Freshminds’ Search team was asked by a mid-market Private Equity firm to work with one of their portfolio companies, which was going through a full management restructure.

The company, a care home business, was originally family-owned and had been under Private Equity ownership for around five years.  At this point, it was decided to bring two new pivotal C-suite hires to help unlock the future growth of the business.  These were a new CEO, together with a CFO.

Freshminds was brought in in advance of these executives joining the business to find a Chief of Staff for the new management team. The Chief of Staff was required to provide visibility to the Board and PE investors on the organisation’s revenue and strategic plan; and to create alignment between management and other investment parties.

The challenge

The Chair and PE firm needed to find someone who was very strong analytically, but who also had the experience and drive to execute agreed plans and initiatives. They would be spending time with customers, and within the business, alongside building a strategic plan. This plan would be shared with the investors and also communicated to the new management team when they came into the business.

Our approach

The location of the role - in Birmingham – created some challenges for Freshminds’ target candidate base of ex-strategy consultants, many of whom are based in the London area. However, the opportunities presented within the role counteracted some of the geolocation issues.

The Search team headhunted around 70 candidates and also screened over 500 applications that came in from Freshminds’s Jobs site and some judiciously placed recruitment advertisements.

From this, the team spoke to around 60 candidates for an initial screening interview. A shortlist of 5 candidates was then presented to the Private Equity company and Chair, and interviews took place. The candidates also met the incoming CEO and CFO.

The Candidate experience

“Freshminds were brilliant to work with. From my first contact with Edith, where she explained the role and learnt about my background, through to when I received an offer, Edith and her colleagues were always helpful, informative and clear. They were on hand to answer questions throughout, to give me honest advice and support, and to guide me through the process.

I felt Freshminds did a great job in matching my skills with the role and showed genuine interest in me as a person. I wouldn’t hesitate to go to Freshminds for future roles.” The appointed Chief of Staff

Impact

The new Chief of Staff was selected, and started in the business in February 2024. They have already made significant progress, creating value and setting up management for success when they join.

If you would like more detail on this search, or would like to discuss how we could help in finding a key member of your management team, talk to our Search team here.

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