Written by Paul Blant, Group Managing Director. A version of this article originally appeared in Real Deals’ March 2025 edition.
Finatal has spent over a decade placing C-suite leaders into private equity-backed businesses, tracking performance, leadership styles and impact across a range of investment cycles. In partnership with our clients, we regularly conduct in-depth psychometric analysis of leaders as part of the hiring process to understand what drives them – and as a result, we’ve triangulated clear patterns in what sets the highest performers apart. While these findings have historically focused on CFOs, the insights are just as relevant for leaders across disciplines who are playing increasingly strategic roles in PE-backed companies.
Alongside data from our annual remuneration report, which has captured more than seven years of compensation and hiring trends, these insights provide a clear blueprint for what private equity firms should prioritise when building out their leadership teams.
Operating at pace
Leadership within PE portfolio companies is inherently high stakes, but the best leaders don’t just manage pressure: they thrive in it. Investor expectations, exit timelines and performance targets all demand an ability to think fast, pivot quickly and execute with confidence.
Our data highlights a defining characteristic of the top quartile of PE leaders: they score significantly higher on “pace”, with the average PE CFO scoring 20% higher than their corporate counterparts, with the top third of CFOs ranking as ‘extremely high’. This suggests a comfort with ambiguity, rapid decision-making and shifting priorities, all of which are a necessity when navigating investor demands, operational challenges and M&A activity, often within a single week.
For private equity firms, this reinforces the importance of hiring leaders who can move at pace, handle complexity and make high-impact decisions under pressure, all while maintaining a clear line of sight on long-term value creation.
A common thread among high-performing executives is curiosity: a natural drive to challenge the status quo, explore new opportunities and bring fresh thinking to the table. What our research has suggests though, is that there is an optimal range for this trait: data shows that average-high curiosity was most predictive of success.
Leaders who demonstrate high, but not excessive, curiosity tend to balance innovation with execution. The top quartile of performers demonstrated they are commercially aware and able to drive change, without getting distracted by less strategic initiatives, walking the line between visionary leadership and execution-focused decision-making.
PE CFOs score more highly on curiosity than finance leaders in other environments and industries, but there is an optimal range. The most effective PE-backed executives understand when to challenge assumptions and when to focus on delivery, ensuring that financial, technological, and operational strategies are fully aligned with investment objectives.
A commercially driven C-suite
The role of leadership in a portfolio company has evolved significantly since we started in hiring PE leadership roles back in 2010. Finance, technology and transformation functions are no longer seen as back-office support, they are frontline drivers of value creation.
Our analysis of remuneration trends over the last seven years reveals a notable shift toward performance-linked compensation structures, including higher variable pay and carried interest participation, up to an average of 1.7% in 2024. This reflects a growing expectation that CFOs, CTOs and transformation leaders will play an active role in driving EBITDA growth, executing acquisitions and scaling businesses ahead of an exit.
For PE firms hiring, we see most success when C-suite appointments are made with a commercial lens – people who are strategic enablers who embed finance, technology, and transformation in value creation plans.
Resilience and grit
As part of our annual remuneration report, we ask CFOs to identify the trait most important to their success in private equity. Since 2019, resilience has ranked as highest or second highest trait needed for success – averaging 33%.
Our research shows that the most successful leaders over-indexed on dominance, conscientiousness and adjustment, all traits that signal determination and the ability to manage intense pressure without losing focus or feeling overburdened.
The reality of private equity lifecycles is that not every plan runs smoothly, and leaders must be able to remain problem solve under pressure and align stakeholders behind a clear strategy. Those who possess this ability consistently outperform their peers – particularly in high-growth, high-intensity environments.
The right leadership
In private equity, securing the right leadership team is one of the most critical levers of success. The best finance, technology, and transformation executives don’t just protect value. They create it – driving performance, strategic execution, and ultimately, a successful exit.