How Leaders Drive Value Creation in Private Equity

What Elevates PE-Backed Leaders?

The most successful PE-backed executives share distinct characteristics that enable them to thrive under intense pressure and accelerated expectations.

These leaders understand that traditional corporate timelines are a luxury they cannot afford. They know that they must build great teams and lead them effectively. They must have great entrepreneurial instincts to see and create new opportunities to grow revenue and EBITDA. But above all, they must be decisive. Let's review some of the qualities that help the leaders of portfolio companies succeed.

Fast Decision-Making Capabilities

In PE environments, hesitation is costly. Top leaders make quick, decisive choices without extensive deliberation periods. They gather essential information rapidly and commit to action, understanding that perfect information is rarely available and speed often trumps perfection.

"The board can become a bit nervous if they think the CEO is spending too much time on strategy and not enough on operational execution and demonstrating results," says Anita Pouplard, Managing Partner, France, for Boyden.

"The big difference between a PE-backed company and a listed or normal company is that the return on investment is expected in a very short period of time" says Pouplard, who is Boyden's Global Practice Leader, Private Equity & Venture Capital (PE/VC). "The leader must drive performance."

“In the Americas, we’re seeing boards push for faster and more visible results. That means decisive, data-informed leadership. CEOs who don’t hesitate to move quickly and shift course when needed,” adds John McCrea, Americas Regional PE/VC Leader & Managing Partner, United States.

Stakeholder Engagement

Managing investor expectations while maintaining team cohesion requires exceptional diplomatic and resilience skills. These leaders excel at translating investor expectations into actionable team objectives while seeing that all stakeholders remain aligned on strategic priorities.

The CEO must be ready to work closely with the board, which could:

• Require very frequent, detailed financial reviews.
• Get deeply involved in selecting a management team.
• Intervene in operations if progress falls below expectations.
• Grill the executive about plans and decisions.
• Send in operating partners.

PE firms use operating partners—seasoned, experienced executives with deep industry knowledge who lead initiatives to improve the performance of a portfolio company. Operating partners provide hands-on business and operational monitoring of the company and guidance for the CEO and the leadership team. For instance, they play a key role in driving disruptive operational model transformation with the deployment of AI and expect significant EBITDA at scale. This is a critical relationship that a CEO must manage smoothly and effectively. 

“Successful CEOs are those who navigate complex governance structures while building strong trust with operating partners. It’s a balancing act that requires political savvy and business focus,”  adds William J. Farrell, APAC Regional PE/VC Leader & Managing Partner, Taiwan and South Korea.

Cultural Agility and Talent Management

Exceptional PE-backed leaders know how to build tier-one teams quickly. There tends to be a significant turnover of high-level positions—especially among Chief Financial Officers and Chief Revenue Officers.

The CEO must assess the leadership team with clear eyes based on the new priorities of the company and act—again—decisively. The CEO will most likely have to work closely with the new team, especially if the portfolio company is small or mid-sized. PE-backed leaders must energize and align their new teams around the investment thesis as well as his or her own fresh initiatives.

Operational Discipline with Strategic Vision

The best leaders show unwavering focus on data and measurable performance metrics while maintaining long-term strategic perspective. They balance immediate operational execution with forward-thinking strategy.

Private equity executive expectations are high. Leaders need to show some quick wins in those "first 100 days" while building sustainable competitive advantages. They must maintain, or improve, operational efficiency while creating value, whether it's on the sales side, the financial side, or the product development side.

“European PE leaders are under pressure to deliver results without compromising long-term value. The most effective ones strike that balance by combining operational excellence with bold innovation,” shares Kathleen Dunton, EMEA Regional PE/VC Leader & Managing Partner, Germany.

Adaptability Under Pressure

Market trends can shift rapidly—forcing companies to pivot business models or adjust exit strategies. The best leaders demonstrate remarkable adaptability. They help organizations navigate uncertainty while maintaining momentum toward value creation goals.

Whether the CEO is held over after the acquisition or is newly hired, they'll need to respond quickly to the pressure to “prove fit” quickly, align with the investment thesis, and establish control of an updated team and new business objectives.

A Blueprint for Success

Three critical components define exceptional leadership in PE firms. The assessment of leadership styles and capabilities is based on decades of experience placing executives in high-stakes environments.

Leadership of the Organization

Effective PE-backed leaders excel at providing clear vision while navigating complexity. They define where the organization needs to go and align both structure and people to deliver maximum efficiency. These leaders focus relentlessly on solutions rather than problems, understanding that private equity environments demand results-oriented thinking.

Most importantly, they make quick decisions and get their teams to execute them promptly. “The most effective PE leaders combine decisiveness with self-awareness. They instinctively know which levers to pull themselves—and when to rely on others to lead. It’s this balance of confidence and humility that drives faster, more sustainable impact”, adds Katia Pina, Partner, Leadership Consulting, Portugal. Decisiveness, combined with the ability to communicate clear direction, enables organizations to move at the pace PE timelines demand.

Leadership of People

The days of the singular, all-knowing CEO are over. Today's complex business environment requires leaders who can recruit exceptional talent and create collaborative, high-performing teams. 

The best PE-backed executives understand they must surround themselves with executives who are experts on their field and share the same ambition and agenda. 

Great leaders also make sure that they do not have a siloed team. They encourage  collaboration to achieve results that exceed the sum of individual contributions. They create environments where existing team members are energized around new projects, generating what industry professionals call "emulation"—a collective drive toward shared objectives.

Leadership of Self

Self-awareness distinguishes great leaders from good ones. The most effective PE-backed executives understand their strengths and weaknesses, deliberately surrounding themselves with complementary talent. They maintain a strong entrepreneurial spirit while demonstrating the emotional resilience necessary to cope with uncertainty and pressure.

These people are self-assured. They have the confidence to assess a situation and make major decisions without delay. In PE environments where time equals money, leaders who can process information rapidly and commit to action create competitive advantages that directly impact valuation.

A number of traits can be summed up with the term "change mindset." It means a leader is adaptable and agile, has a thirst for continuous learning, and stays open to new ideas and alternatives.

Critical Priorities for Immediate Impact

PE investors expect results—accelerated timelines for change, value creation, and strategic execution. Leadership transitions in non-PE-backed environments don't have the same intense pressure for change and value creation.

New leaders must demonstrate their capability while building a foundation for business growth and transformation.

• Achieving Quick Wins: Rather than spending excessive time on strategic planning, the most successful leaders focus on generating immediate, measurable results. They understand that board confidence builds through demonstrated execution rather than elaborate presentations.
• Gathering Intelligence While Showing Leadership: Effective leaders collect input from entire teams while projecting decisive leadership. They perform listening tours, but also make it a habit to listen actively to others—board members, operating partners, other executives, and employees. They have built networks and use them efficiently. They understand organizational capabilities and challenges, but avoid the analysis paralysis that can signal weakness to PE investors.
• Creating Urgency Around Value Creation: In today's environment, where traditional financial leverage strategies have lost effectiveness, leaders must focus intensely on initiatives that drive revenue growth and EBITDA. They establish clear performance expectations and create an organizational culture of urgency to achieve measurable results. Effective PE leaders understand the importance of digitalization and AI deployment at scale. They champion the use of the latest tools and technology to improve performance, market competitiveness, and productivity.
• Building for Adaptability: Given current market uncertainties—where planned exits have been delayed and many companies face partial exit scenarios—leaders must build a company that can adapt to changing conditions while maintaining performance momentum. A leader with the change mindset we mentioned earlier will build a resilient company with a built-in capacity for change. It's better able to perform risk assessment, embrace innovation and beat the competition by moving first.

Excellence in PE Leadership

Today's PE environment demands leadership excellence more than ever before. With limited exit opportunities and challenging market conditions, portfolio companies cannot afford leadership missteps.

McKinsey research indicates that a well-executed change at the top can mean a 90% higher likelihood of meeting 3-year performance goals, but an unsuccessful CEO transition can lead to a 15% drop in performance.

Early leadership effectiveness correlates closely with long-term PE success. Having the right leadership team is not just advantageous—it's essential for survival and growth.

The first 100 days post-investment represent the critical foundation upon which long-term success is built. The PE-backed leaders who understand this reality—who can create value while building sustainable competitive advantages—position their organizations for success.

This is where Boyden makes a decisive impact. Across executive talent and leadership needs, Boyden’s collaborative approach helps PE firms define the bigger picture—considering the impact of economic policy, government regulation, and geopolitical shifts—while aligning closely with each firm’s specific leadership objectives and investment thesis.

We act as a trusted partner, delivering talent solutions that build value across every stage of the investment lifecycle. With a 75% repeat business rate, our work reflects a deep commitment to understanding client contexts and delivering solutions that create lasting value. Our focus aligns directly with today’s PE landscape: decisive, strategic, and performance-driven.

To learn more about how we partner with PE firms to build leadership teams that deliver long-term value, connect with a member of Boyden’s Private Equity & Venture Capital Practice.