We place exceptional C-suite and senior leadership talent into private capital-backed businesses across Europe, with precision, discretion, and pace.
We go deep, not broad
Established
Over 15 years we’ve 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 span the UK, Europe, and beyond. 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 Europe and the Middle East. 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 at the forefront of executive search in the private capital sector. He spent six years as a Director at Nigel Wright Group, one of the UK’s leading PE-focused search firms, before becoming Director – Europe at Finatal, where he led C-suite search mandates across PE-backed portfolio companies throughout the continent.
He has placed CEOs, CFOs, COOs and senior leadership 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 a proprietary database of private capital leadership talent and deep experience placing executives across 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.