subsidies to improve household toilet purchases in rural Cambodia.

Personality Overview

Critic

Objective Thinker

Precise

They are quite likely to negotiate on pricing or other key terms.  They like to take decisions independently and do not seek others' support often. They prefer to analyze logically and value objective facts over emotions.

Topics They Care About

Employee Ownership
He is a vocal champion of the "Shared Ownership movement, " focusing on implementing broad-based ownership programs for employees in KKR's portfolio companies.
Human Capital Strategy
As part of KKR's Human Capital Center, he is focused on value creation through employee engagement, organizational design, and change management initiatives.
Global Team Expansion
He is actively recruiting leaders to expand KKR Capstone's Human Capital initiatives into new markets, specifically Europe and Japan.

Media Appearances

Rafael Rivera | KKR. Featured in KKR Official Website

See Now

Work History

12-2025
Director at KKR
1-2024 - 12-2025
Principal at KKR
9-2021 - 10-2023
Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company
8-2019 - 8-2021
Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company
8-2017 - 7-2019
Associate at McKinsey & Company

Education

2014 - 2017
Master in Business Administration (MBA) with Distinction from Harvard Business School
2014 - 2017
Master in Public Administration and International Development (MPA/ID) from Harvard Kennedy School

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 13 Location : New York, New York, United States Job Level : Mid-senior Designation : Director at KKR
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Insights For Selling To Rafael

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Leverage facts and figures wherever possible; use percentages, numbers etc.
  • Be ready for penetrating questions and critical examination of your pitch
  • Be formal and objective, they will appreciate it more

DONT's

  • Don’t try to give too many examples of other users, they like to make their own decisions
  • Avoid phrases like ‘trust me’, ‘others just love’ etc.
  • Do not use very emotional or colorful language

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Rafael is

  • Proof of ROI, low pricing and objective proof points are the important factors for them.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Rafael

  • They do not mind saying no if they believe that it is the right decision.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Rafael move?

  • They are neither the fastest nor the slowest decision makers, they are somewhere in the middle.
  • Can Rafael take some risk or not?

  • They can bear some risk if their analysis backs the decision.

You And Rafael

Personality Compatibility


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