At InX, our Private Equity team operate slightly differently from our other specialisms as they work in unison with The IN Group brands to offer a truly holistic talent solution for Private Equity and their portfolio companies. Their expertise lies in delivering the right talent to drive successful value-creation initiatives and maximise returns for investors throughout the entire investment lifecycle.

InX Brand Manager, Becca Boulton, sat down with the team to dive deeper into their areas of focus and understand exactly how they successfully deliver these.

Matt Harvey, Senior Partner, InX
Oliver Casanova, Research & Delivery Lead, InX
Giles McIntyre, Senior Partner, InX
Jen Buckingham-Smart, Head of Research, InX
Joe Siantonas, Partner, InX
James Lawson, Director, InX
Dan Manton, Partner, InX
Natalie Whittlesey, Director, C-Suite Engagement, The IN Group
Terry Dawson, Senior Director – Group Solutions, The IN Group
Lorraine Johnson, Associate Director, Investigo

Becca: To kick this off, it would be great to give the readers a short summary on exactly what you’re responsible for within the InX Private Equity team, breaking it down into the areas you deliver in.

Let’s start with Matt and Oli focusing on ‘Operating Partners and Advisors’ -

Matt: I lead the Private Equity Value Creation search practice at InX, which helps global investors to strengthen their operating partner teams with high-impact executives. We support a range of funds from large/mega cap buyout to growth equity, including thematic (growth, turnaround, special situations) and sector specialist investors, each with different governance models and engagement styles. Each search is therefore totally different, which makes the match-making interesting.

Oli: Working closely with Matt, I lead research & delivery team for InX Private Equity mandates including value creation team builds (for operating partner roles) and portfolio company leadership acquisition (C-suite and Leadership team roles).

Becca: Joe, could you elaborate on ‘Value Creation on Demand?

Joe: It’s really all about solving critical challenges quicky. We develop on-demand value-creation solutions tailored to the unique needs, including versatile strategic resources employed by funds to operate effectively across one or multiple portfolio companies.

Becca: Turning to ‘Portfolio Companies CxOs’, Dan, James, Giles and Jen, could you share more about how you work in this space?

Giles: I lead the C-suite and advisory search and interim management practice here at InX. We offer executive search for portfolio company's C-suite, ensuring strategic alignment and leadership excellence, enabling the appointment of top-tier executives to drive success in key leadership roles.

Jen: I work closely with Giles as the Head of Research across the whole practice ensuring we deliver exceptional results.

Dan: Working across the InX Technology and Private Equity teams, I am responsible for Executive appointments specifically within Technology. I have an extensive track record placing CIOs, CTOs, IT Directors and their leadership teams into Portfolio companies and Funds.

James: Alongside Dan, we’re responsible for Technology and Transformation Executive Search, helping connect funds and their portfolio with inspiring C-Level leaders to accelerate growth.

Becca: Finally, Lorraine, Terry and Nat, could you share more about ‘Full-service transformation delivery’ and engagement offerings within The IN Group?

Lorraine: Within the team I focus primarily on interim transformation delivery. As a group solution, we offer full-service transformation delivery, offering comprehensive solutions to drive organisational change and achieve strategic objectives, ensuring seamless implementation and sustainable results.

Terry: As Senior Director of Group Solutions I work on C-Suite client engagement with a focus on large-scale business transformation programmes. These are typically underpinned by technology with a particular focus on operational divestment and carve-out related activity.

Nat: I lead on our engagement activities with the C-Suite broadly here at The IN Group. Given my strong technology leadership search background, my main focus is on engaging with technology and digital leaders that want to hear about our brands. These leaders could be in any industry, but various leaders (tech and non-tech) that I speak to are in PE/VC companies, or their assets, so I've learned a lot about the space, and find it incredibly interesting.

Becca: Private Equity is a fiercely competitive exec search market - if someone asks, ‘Why InX?’, how would you respond?

Matt: For our Operating Partner search team, the things our PE customers often point to are:

Genuine expertise in a noisy marketplace (many search firms work with PE portco's, but few have as much experience in building fit-for-purpose operating partner teams)
Pace of delivery (speed to successful shortlist is typically 4-5 weeks)
Relentless effort (we're 'in the trenches' with our customer until the ideal candidate is secured, which in PE Ops can take a long time due to an incredibly high bar and very specific requirements)
Our collaborative 'customer-first' mindset (HR Heads often feel a bit bruised by aggressive / transactional search firms, whereas we like to build long-term enjoyable partnerships).

Dan: Working across specialisms means we can combine both the understanding of the Private Equity world as well as the functional knowledge of Technology leaders. By having both parts of the puzzle, we can identify highly impactful technology leaders who create large amounts of value in a short space of time.

Giles: We stand out as we’re able to truly focus on three core areas:

Supporting entrepreneurs and owner managers professionalise their boards ahead of a primary PE investment. Typically:
- CFO to get the business "transaction ready"
- COO to be the CEO successor post-investment
- Next stage of the investment cycle
Supporting PE funds pre-deal, which is typically Interim CFO's to work alongside the fund, supporting on the FDD and helping execute the deal whilst the search for the permanent CFO is run concurrently.
Supporting PE backed portfolio companies with searches anywhere across the C-Suite, including NED & Chair.

Lorraine: I would say as a group, we’re an end-to-end talent solutions partner across the PE lifecycle, traversing not just exec level hires across both fund and portfolio company teams, but cascading down into the execution layer beneath the C-suite.

Terry: Another important factor to note would be that having operated in in this space for several years, we’ve built a very strong network of experts within the PE space and understand what it takes to be successful in this sector.

Nat: Building further on your point Terry, we truly understand the needs of large and small firms and their assets, and have deep knowledge of key roles that can fundamentally impact and accelerate businesses, from operating partners, to technology and change leaders, and beyond.

Oli: An area I thinks makes us standout is our global mindset and outreach, coupled with our proficiency in foreign languages and cultural comprehension, which enables us access to a wider talent pool. The team's approach isn't just about filling a position; it's about finding that one individual who can be a game-changer for the company.

Becca: What interesting trends are you seeing in your market areas?

Dan: As technology becomes a key enabler of PE backed organisations, we’re seeing a rise in the need for high quality technology leaders. Understanding that technology is not a back-office function anymore, it drives value across the organisation and delivers tangible ROI.

Giles: The low and mid-market was certainly more buoyant from a transaction and search perspective in 2023 however, we have certainly noticed an increase in demand in Q1 2024 in large cap, as organisations look to enhance their boards, especially across the NED & Chair space.

Oli: One of the most significant trends I'm observing within the Private Equity industry is its increasing emphasis on operational enhancements and value creation within their portfolio companies. This includes initiatives such as cost optimisation, revenue growth strategies, and operational efficiency – which is why they require brands like InX, who understand the right talent that will construct their value creation team.

Joe: With market conditions over the course of the past 18 months, with a slowdown as it relates to new deal activity, we’ve seen a marked shift to hiring consultants with a cost out, digital, transformation & operational efficiency skill set. This being said, we’re still seeing value creation plans that are tailored towards commercial excellence, go to market, pricing and growth.

Terry: 2023 was a quieter year for acquisitions and divestment, however discussions suggest that from H2 2024 there’s likely to be a large amount of 'deal activity' in the sector. Clients undertaking major divestment programmes are looking to bring in experienced teams that have delivered this activity on multiple occasions, there is often very little room for error and tight timelines.

James: 2024 has started with pace and urgency. Funds are investing in C-Level leadership across their portfolio companies and the year has started with the commencement of some exciting transformation programmes. Long may this continue.

Matt: PE Operations is at an interesting inflection point. Many funds are coming to the end of their first full cycle with an Operating Partner / Creation team and are taking stock on their teams' effectiveness at driving better returns and exploring how they can improve impact. At the start of this industry-wide experiment, funds tended to hire high-performing consultants (for their analytical horsepower, problem-solving toolkit, 'client hands' and breadth of experience) but as the PE industry has evolved and competition intensified, the tip of the spear for PE funds is fast-becoming their operating muscle.

As a result, PE funds are skewing their hiring emphasis towards 'real world industry experience', with the idea being that a proven industry operator will be better suited to course-correcting wayward value creation journeys than a consultant / advisor that lacks 'in the seat' experience as a successful management team member.

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Whether you’re looking to strengthen your leadership or you’re a senior professional looking to make a real difference for an organisation, get in touch with our Private Equity team to find out how we can help you.

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