FIT TO LEAD
CEO Hiring & Evaluation for PE Firms
The most consequential decision in your portfolio
deserves more than gut feel
The Character
The Situation
You're about to appoint a CEO to one of your portfolio companies. Or you're trying to decide whether the one you have can actually deliver the Value Creation Plan.
What You Need
You want confidence - not just a credible candidate, but the right one. Someone who can execute the plan, lead the team, and perform under PE pressure without constant intervention.
It's the highest-stakes decision you'll make on this deal. The exit timeline is fixed. The margin for error is not.
The Problem
Most firms assess the person before they have properly defined the role. That is where hiring failures begin.
The standard process - a few rounds of interviews, a polished CV, a reference from someone who wants to stay on good terms - is not fit for purpose at this level. Loose interviews, confidence bias, and shorthand pattern-matching still dominate too many decisions.
Leaders will debate a small software purchase for weeks, then compress a decision worth millions into a handful of lightly structured conversations. That is not discipline. It is recklessness dressed up as experience.
And the stakes are rising. AI is changing what the CEO role actually requires. The leader who succeeded by executing a proven playbook may be exactly wrong for a business that needs its operating model redesigned around new capabilities. That makes the cost of hiring on pattern and pedigree higher than ever.
of C-suite hiring decisions rely primarily on instinct rather than structured evidence (GH Smart, HBR).
of C-suite hires fail within 18 months - at a cost that goes well beyond the search fee (CEB/Gartner).
of PE firms say unplanned CEO turnover lengthens hold periods (AlixPartners).
of firms intentionally align their Value Creation Plan with their talent strategy. For the other 90%, the plan and the people are still two separate conversations (Carucci & Shappell, HBR).
The most dangerous candidate has extensive experience but limited personal growth. The most promising have the attributes to adapt, learn, and thrive - even if their CV isn't a perfect match.
The Guide
I've been on both sides of this decision - as an investor making the call and as the assessor building the evidence. I know how much weight a PE partner carries into that conversation, and I know how often the standard process leaves that weight unsupported.
My approach treats a CEO hire the same way you treat a deal: disciplined, evidence-based, and anchored in the value-creation thesis from the start. The goal is a clear picture of whether this person can deliver this plan in this context - not whether they interview well.
Background
Former top-quartile PE Investment Partner - I understand the return model, the timeline, and what a mis-hire costs.
Methodology
FOCUS Hiring System · ValueContract™
Certified Practitioner
Hogan Leadership Assessment · MyWorldView (Adult Development)
Author
The £3.2 Million Interview · Hiring for Attributes Over Experience · Stop Writing Job Descriptions
What Clients Say
"The process was excellent - it provided great insight to support the decision which was particularly helpful given the lack of experience of the candidate and lower number of external data points than normal.
I think all of the report was useful - we wanted as broad a picture as possible. I would definitely recommend it to others and would score it 9/10."
PE PORTFOLIO CHAIR
Define the success blueprint: the ValueContract
Before we look at any candidate, we define what success in this role, for this plan, actually requires - outcomes, attributes, competencies - agreed by board, investor and chair. This is where most searches fail: firms assess the individual before they've properly defined the role. What you get: a shared benchmark every candidate is measured against.
Assess the candidate: five sources of evidence, triangulated
A structured career history interview, Hogan psychometrics, a work simulation built around the real challenges of the role, a written self-reflection exercise, and evidence-based reference interviews. No single source is trusted on its own. What you get: one coherent picture, linked directly to the ValueContract - not an impression from a good interview.
Report and debrief
A concise written report with clear implications for the decision - and, if they're appointed, the foundation for onboarding and the first six months. What you get: a decision you can defend, and a hire you can build on.
The Framework
Hire for attributes. Train for skills.
Most processes overweight the wrong layer. FOCUS assesses in a fixed sequence - from what is hardest to change to what is easiest.
Attributes - the operating system
The foundational traits that determine whether a leader adapts under pressure: integrity, hunger, resilience, curiosity, people smarts. Without these, no amount of experience compensates - and they can't be coached in a hold period.
Competencies - the apps
The observable, coachable behaviours that turn attributes into results: commercial acumen, disciplined execution, board partnership. Developable in six to twelve months.
Skills & experience - the context
What the leader knows and has done. Useful for credibility, but experience generates confidence more reliably than competence, and in an AI era it's the layer being commoditised fastest.
Avoid Failure
A bad CEO appointment doesn't just cost money. It costs time you don't have.
The Value Gap Compounds
The performance difference between an A-player and a B-player in a critical leadership role is not marginal. It compounds across the hold period - in revenue, execution speed, team quality, and exit readiness. A structured process dramatically improves the odds of identifying the right person. An unstructured one performs no better than chance.
The Clock Doesn't Pause
A C-suite role takes 3-6 months to fill. A new leader takes 6-12 months to reach peak performance. A mis-hire discovered at month nine has already consumed the better part of two years of your hold period.
Experience Is Not a Defence
The most dangerous candidate is not the obvious under-qualified one. It is the highly experienced leader who has stopped growing - who treats their past as a playbook rather than data, and who will execute confidently in the wrong direction. "Been there, done that" is a false comfort when the business needs to be reorganised around capabilities that didn't exist during their last hold period.
The cost of the process is not the risk. The cost of the wrong hire is.
The Transformation
Before
- Search begins with a job description written for a different business and a different moment
- Assessment based on CV, interview performance, and instinct
- Experience is overweighted - the least predictive layer
- References are treated as reassurance rather than evidence
- No agreed definition of what success looks like before the process begins
- A hire that looks right at the appointment and surprises you at month nine
After
- Every decision is anchored to a ValueContract linked directly to the VCP
- Behavioural evidence, psychometrics, work simulation, and reference interviews triangulated into one picture
- Confidence that the candidate can deliver this plan, in this context, at PE pace
- A developmental springboard built in from day one - not retrofitted when problems emerge
- A decision you can defend, and a hire you can build on
Next Step
Before you appoint - or before you decide whether to keep - get the evidence.
A 45-minute conversation to discuss the specific context of your hire or evaluation, walk through the process, and agree whether and how to proceed.
Book a CEO Assessment Conversation
Get in touch to discuss your specific hire or evaluation context and walk through the FOCUS CEO Assessment process.
Contact Mark