Private Equity & Growth Equity

The leaders who hit the plan, and the partners who close them.

A pre-exit CFO change, a post-close commercial leader, a 100-day operations hire: each one runs on a different clock. We build the search around your value-creation plan and the exit window, with one partner leading from kickoff to close. 

Start a Search Meet our Partners
From a recent client
"The candidates exceed expectations. Top notch process with strong communication."
Operating Partner, Mid-Market PE
4.9 / 5
Satisfaction Rating
Client & Candidates
98%
Placement Rate
Across the firm
85%
Repeat Client Rate
Year over year
95%
Client Referral Rate
Inbound from existing clients
Sponsor Relationships

Sponsors across the firm.

 

For more than a decade, ON Partners has run searches for the sponsors and portfolio companies driving major value-creation programs in private equity — partner-led from kickoff to close, configured for the search, not the org chart.

arcline
aea-logo
akkr logo
BCV-Blue-RGB
Francisco_Partners_Logo.svg
HIG_Capital_Logo
Genstar Capital
ftv logo
Vista_Equity_Partners_logo.svg
TPG-Capital_PRINT-002
summit partners logo
Sixth-Street_logo.svg

Sample of logos from our portfolio

2026 Outlook

The hold period is the deadline.

Sponsors are creating more value through leadership than ever. Longer holds, deferred exits, and higher borrowing costs have moved the operating-partner question from "can the team scale" to "can the team deliver before the clock runs out."

The searches we run now reflect that: CFO changes that are more sensitive and more time-bound, commercial turns compressed into 90-day windows, and operating partners who are the deciding voice in finalist interviews. Our job is to deliver the slate that closes inside that window.

Three Market Forces
01

Hold periods are longer.

The average PE hold has stretched past six years. Every additional quarter raises the pressure on leadership to deliver compounding results, not single-cycle wins.

02

Sponsor-led searches have shifted.

Operating partners are now in the room for finalist interviews on most CFO and CEO searches. The slate has to clear sponsor diligence, not just the portfolio CEO.

03

The cost of a missed hire is rising.

With higher borrowing costs and tighter exit windows, an executive miss at the 100-day mark can compress IRR by a full point. Speed without precision is no longer a tradeoff anyone is willing to make.

Where We Work in PE

Sector context changes the search.

A sample of our PE work. Our partners come from the operating side as often as the search side, so the slate gets pressure-tested before it reaches your inbox. 

Software & SaaS

The platform you're building has to survive a take-private.

Vertical SaaS, horizontal platforms, infrastructure software, AI-native applications. The CFO who can stand up GAAP reporting on day 30 isn't the same CFO who'll close the exit. The CRO who can scale a $40M ARR business through $200M is a specific person.

We've run software searches across roll-ups, take-privates, growth-stage scaleups, and pre-exit recapitalizations. The slate adjusts to the thesis.

Most-Searched Roles
Healthcare Services & Life Sciences

Patient outcomes and P&L discipline can't be traded.

Provider-services platforms, MedTech, pharma services, digital health. Healthcare PE has its own cadence — regulatory exposure, payor dynamics, and clinical credibility all factor into whether a candidate survives diligence with the operating partner and the board.

We've run searches across hospital roll-ups, dental and dermatology DSOs, behavioral health platforms, and pharma services scaleups.

Most-Searched Roles
Industrials & Manufacturing

Integration is the value-creation lever that hides the most risk.

Manufacturing platforms, industrial distribution, building products, specialty chemicals. The COO or VP Operations who's integrated three add-ons before is a different candidate than the one who's run a single plant well. Sponsors who get this right compound through cycles.

We've placed leaders across industrial roll-ups, carve-outs, and platform builds where the search had to clear both the IC and a portfolio CEO under deadline.

Most-Searched Roles
Consumer & Retail

Brand equity and operating discipline have to live in the same person.

Branded consumer, specialty retail, restaurant platforms, e-commerce. The CEO who can protect brand while compressing OpEx is rare. The CMO who's actually built repeatable acquisition at a PE pace is rarer still.

We've run consumer searches across DTC scaleups, retail roll-ups, and franchise platforms preparing for exit.

Most-Searched Roles
Tech & Industrial Infrastructure

The leaders who scale physical and digital at once.

Data centers, semiconductors, energy infrastructure, industrial tech. These are the searches where deep technical credibility and operating-scale experience both have to be present in the same résumé. Compromising on either side is what fails the search at day 90.

We've placed executives across hyperscale, semicap, advanced packaging, and grid-edge energy platforms.

Most-Searched Roles
How a PE Search Runs at ON

Six checkpoints, one partner, no handoffs.

 Start 

Calibration the team.

The partner running your search sits with the people who'll work with the hire. We pressure-test the spec against the investment thesis, the 100-day plan, and the sponsor's read on what's missing today. 

First  slate 

Initial slate review with the operating partner.

Various candidates with operator-grade backgrounds, mapped to the thesis. You'll see early whether the market profile we're building is the one that closes. 

Slate refine

Slate narrowed; finalist interviews scheduled.

The finalists in motion. If the slate isn't tracking, whether it's the wrong sector pattern, the wrong stage profile, or comp expectations that are off, we tell you then, not late in the process. 

Final

Finalist interviews, board exposure, references in flight.

 The partner runs the candidate experience, manages comp negotiation, and clears reference calls with people who'll tell us the truth, not only the references the candidate listed. 

Offer

Offer accepted. 

We don't disappear at signature. The partner stays in the loop through onboarding, because the first stretch on the job decides whether the search was worth running. 

Year one +

A relationship that grows.

We're in this for the long haul. Our commitment extends well past the placement, which is why we check in with both you and the leader through the first year. 

When the search gets hard

Most searches hit a hard moment 

 The top candidate wobbles, the spec shifts after a board meeting, a wildcard surfaces, or comp expectations move. Every search firm promises a smooth process.

The difference is what you hear from us when the process isn't smooth: early, in plain language, with a recommendation. That's the partnership PE sponsors keep coming back to. 

85%   Repeat client rate, year over year.
Why ON for Private Equity

Four reasons sponsors call back.

 A partner who understands your firm, your portfolio companies, and your strategy.

Partner Ownership

The partner you meet is the partner who runs your search.

The partner on the kickoff call is the one reading résumés at 11 p.m. on Tuesday, calibrating with your portco CEO on Friday, and closing the candidate. We build the team around the search, with a function lead, a sector lead, and research depth, rather than around an org chart. 

85% repeat client rate
Speed Without Shortcuts

The hold period is the deadline.

Different searches run on different clocks: a pre-exit CFO change, a post-close commercial leader, a 100-day operations hire. None of them tolerate a firm pacing itself to a generic calendar. We run the search at the speed you need, without trading away the quality of the slate. 

Senior Partner Involvement is the reason we are voted so highly.
Sector Depth

The same résumé reads differently in a take-private than in a growth carve-out.

 Industrials roll-ups, healthcare services platforms, vertical SaaS, energy transition. Sponsor strategy and sector dynamics decide who can actually deliver in the seat. Our partners come from the operating side as often as the search side, so the slate is tested against your thesis, not just your spec. 

4.9 / 5 client satisfaction rating.
Honest When It's Hard

Most searches hit a hard moment around day 70.

 

When the top candidate wobbles, the spec shifts, a board member surfaces a wildcard, or comp moves, the difference is what you hear from us in that moment. That candor is the partnership sponsors come back for. 

95% client referral rate.
Where PE Searches Touch the Rest of the Firm

Adjacent capabilities, same partners.

By Function

By Industry

By Asset Class

Frequently Asked

Questions sponsors and portfolio companies ask before a PE search.

What's the difference between a sponsor-led and a portfolio company-led PE search?

A sponsor-led search is initiated and run primarily from the fund level, often by an operating partner or talent partner. The hiring decision still typically involves the portfolio company CEO, but the sponsor sets the spec, the timeline, and the budget.

A portfolio company-led search is initiated by the portfolio CEO or CHRO, with the sponsor in an approval or oversight role. We run both, and the process adjusts based on which stakeholder is driving. Our standard practice is to involve both the operating partner and the portfolio CEO at calibration regardless of who initiated the engagement.

How does ON Partners handle confidentiality on competitive PE searches?

Confidentiality is the default, not the upgrade.

For searches where the company name itself can't be disclosed during outreach, we run a generic-spec process — candidates know the sector, the stage, and the search profile, but not the company — until they sign an NDA and engage at the finalist stage.

Do you work with both private equity sponsors and growth equity firms?

Yes. The mechanics of a growth equity search differ from a buyout search; earlier-stage businesses, often founder-involved, a different definition of "operator-grade" — but the buyer expectations on speed, partner ownership, and slate quality are the same.

We've run searches across the spectrum from late-stage growth equity through mid-market buyouts and mega-fund take-privates. The partner running your search has run searches at the stage you're operating in.

What happens if the candidate doesn't work out in the first year?

Our standard engagement includes a replacement guarantee. If a placed executive leaves or is asked to leave within the first 12 months for performance reasons, we run a replacement search at no additional fee.

How does ON Partners differ from a large global search firm on a PE search?

The structural difference is partner ownership. At ON, the partner you meet runs your search. Résumés get read by the partner. Calibration calls are run by the partner. Reference checks are run by the partner. Final negotiations are run by the partner.

At a global firm, the partner who sold the engagement is typically not the partner who runs it. The work transfers to a search team, often led by an associate or principal. For commodity searches that's a fine model. For PE searches where speed, sector specificity, and operating-partner alignment matter, the model trades off against the things you're paying for.

What sectors does ON Partners cover within private equity?

Our PE search depth concentrates in software and SaaS, healthcare services and life sciences, industrials and manufacturing, consumer and retail, and tech infrastructure (including semiconductors and energy infrastructure). Within each of those, our partners have specific sub-sector experience  vertical SaaS, MedTech, industrial roll-ups, DTC, semicap — that shapes the slate we build.

IF we aren't the right fit we will let you know. That's part of why our repeat sponsor rate is what it is.

How do you handle searches where both the sponsor and the portfolio CEO are decision-makers?

The default at ON is to involve both at calibration, both at the slate review, and both at the finalist interviews. When the sponsor and the portfolio CEO have different views on the profile — which happens — we surface that early and run the conversation rather than averaging the spec.

The searches that fail are the ones where the misalignment surfaces at the finalist stage. The searches that close on time are the ones where it surfaces at day seven.