Executive Search Success Story: Recruiting a Chief Transformation Officer to Lead the Carve-Out and Standalone Transformation of a Private-Equity-Acquired Consumer Products Division

How JRG Partners executed a confidential North American executive search that equipped a private equity sponsor and its newly carved-out consumer products business with a Chief Transformation Officer and separation leadership capable of exiting transition services agreements, standing up independent functions, and delivering the standalone cost structure and growth plan underwritten in the deal.

The Challenge

A private equity sponsor had acquired a consumer products division from a global conglomerate under an eighteen-month transition services agreement covering IT, finance, HR, procurement, and logistics. The business had never operated independently: it had no ERP of its own, no treasury, payroll, or benefits functions, shared distribution with the parent, and a cost structure built on corporate allocations that the standalone plan assumed would fall by $90M. The management team was strong commercially but had no separation experience, and every month on the transition agreement cost the sponsor fees and delayed the value-creation plan. Executive leadership and the sponsor identified several critical vulnerabilities threatening the carve-out:

• An eighteen-month transition services agreement with escalating fees and penalties for extension
• No standalone ERP, treasury, payroll, HR, or procurement functions
• Shared distribution and logistics with the former parent
• A standalone cost structure assumed to be $90M lower than allocated costs
• A commercial management team with no separation or transformation experience
• A value-creation plan that could not begin until separation was complete

Recognizing that the carve-out required a dedicated transformation leader, the sponsor and CEO engaged JRG Partners immediately after close to recruit a Chief Transformation Officer, supported by a Vice President of Separation & TSA Management and a Vice President of Standalone Systems & Shared Services. The company required an executive search partner with deep transformation and carve-out expertise and access to leaders who had exited transition agreements on time.

Why They Chose JRG Partners

Chief Transformation Officer Practice Focus

JRG Partners maintains a dedicated practice recruiting Chief Transformation Officers and transformation leadership, with a clear understanding of carve-outs, separation management, standalone function builds, and the leadership profiles that deliver against transition agreement deadlines.

Carve-Out Experience

Our firm has extensive experience recruiting separation and transformation leaders for private-equity-backed carve-outs, with a clear understanding of transition services agreement economics, systems separation, and standalone cost delivery.

Private Equity Portfolio Expertise

Our team works routinely with sponsors and operating partners on post-close leadership builds, with a clear understanding of value-creation plans and the timelines they impose.

Our Executive Search Strategy

Phase 1 — Separation Plan Alignment

Our consultants partnered directly with the sponsor’s operating partner, CEO, and Chief Financial Officer to review the transition services agreement, separation workstreams, standalone cost model, and value-creation plan, defining the Chief Transformation Officer profile and two supporting roles sequenced to the agreement timeline.

Phase 2 — Talent Identification & Mapping

Our research team performed an extensive talent mapping initiative targeting carve-out and separation leaders, transformation executives at private-equity-backed consumer companies, and operating leaders who had built standalone functions. Over 290 executives were systematically assessed.

Phase 3 — Candidate Engagement

Priority during outreach was given to leaders with a documented history of exiting transition services agreements on or ahead of schedule, implementing standalone ERP and shared services, separating distribution and logistics, delivering standalone cost structures below allocated costs, and launching value-creation programs under private equity ownership. Only candidates meeting these strict performance baselines advanced.

Phase 4 — Selection Process

Finalists presented separation plans to the sponsor, CEO, and board, completed structured leadership assessments, and underwent reference verification focused on quantified separation, cost, and timeline outcomes.

Key Outcomes

• 290+ transformation, separation, and private equity portfolio executive profiles mapped across North America.
• Placed a Chief Transformation Officer within 45 days of close and separation leadership within four months.
• Exited all transition services three months early with no extension fees.
• Delivered standalone costs $105M below former allocations against a $90M plan.
• Launched $60M of value-creation initiatives following separation.
• Exceeded year-two EBITDA underwriting by 12%.