Executive Search Success Story: Building a Complete C-Suite in the First 120 Days for a Newly Acquired Industrial Services Platform

How JRG Partners executed a confidential, multi-role North American executive search strategy that equipped a private equity sponsor and its newly acquired founder-led industrial services company with a full chief executive, financial, operating, and commercial leadership team within the first 120 days of ownership, installing the operating discipline, reporting, and growth capability the value-creation plan depended on.

The Challenge

A middle-market private equity sponsor had acquired a founder-led industrial services company with strong customer relationships, forty branch locations, and almost no management layer beneath the founder, who was retiring at close. The sponsor’s thesis depended on professionalizing the business, pursuing add-on acquisitions, and expanding margins, none of which could begin without an executive team. The first board meeting, lender reporting deadlines, and two add-on opportunities were all approaching. Executive leadership and the sponsor identified several critical vulnerabilities threatening the value-creation plan:

• A retiring founder with no executive team, no CFO, and no operating or commercial leadership beneath him
• Financial reporting, forecasting, and KPIs unsuitable for sponsor and lender requirements
• Forty branches operating on the founder’s judgment with no standardized operating model
• Two add-on acquisitions under letter of intent with no integration capability
• Customer and employee relationships concentrated in the founder and at risk through transition
• A 100-day plan requiring executive leadership in seat before the first board meeting

Recognizing that the entire thesis depended on a rapid executive team build, the sponsor’s operating partner engaged JRG Partners at signing to recruit a Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Revenue Officer, and VP of Human Resources on an accelerated, sequenced timeline. The sponsor required an executive search partner with deep private equity portfolio experience and access to leaders who had professionalized founder-led businesses in the first months of ownership.

Why They Chose JRG Partners

Private Equity Portfolio Company Focus

JRG Partners maintains a dedicated practice serving private equity sponsors and portfolio companies, with deep recruiting expertise in post-close executive team builds, founder transitions, and 100-day plan execution across industrial, consumer, healthcare, services, and technology sectors. This focus ensured an immediate understanding of sponsor reporting expectations, board cadence, and the leadership profiles that succeed in newly acquired businesses.

Sequenced Multi-Role Execution

Our team specializes in running multiple C-suite searches in parallel with deliberate sequencing, placing the CEO and CFO first so that subsequent hires are made with the new leadership’s input while still meeting the sponsor’s timeline.

Founder Transition Experience

Our firm has extensive experience managing founder-to-professional-management transitions, protecting customer and employee relationships while installing the systems and discipline institutional ownership requires.

Our Executive Search Strategy

Phase 1 — Value-Creation Plan Alignment

Our consultants partnered directly with the operating partner, deal team, and founder before close to review the value-creation plan, diligence findings, add-on pipeline, and cultural considerations, defining five executive profiles and a sequenced placement plan aligned with the 100-day milestones.

Phase 2 — Talent Identification & Mapping

Our research team performed an extensive talent mapping initiative targeting chief executives, finance, operating, commercial, and human resources leaders at private-equity-backed industrial and business services companies who had led documented post-close professionalizations. Over 480 executives were systematically assessed across these sectors.

Phase 3 — Candidate Engagement

Priority during outreach was given to leaders with a documented history of succeeding founders, building sponsor-grade reporting and operating models in the first year of ownership, integrating add-on acquisitions, and preserving customer and employee relationships through transition. Only candidates meeting these strict performance baselines advanced.

Phase 4 — Selection Process

Finalists presented first-year plans to the operating partner, board, and founder, completed structured leadership assessments, and underwent reference verification focused on quantified post-close performance and sponsor outcomes, with later hires interviewed by the newly placed CEO and CFO.

Key Outcomes

• 480+ industrial and business services executive profiles mapped across North America.
• Successfully placed a synchronized C-suite spanning chief executive, finance, operations, revenue, and human resources within 120 days of close.
• Delivered sponsor-grade reporting and KPIs within the first quarter.
• Standardized operations across forty branches and improved margin by 220 basis points.
• Closed and integrated two add-on acquisitions within the first year.
• Preserved customer and employee relationships through the founder transition.