Who we are
Exceptional leadership,
precisely placed.
Specialist executive search for private capital-backed businesses, across the UK and Europe.
Get in touchWe place exceptional C-suite and senior leadership talent into private capital-backed businesses across Europe, with precision, discretion, and pace.
HMN Capital was founded on a simple conviction: in an investor-backed business, leadership is the single greatest lever on value, and a mis-hire is the most expensive mistake a sponsor can make. We work exclusively with private capital, so every mandate is led by someone who understands the hold period, the reporting standards, and the pressure a portfolio leadership team operates under.
From the first institutional C-suite appointment through to the leadership a business needs to be exit-ready, we find and assess the executives who perform from day one, and we do it discreetly, at the pace an investment thesis demands.
We go deep, not broad
Established
We have built deep relationships with senior leaders across both established firms and emerging businesses, giving us access to talent that generalist search firms simply don’t reach.
International
Our candidate networks run across the UK and Europe. When the right person for a brief isn’t in the obvious place, we know where to look, and how to move quickly.
Decisive
We run a focused process, no long shortlists, no unnecessary stages. We move at the pace the mandate demands, and we stay close to you and the candidate until the hire is made.
Our Team
The people behind HMN Capital
Simon Taylor
Managing Partner
Simon Taylor is Managing Partner at HMN Capital, a London-based specialist executive search firm focused exclusively on private capital-backed businesses across the UK and Europe. He leads executive search mandates for PE, venture capital, and private credit-backed businesses, building the leadership teams that drive portfolio performance.
Simon has spent over 15 years in executive search. He spent six years as a Director at Nigel Wright Group, one of the UK’s leading PE-focused search firms, before becoming Director for Europe at Finatal, where he led C-suite search mandates across PE-backed portfolio companies throughout the continent.
He has placed chief executives, chief financial officers and the leadership teams beneath them into businesses backed by some of Europe’s leading mid-market, growth equity and venture capital sponsors.
Simon founded HMN Capital in 2023 with a clear conviction: that specialist, relationship-led search delivers better outcomes for sponsors, portfolio companies and the executives they hire.
Rigorous process. Trusted relationships
Every search we run is underpinned by our competency-based assessment framework, a methodology developed to evaluate not just a candidate’s experience, but their leadership style, growth mindset, and cultural fit for a private capital-backed environment.
We combine this with our own map of the leaders running private capital-backed businesses, and years of placing executives across the UK and Europe. The result: a shortlist you can trust, and a hire you won’t have to second-guess.
What guides us
Specialist Focus, We work exclusively in private capital, which means every conversation, every candidate, and every search is informed by deep sector knowledge rather than general market experience.
Honest Counsel, We tell clients and candidates what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. The best outcomes come from honest dialogue at every stage.
Discretion as Standard, Whether you’re a client conducting a sensitive search or a candidate exploring your options, confidentiality is non-negotiable for us.
Ready to take your organisation to new heights?
Connect with HMN Capital today and let us assist you in finding the outstanding senior executives who will drive your growth-focused organisation forward.
Our Search Practice
We place C-suite leaders across six core functions: each search retained, relationship-led and built around the specific demands of a PE or VC-backed environment.