Transformation Recruitment for Private Equity
Build the leadership and delivery teams that put the value creation plan into practice. Finatal recruits Chief Transformation Officers and the specialists who deliver operational, digital and business change in private equity-backed companies.
About the practice
People Who Take Transformation from Plan to Delivery
A transformation programme needs clear ownership at every level. We help funds and management teams identify the people required to direct the agenda, coordinate workstreams and deliver changes across the business.
Leadership of the Agenda
Chief Transformation Officers and Programme Directors connect the investment thesis to a practical plan. They establish priorities, accountabilities and sequencing, working with the CEO and sponsor to keep resources focused on the outcomes that matter.
Delivery Across Functions
The wider Transformation Office provides the capacity to execute. Integration leads, PMO professionals and functional specialists coordinate change across finance, operations, commercial teams and technology, resolving dependencies that can hold progress back.
Performance That Can Be Evidenced
A busy programme is not necessarily a successful one. Strong transformation teams connect milestones with commercial results, maintain visibility of risks and demonstrate the improvements that support the business’s next stage of ownership.
Our Transformation Office Network
Our consultants work with Chief Transformation Officers and Operating Partners, and host Transformation Office forums where practitioners share experience. That dialogue helps ground each mandate in the demands of delivery.
The requirements of a carve-out differ from a growth programme or turnaround. We consider the operating environment, the team already in place and the extent of change before identifying relevant leadership and specialist experience.
What We Look for in a Private Equity Transformation Hire
We look for people who can turn broad priorities into structured workstreams with owners, milestones and measurable outcomes. They should understand the dependencies between initiatives and know when to resolve a problem directly or escalate it.
Commercial judgement matters alongside programme discipline. The strongest operators can connect operational measures to margin and cash, challenge an initiative that is slipping and report progress in a form the executive team and investors can use.
Successful change also depends on relationships. A leader must work constructively with functional heads, make difficult trade-offs clear and embed new ways of working. We assess delivery evidence alongside the person’s ability to operate across organisational boundaries.
Tell us what your value creation plan needs to deliver. We can help define the leadership and specialist capability required to make progress.
Where transformation creates value
Change Measured Against the Investment Plan
Transformation in a PE-backed business must improve performance within the hold period. The required capability depends on the value creation priority.
Integration and carve-outs
Align systems, teams and processes quickly after a deal to protect value.
Operational improvement
Improve efficiency, cost control and performance through better workflows and operating models.
AI, automation and growth
Apply technology and data to useful automation, pricing, customer strategy and commercial acceleration.
Exit readiness
Make systems, processes and reporting coherent, credible and scalable ahead of a sale or IPO.
How we assess
The APEX Framework
We assess transformation talent against the demands of private equity, where value creation depends on speed, judgement and execution. Each pillar tests what strong performance looks like in the specific mandate.
Architecture
Translate the deal thesis into a focused, deliverable plan with clear ownership and sequencing.
Pace
Land outcomes quickly, with early wins tied to EBITDA and cash.
Enterprise
Work across commercial, operational, technology and finance teams in complex, multi-entity businesses.
Executive Leverage
Act as an extension of the CEO and sponsor, with the judgement to lead through ambiguity.
Our approach
Hiring for Delivery
We define the measurable change required before building a shortlist. Candidates are assessed on comparable delivery, the decisions they personally owned and the results they achieved, not programme language or credentials alone.
Match the situation
A carve-out, turnaround and growth programme need different experience. We focus the search on proven people who can operate within the timeframe and complexity of the mandate.
Build the whole team
Alongside Chief Transformation Officers and Programme Directors, we place integration leaders, value creation managers, PMO and workstream owners, functional specialists and interim executives.
Track Record
Explore selected work relevant to Transformation and the needs of private capital businesses.
View More
Finatal supported TMF Group with appointments across five transformation disciplines, embedding operators to connect its strategy with execution.
“Finatal has been a critical partner in sourcing the talent we need to drive our corporate transformation objectives.”
Transformation
Our UK & EU Team
Jack Lane
Managing Director
UK – London
Max Oakley
Partner
UK – London
Edward Sainsbury
Head of Practice – Transformation
UK – London
James Brooker
Executive Consultant
UK – London
Jay Sharer
Executive Consultant
UK – London
Brij Sheopuri
Consultant
UK – London
Tom Shenton
Consultant
UK – London
Dhrusha Shah
Delivery Consultant
UK – London
Sebastian Kennett
Associate
UK – London
FAQs
What transformation roles does Finatal recruit for?
We recruit Chief Transformation Officers, Transformation and Programme Directors, integration leaders, value creation specialists and the PMO and workstream professionals supporting delivery.
Do you recruit the wider Transformation Office?
Yes. Our work includes the functional and project specialists needed to execute change, as well as the senior leader directing the agenda.
Do you cover permanent and interim appointments?
Yes. Permanent hires can establish enduring capability; interim specialists can support a defined programme, integration or time-sensitive change.
What is Finatal’s APEX framework?
APEX considers Architecture, Pace, Enterprise and Executive Leverage: how candidates shape a deliverable plan, maintain momentum, work across the business and support executive decisions.
When should a PE-backed business bring in transformation talent?
Common triggers include an acquisition, carve-out, integration, a gap in delivery or preparation for exit. The required profile depends on the change and the available timeframe.
How does transformation support exit readiness?
It can strengthen systems, operating processes and evidence of performance. Building credible capability during ownership helps buyers assess both the current business and its prospects.