Portfolio leadership without the search delay.
A value-creation plan depends on the operator who carries it out, and the seat is often empty just as the plan begins.
Where the first year of a hold goes
The pattern repeats across sponsors:
The first quarter is spent recruiting
A permanent search takes months, and the plan is already running.
Reporting is not sponsor-grade
Management reports as it always has, while the sponsor now needs a different view.
Founder and sponsor see different businesses
Both are right about something. Without an operator in between, the gap becomes friction.
The gap is real but temporary
When there is an acquisition to absorb, a systems rebuild or a carve-out, a senior operator for a set stretch fits better than a permanent appointment.
We embed operators into portfolio companies in weeks, on a contract for services. Once the job is finished they hand over cleanly and leave.
Who this is for, and who it is not
Best for
- Deploying a senior operator inside a portfolio company
- Executing a 100-day plan the moment the deal closes
- Value creation through the hold, not another advisory report
- Building reporting, systems and management credibility before an exit
- Operational diligence and leadership-gap assessment before you buy
Not for
- A strategy deck or set of recommendations to hand back
- A business that wants an adviser, not an operator inside it
- Pure diligence with no operator deployed afterwards
- A mandate for oversight rather than hands-on execution
Where we come in for sponsors
We fill the seat the plan depends on, on a contract for services, and keep our governance around it until the handover.
Seen by the sponsor
Each engagement is reviewed with the sponsor at agreed points, so drift in a holding is raised while there is time to act.
Depth behind each holding
An operator in one portfolio company can draw on our collective of 800+ for a second view on reporting, systems or people.
The plan outlasts a departure
If an operator leaves mid-hold, we search again from the brief and plan on file and manage the handover with the sponsor.
Matched to the founder and the plan
Many holdings keep the founder involved, so we match operators who can work between founder and sponsor without friction.
Across the PE investment lifecycle
From pre-deal to exit preparation.
Pre-deal: operational due diligence
Embed a Fractional COO or CFO to support your ODD. They identify gaps your model hasn't priced.
Post-acquisition: fill the leadership gaps
Start the search within days of instruction and have the right operator embedded within weeks. No recruitment pipeline, notice periods, or trial risk.
Value creation: operational improvement
Build financial infrastructure, operating cadences, commercial engines, and professional people structures.
Exit preparation: build credibility
A Fractional CFO producing clean board reporting and investor-grade financials is a meaningful credibility signal in any sale process.
The value-creation matrix
Each value-creation lever maps to the operator built to own it. Most plans pull two or three at once.
Portfolio company leadership options
Match the right fractional operator to the specific portfolio company need.
Our operating partners have worked at
