“We need to look at the CEO.” I have heard that sentence in enough board conversations to recognise its rhythm. It tends to arrive somewhere between month fourteen and month twenty of a hold period, usually with a slide behind it showing the gap between plan and actual. It is said with conviction. It is…
Continuation vehicles are on track to account for a third or more of private equity exits within two years. For the sponsor, it is a liquidity solution. For a management team that thought it was nearing the finish line, it is a second hold period beginning with no change of ownership to mark it —…
Most private equity investors underestimate how significantly leadership quality affects operational outcomes — and overestimate how quickly a wrong hire can be corrected. This report examines the patterns we observe across industrial portfolio companies: where leadership gaps most commonly appear, what drives them, and what the cost of delayed action looks like in practice. Private…
PE portfolios consistently outperform when led by executives who have operated — not managed — in comparable environments. This report examines what separates operators from administrators and why most search processes are not designed to find them. Put two CVs side by side and, on paper, they can be almost indistinguishable. Same title. Same sector….
Due diligence processes routinely scrutinise financial performance and operational infrastructure. Leadership quality — whether the management team can perform under new ownership — is assessed far less rigorously, and far later than it should be. By the time a business is six months from a sale process, its data room is usually forensic. The quality…