Executive Search Success Story: Placing a First Chief Information Security Officer to Build Security and Compliance Across a Private-Equity-Backed Healthcare Services Platform

How JRG Partners executed a confidential North American executive search that equipped a private-equity-backed multi-site healthcare services platform with its first Chief Information Security Officer and the security, privacy, and compliance leadership required to protect patient data across acquired operations, satisfy cyber insurance and payer requirements, and build a security program that supported continued acquisitions and exit.

The Challenge

A private equity sponsor had assembled a healthcare services platform through fifteen acquisitions, inheriting fifteen different technology environments, security postures, and privacy practices across more than 180 locations handling patient data. Security was managed by a small IT team, a cyber insurance renewal had come with sharply higher premiums and control requirements, payer and health system partners were requesting security attestations, and a ransomware event at a peer had alarmed the board. No security executive existed. Executive leadership identified several critical vulnerabilities threatening the platform:

• Fifteen acquired technology environments with inconsistent security controls and no enterprise security program
• Patient data across more than 180 locations with uneven privacy practices and incident readiness
• Cyber insurance renewal requiring control improvements and executive security ownership
• Payer and health system partners requesting security attestations the platform could not provide
• Continued acquisitions adding new environments faster than security could assess them
• Exit buyers expected to diligence security posture alongside financial performance

Recognizing that the platform required a security executive, the CEO and sponsor engaged JRG Partners to recruit the company’s first Chief Information Security Officer, supported by a Director of Security Engineering & Operations and a Director of Privacy & Security Compliance. The company required an executive search partner with deep healthcare expertise and access to security leaders who had built programs across acquisitive, multi-site healthcare organizations.

Why They Chose JRG Partners

CISO and Security Leadership Search Specialization

JRG Partners maintains a dedicated practice for Chief Information Security Officer searches, with a proven methodology for evaluating candidates on program building, risk-based prioritization, acquisition integration, compliance leadership, and the business judgment to protect operations without impeding them.

Private Equity Platform Experience

Our team has extensive experience serving healthcare-focused private equity sponsors and roll-up platforms, with a clear understanding of security due diligence, cyber insurance dynamics, and the security program maturity sponsors and buyers expect.

Healthcare Security and Privacy Expertise

JRG Partners possesses deep recruiting expertise across multi-site healthcare services, health systems, and health technology companies, ensuring an immediate understanding of patient data protection, healthcare privacy regulation, and partner attestation requirements.

Our Executive Search Strategy

Phase 1 — Security Posture & Program Review

Our consultants partnered directly with the CEO, sponsor operating partners, CIO, and general counsel to review the acquired environment landscape, insurance and partner requirements, privacy practices, and acquisition pipeline. This review defined a CISO profile combining first-program build, healthcare privacy and compliance leadership, and acquisition security integration.

Phase 2 — Talent Identification & Mapping

Our research team performed an extensive talent mapping initiative targeting chief information security officers and senior security leaders at healthcare services, health systems, and acquisitive multi-site companies who had built documented security programs from the ground up. Over 235 executives were systematically assessed across these sectors.

Phase 3 — Candidate Engagement

Priority during outreach was given to leaders with a documented history of building enterprise security programs across acquired environments, achieving cyber insurance and partner attestation requirements, implementing healthcare privacy and incident readiness, establishing acquisition security integration playbooks, and supporting security due diligence. Only candidates meeting these strict performance baselines advanced.

Phase 4 — Selection Process

Finalists presented a security program build and acquisition integration plan to the CEO and sponsor, completed structured leadership assessments, and underwent reference verification focused on quantified program, compliance, and integration outcomes.

Key Outcomes

• 235+ healthcare and multi-site security executive profiles mapped across North America.
• Placed the company’s first CISO in 44 days.
• Implemented standardized security controls across fifteen acquired environments within twelve months.
• Reduced cyber insurance premiums and satisfied all partner attestation requests.
• Onboarded six subsequent acquisitions through a standardized security integration playbook.
• Converted security posture into a diligence strength ahead of exit.