Accelerating Your Portfolio Performance
Executive search built exclusively for private capital: PE, venture, and growth.
Precision search. Private Capital talent
Our mission is to place top-tier executives who deliver results from day one. We don’t send you a generic longlist. We send you a shortlist of assessed candidates, executives who have been evaluated against your specific brief, your portfolio company’s stage, and the culture you need to build.
Every search we run is built on three foundations: deep sector knowledge, a proprietary database of private capital leadership talent, and genuine relationships with executives who understand the pace and discipline of investor-backed ownership.
Our Sectors
We've placed leadership across ten sectors, from founder-led growth businesses and venture-backed scale-ups to PE-owned market leaders.
Technology & SaaS
AI & Machine Learning
Business Services
Financial Services
Fintech
Healthcare & Life Sciences
Consumer
Industrials & Manufacturing
Energy & Sustainability
Media & Entertainment
What sets us apart
Private Capital Focus
We work exclusively with private capital-backed businesses: PE, venture, and growth. That means every candidate in our network understands the pace, the reporting standards, and the ownership mindset that private capital demands. You won’t get candidates who look good on paper but have never operated in a funded environment.
Competency-Based Assessment
We go beyond CV and reputation. Our structured assessment framework evaluates leadership style, strategic capability, and cultural fit, so you’re not just hiring the best candidate available, you’re hiring the right leader for your specific business at its specific stage.
Speed Without Compromise
We know that time matters in any investment cycle. Our process is built to move quickly without cutting corners, delivering a credible shortlist within 4–6 weeks of mandate confirmation.
Our process
1. Briefing, We immerse ourselves in your mandate: the business, the role, the team dynamic, and the success criteria. We ask hard questions upfront so we can find the right answers quickly.
2. Search & Assessment, We run a targeted search across our proprietary network and the broader market. Every candidate is assessed against your criteria, for capability, leadership style, and PE-environment fit, before they reach you.
3. Shortlist & Selection, We present a focused shortlist, typically 3–5 executives, with full assessment notes for each. We manage the interview process and provide candid guidance at every stage.
4. Placement & Support, We don’t disappear after the hire. We stay close through the transition period to ensure the executive lands well and the relationship between them and the business gets off to the right start.
Ready to move on your next leadership hire?
We work exclusively with PE, venture, and growth capital-backed businesses to place exceptional senior leaders. Tell us about your next mandate.
Is leadership risk
on your radar?
Most leadership failures in portfolio companies are visible in hindsight, but entirely preventable with the right diagnostic up front. The HMN Capital Talent Risk Assessment is a five-day leadership evaluation designed specifically for PE sponsors, VC firms, private credit lenders, and family offices.
We assess whether your leadership team has the capability, mindset, and resilience to execute against your investment thesis, before the risks become value destroyers.
Delivered in partnership with Talent Praxis Group, BPS-accredited, Chartered Psychologist-led. Fixed fee. Full written report within five days.
What the assessment covers
Strategic Vision & ExecutionCan they lead through a PE holding period and execute against the investment thesis?
Financial AcumenDo they understand the metrics that drive value creation, margins, working capital, exit multiples?
Operational LeadershipCan they build and scale operations under the pressure of a PE-backed environment?
People & Team BuildingDo they attract and retain the talent needed to deliver the value creation plan?
Change & TransformationCan they lead through growth, restructure, or geographic expansion?
Stakeholder & Board ManagementDo they communicate effectively with investors and maintain board confidence?
Risk Judgment & Decision MakingDo they make sound decisions under pressure and in conditions of uncertainty?
Culture & Values AlignmentDoes their leadership style fit your investment thesis and portfolio culture?
What our clients say
“
We’d been searching for a senior operations hire for nearly five months before engaging HMN Capital. Within three weeks, we had a shortlist of exceptional candidates — and the person we ultimately hired has exceeded every expectation. The process was seamless, communication was proactive throughout, and it was clear from day one that the team genuinely understood our culture and what we needed. We won’t go through anyone else.
Chief People Officer
Mid-Market Financial Services Firm
“
What sets HMN apart is the quality of their network and the speed at which they move. We came to them with an urgent need for a CFO-level placement and they delivered three credible candidates in under two weeks. Beyond the results, they were a true partner in the process — honest, discreet, and deeply knowledgeable about the talent landscape. It’s rare to find a firm that combines that level of expertise with such a personal approach.
Managing Director
Private Equity-Backed Portfolio Company
Our Executive Searches
HMN Capital specialises in C-suite executive search for PE, venture capital and private credit-backed businesses across the UK, Europe and the Middle East. We work across five core leadership roles.
CFO Search
Our most frequently placed role. We find CFOs who are PE-fluent from day one — building investor-grade finance functions and positioning businesses for successful exits.
Learn more →CRO & CCO Search
Revenue leadership that creates enterprise value. We place CROs and CCOs who build scalable growth engines and drive the commercial performance that underpins strong exit multiples.
Learn more →CEO Search
The hire that determines whether the investment thesis is delivered. We find CEOs who lead with conviction, manage sponsor relationships with skill and execute value creation plans at pace.
Learn more →COO Search
Operational leadership that translates strategy into reality. We place COOs who scale infrastructure, lead transformation and build organisations capable of delivering ambitious value creation plans.
Learn more →CPO & CTO Search
Technology leadership that builds competitive advantage. We find CPOs and CTOs who are as credible with a PE board as they are with an engineering team — delivering on both the product vision and the commercial plan.
Learn more →Chief AI Officer Search
Specialist CAIO search for PE-backed businesses navigating AI-led transformation. We find Chief AI Officers who combine technical credibility with PE fluency — and can deliver measurable value within the hold period.
Learn more →