Private Equity & Venture
Investor-backed portfolios, from platform CEOs and chairs through functional leaders delivering on the investment thesis.
Leadership calibrated to the investment thesis.
Leadership in investor-backed businesses exists under a particular kind of scrutiny. The investment thesis sets the direction. The hold period sets the pace. The capital stack sets the expectation. The leader who can deliver against all three, while building an enduring enterprise, is a specific and carefully considered appointment.
Our Private Equity & Venture practice works directly with investors, private equity, growth capital, venture, and family investment offices, on the leadership appointments that define portfolio outcomes. We also support portfolio company boards directly on chair and non-executive composition, and on the functional leadership appointments that sit beneath the CEO.
What investors and boards are navigating.
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Platform CEO appointments
Identifying chief executives who can execute against a specific investment thesis, balancing operational rigour, commercial ambition, and the pace a hold period requires.
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Chair & NED selection
Assembling portfolio boards that bring sector depth, governance experience, and an operator's understanding of what the CEO actually needs in the years ahead.
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Functional leadership
CFO, COO, and commercial leadership appointments calibrated to the specific value-creation plan, recognising the disproportionate impact of these roles on hold-period outcomes.
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Scaling founder-led businesses
Supporting the transition from founder-led to institutionally-led, preserving the product and cultural DNA while adding the operational discipline scale demands.
What we bring.
We work with investors in two modes. On retained mandates, we operate as a dedicated search partner on the specific appointments that matter to a portfolio company's hold period. On a more continuous basis, we act as an ongoing talent partner to investors, maintaining a mapped view of sector leadership, briefing investment teams on market context, and supporting both pre-deal and post-deal leadership questions as they arise.
Our cross-sector coverage means we are equally at home on a healthcare-sector buyout, a software platform mandate, or an industrial-services thesis. Where the sector context is central, we draw our lead partner from the relevant sector practice, ensuring the depth and specificity the work demands.
Discuss a portfolio mandate →Leadership decisions shape the future of your organisation.
We would welcome the opportunity to discuss an upcoming mandate, a succession question, or simply to begin a longer-term conversation. All enquiries are handled in strict confidence.