Private equity
Search for sponsors, on the sponsor's clock.
Private equity isn't an industry. It's a type of owner, with a thesis, a hold period and a board that wants results by a date.
Steward Well runs retained executive searches for private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies from $50M to $500M in revenue. The portfolio CFO sits at the center, with CEO, value creation and integration searches beside it. A partner leads each search, with a calibrated shortlist in 21 days.
Why does a private equity search need its own approach?
A sponsor buys a company with a plan. The plan has a timeline, usually a few years. Every leadership hire either speeds that plan up or slows it down.
That changes the search. The question isn't only whether a candidate is good. It's whether they've done this exact job, under a sponsor, on a clock, with a board that reads the numbers every month.
We treat the investment thesis as the job description. The success profile ties each hire to the value creation plan, so the board and the candidate agree on what winning looks like.
Which private equity searches do you run?
Each of these has its own page:
- Portfolio CFO search. The most common sponsor hire, and the core of the firm.
- Sponsor-backed CEO search. For a new platform, a founder transition or a reset.
- Value creation talent. The leaders a plan needs below the CEO.
- Carve-out and integration leadership. When a business is pulled out of a parent or two companies become one.
When do sponsors call a search firm?
- Before close, when diligence shows the finance team can't support the plan.
- In the first 100 days, when the founder CFO isn't the right fit for sponsor reporting.
- Mid-hold, when a leader stalls and the plan slips.
- Before an exit, when the company needs a CFO who has run a sale process.
The earlier the call, the more options you have. A search that starts in the first 100 days finishes while the plan still has time to work.
Who leads a private equity search at Steward Well?
A partner, from the first call to month twelve. Sponsors want one person who knows the mandate, answers the phone and tells them the truth about the market. That's how we work on every search, not a premium tier.
Private equity search pages
Questions buyers ask first
Do you work for the sponsor or the portfolio company?
Either. The engagement letter names the client. In practice we work with the deal team and the portfolio company board together, since both have to say yes to the hire.
Can you start a search before the deal closes?
Yes, with care. We can map the market and build the success profile before close, then begin outreach once you're cleared to move.
What size companies do you cover?
Portfolio companies from $50M to $500M in revenue, across finance, industrial and software businesses.
Is private equity a separate practice?
Private equity is a buyer segment that cuts across all three of our practices. The CFO seat is where most sponsor work lands, through our finance practice.
See where your search stands before it starts.
The readiness diagnostic takes two minutes. It shows the gaps that slow a search down. When you're ready, a partner takes the first call.