Specialist search for Chief Operating Officers who can translate ambitious investment theses into operational reality, scaling infrastructure, driving efficiency and building organisations that perform.
COO Executive Search for PE-Backed Businesses
The operational backbone of value creation
In a PE-backed business, strategy without execution is just a slide deck. The COO is the executive who makes things happen, translating the investment thesis into operational plans, building the infrastructure to support growth, and holding the business to account for delivery against the value creation plan.
The role takes different forms depending on the business. In some cases, the COO is a true number two, the CEO's operational partner, responsible for running the business day-to-day while the CEO manages externally. In others, the COO is a specialist brought in for a defined transformation: a systems overhaul, a post-acquisition integration, a scaling programme or a professionalization of a business that has outgrown its original operating model.
HMN Capital understands that COO mandates are rarely straightforward. We take the time to understand exactly what the business needs, and we find operators who have done it before.
Execution
The gap between a credible investment thesis and actual value creation is almost always an operational one, the COO bridges it
Scalability
PE-backed businesses grow fast, the COO builds the operational capacity to scale without breaking the business that already exists
Integration
In buy-and-build strategies, the COO is typically the executive responsible for making acquisitions work in practice
What great looks like in a PE-backed COO
Operator, not just administrator
The best PE-backed COOs are proactive operators; they identify inefficiencies, redesign processes and drive change without waiting to be asked. They are energised by complexity, comfortable making difficult decisions and trusted by both the CEO and the board to keep the business moving forward.
Cross-functional and commercially aware
A great COO holds the whole business together. They work across technology, finance, HR, supply chain and commercial functions, breaking down silos, aligning teams around shared priorities and ensuring that operational decisions are always grounded in commercial reality and the requirements of the investment thesis.
Scalability-focused
PE-backed businesses grow quickly, often faster than their operating models can handle. The COOs who add lasting value build systems, processes and team structures that are not just effective today but capable of scaling as the business grows, acquires and transforms throughout the hold period.
When sponsors and portfolio companies engage us
COO mandates come in many forms. We tailor every search to the specific operational challenge and stage of the business, whether that is building, transforming, scaling or integrating.
Scaling a growing business
The business is growing faster than its infrastructure can support, headcount, systems and processes are all under strain. The sponsor needs a COO who has scaled organisations before and can build the operational capacity to match ambitious growth targets without losing the agility that made the business successful.
Post-acquisition integration
A buy-and-build platform has completed several acquisitions and needs a COO to lead integration, aligning cultures, systems and processes across multiple businesses, realising synergies on schedule and ensuring the combined entity operates as a coherent whole rather than a collection of separate parts.
Operational transformation
The business needs to transform how it operates, whether through digital infrastructure, process redesign, outsourcing or restructuring. We identify COOs with genuine transformation track records, not those who have only managed stable businesses.
First institutional COO
A founder-led business has never had a dedicated COO. Operations have been managed informally, often by the founder directly. Under institutional ownership the business needs a professional COO to build process, governance and management structure that can support the next phase of growth.
CEO support and number two
The CEO needs a strong operational partner to run the business day-to-day, freeing them to focus on strategy, the sponsor relationship and external stakeholders. We find COOs who are genuine partners, operationally excellent and commercially credible enough to be trusted with significant autonomy.
Our approach to COO search
1
Operational brief
We invest time understanding the specific operational challenge, the business model, the current state of operations, the growth ambition and the precise scope of the COO mandate before we begin the search.
2
Sector-aware search
We search specifically for COOs with relevant sector and business model experience, recognising that operational leadership in a SaaS business looks very different from operational leadership in a services or industrials business.
3
Track record focus
We look for concrete evidence of operational impact, not just functional responsibility. We probe deeply into what candidates actually built, changed or improved in previous roles, and how they led people through complexity.
4
Post-placement support
We remain connected to both sponsor and COO after placement, supporting onboarding, providing market context and staying available as a resource as the business evolves through the hold period.
Discuss your COO mandate with HMN Capital
Whether you are planning a COO search or need a candid view of the operational leadership market, we are ready to help. We work with sponsors and portfolio companies across the UK, Europe and the Middle East.