Private Capital Leadership Insights

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The CRO title should follow the span of the jobInsights

The CRO title should follow the span of the job

Revenue bands are a proxy for when to hire a chief revenue officer. In our…
October 26, 20266 min
Name the integrator at the second add-onInsights

Name the integrator at the second add-on

Buy-and-build platforms create the integration seat after the deals pile up. Why it is a…
October 22, 20266 min
The non-executives go on completion. The management deal comes later.Insights

The non-executives go on completion. The management deal comes later.

In two of the summer's largest take-privates the non-executives go on completion and incentives come…
September 30, 20266 min
When your investor is also your customerInsights

When your investor is also your customer

Strategic capital is now on European defence cap tables. What that does to a commercial…
September 9, 20266 min
When the lender becomes the ownerInsights

When the lender becomes the owner

Goldman counts 150 European companies whose lenders took the equity since 2017. Over 80% sit…
September 2, 20267 min
Commercial leadership in European defence: what a sponsor is actually choosing betweenInsights

Commercial leadership in European defence: what a sponsor is actually choosing between

Three start-ups won German drone orders, then the incumbent signed for more than all three…
August 27, 20266 min
Two names on the door: what a Co-CEO structure means for a sponsor at entry, scale and exitInsights

Two names on the door: what a Co-CEO structure means for a sponsor at entry, scale and exit

Shared control at the top of European software is more common than sponsors assume. What…
August 12, 20265 min
The first institutional CFO: why the brief is set by ownership, not sectorInsights

The first institutional CFO: why the brief is set by ownership, not sector

Private equity's most frequent senior hire is also its most poorly specified. The first institutional…
July 29, 20267 min
The operating COO in private equity: a seat to decide at entryInsights

The operating COO in private equity: a seat to decide at entry

Private equity spent a decade cutting the COO. In an operational-return era of longer holds,…
July 28, 20264 min
The AI Operating Partner: Why European PE Is Building AI Capability at Fund LevelInsights

The AI Operating Partner: Why European PE Is Building AI Capability at Fund Level

Most PE firms have committed over $1M to AI. Under 5% of their portfolio companies…
July 16, 20267 min
Before You Hire a Chief AI Officer: Why Private Equity’s AI Value-Creation Gap Is a Leadership ProblemInsights

Before You Hire a Chief AI Officer: Why Private Equity’s AI Value-Creation Gap Is a Leadership Problem

95% of PE funds say AI is meeting its business case, but only 17% are…
June 29, 20267 min
Taken Private: The CEO Question Europe’s Sponsors Keep Getting WrongInsights

Taken Private: The CEO Question Europe’s Sponsors Keep Getting Wrong

As Europe's take-private wave accelerates, the CEO retention decision at point of deal is the…
May 27, 20267 min