Finatal recently worked with experienced Chief Talent Officer Merche Del Valle. Merche is a Chief Talent Officer, an executive and organizational coach, a neuroscientist and an economist and has more than 25 years of experience with Fortune 100 and 500 companies and private equity firms.
Ahead of joining Kingswood as Chief Talent Officer, Merche reflected on how the role has evolved and what defines successful leadership in high-growth, high-change environments.
How does the role of a Chief Talent Officer shift at different stages of the deal cycle?
The CTO role goes far beyond hiring – it ranges from being a fundamental resource for the investment team, having a vantage point of talent across the fund and the portfolio companies, leadership development and driving value through people. There are two aspects that stay constant throughout the deal cycle: strategic alignment with the investment team and advice and community-building across the fund and portfolio. Ideally, as CTO you’re fully integrated with the investment team, attending investment committee meetings, understanding the investment thesis and spotting leadership risks early. But you also need to be accessible to the mid-market portfolio companies that may not have strategic HR capability, so the CTO becomes both a partner to management and a connector across the portfolio.
Beyond that, the role evolves across the deal lifecycle – and I tend to visualise it as a curve:
- Pre-close is all about risk assessment. Are we backing the right team? Do we need urgent replacements? If so, we often partner early with external recruiters to move quickly post-close.
- Post-close, it’s about swift implementation – making changes, onboarding new hires and supporting the 100-day plan.
- During the hold, it’s about reassessing: has the value creation plan shifted? Is the team and culture still aligned?
- At exit, it’s about maximising value – making sure the leadership team is a strength, not a risk, for buyers.
So the focus moves from assessment to hiring, to development to value realisation – but partnership, both internal and external, is key throughout.
At what point does C-suite assessment happen and what are the benefits of doing so?
There’s a common myth that you can’t assess management teams until after the deal closes, but more funds are now building it into due diligence. I’ve seen this increase a lot in recent years.
Some funds do this internally – a CTO might attend management team meetings and the management team dinner, and observe dynamics. Others bring in external assessment partners, ranging from light-touch to full assessments. It depends on what’s needed and how competitive the deal is.
Doing assessment pre-close gives you a head start. You understand the risks earlier, so you can act faster post-close. And if you share feedback constructively – which I always try to do – it builds trust. Those insights often shape onboarding and development plans going forward.
What are the biggest challenges in building high-performing teams in PE-backed businesses? And how do longer holding periods affect that?
A big challenge is hiring leaders who haven’t worked in PE before. It can be a stark shift – a seasoned operator who would have been used to autonomy now working closely with a driven, often younger, investment team. That dynamic can be difficult if both sides aren’t prepared.
Onboarding is critical. New leaders need to understand the PE context – how value is created, how decisions are made and how the board dynamic works. That’s where external partners can really help – whether by sourcing PE-experienced candidates or supporting onboarding when it’s new territory.
Longer holding periods add another layer. If a five-year plan becomes ten, leadership needs may shift. Some people can flex with the strategy, but not everyone can. It’s why staying close to the team and reassessing regularly is so important – especially for planning succession.
What are the most effective strategies for retaining top talent during periods of rapid growth and transformation?
This is not so much about radical ideas as it is about execution. Linking incentives to different phases of the value creation plan is key. That could be equity, phantom stock or milestone bonuses – something that lets people share in the value they’re building, even if they don’t stay to exit.
People also need to feel empowered and supported – whether that is with the right team around them, access to the fund or two-way coaching. I’ve seen investment professionals play a big role in that and external partners can help reinforce it.
One thing I’ve found especially effective is cross-portfolio opportunities. When you’ve invested in someone’s development, it makes sense to rotate them into another portfolio company rather than start again. Many leaders want that – to keep growing and replicate their success.
How do you ensure newly hired CFOs and leadership hires can make an immediate impact in a fast-moving environment?
Urgency is everything – new hires often arrive at high-pressure moments and need to learn, listen and act fast.
Success comes from structured onboarding and the right mindset. Leaders need a clear understanding of the investment thesis, value creation plan and their role in it. But just as important is mindset: humility, agility, and openness to feedback. In PE, things move quickly and even seasoned leaders must be willing to pivot and collaborate – not just deliver in isolation.
That’s where the relationship with the right recruitment partners can make a real difference. If they understand the investment thesis and what you are looking for throughout the holding period, they are key to identify candidates with both experience and adaptability and support a quicker time-to-impact.
How do you strike the right balance between external hiring and internal talent development and succession planning?
It starts with the value creation plan. You look at which roles are critical and whether the current team can deliver fast enough.
If not, and there’s urgency, external hiring makes sense – but it needs to be strategic and supported. Dropping someone in without backup doesn’t work. You need to build a strong team around them and invest in the people already there.
That investment signals you’re not sweeping out the old guard – you’re here to grow capability. Over time, it builds succession and strengthens internal pipelines. And this is where the right external partners really help – not just filling urgent gaps, but helping build the bench for the long term.
What will define successful leadership in PE-backed businesses over the next 3–5 years?
It comes down to agility, scalability and balance. You need leaders who are both strategic and operational – the people who can think big, but also roll their sleeves up. People who thrive in uncertainty, who can shift direction quickly and who stay calm under pressure.
Scalability is key too. A lot of leaders have come from environments where they were individual contributors or had small teams. But now, especially with role consolidation (for example, CFOs also acting as COOs) they need to multiply their impact. That means delegating, empowering others, and using tech and AI to free up time for strategic thinking.
And finally, it’s about fit for the environment. PE is not for everyone: it can be intense, but for the right kind of leader, it’s incredibly rewarding. As CTOs, our job is to select and support those leaders. And when we work closely with the right external partners, it’s a much more effective and scalable process — for the fund, the business, and the individuals involved.
Finatal’s Associate Partner Joe Parrish placed Merche Del Valle in her new role as Chief Talent Officer with Kingswood. She was interviewed by Chloe Pearce, Marketing Director, in March 2025.