Private equity executive search — leadership that creates value and protects equity.
When an investor backs a luxury or premium consumer business, leadership is usually the thesis. Our retained search for private equity and investors covers chief executive, chief financial officer and C-suite appointments for portfolio companies, alongside operating-partner and value-creation roles.
Leadership is the value-creation lever
For an investor in a luxury or premium consumer business, leadership is rarely a footnote in the thesis — it is frequently the thesis. The right CEO or CFO can deliver the value-creation plan; the wrong one can quietly erode the very brand equity that justified the premium.
Luxury and premium consumer carry a particular tension for investors: the pressure to grow returns sits alongside the need to protect desirability, heritage and craft. Leadership that understands both is what makes the difference between a good outcome and a great one.
The investors we work with
Our private equity and investor mandates span the ownership lifecycle:
- Private equity firms appointing CEOs and CFOs into portfolio companies
- Investors building value-creation and operating leadership
- Portfolio companies strengthening the C-suite for a growth or exit plan
- Investor-backed founders professionalising their leadership team
- Operating partner and portfolio leadership appointments
What Luxury Executive looks for
We look for leaders who can deliver an investor’s plan while protecting what makes a luxury or premium business valuable — commercial drive paired with genuine brand and category judgement. We also assess for the pace and resilience portfolio leadership demands.
Our combined fluency in luxury and in the value-creation context lets us find leaders who satisfy both the board and the brand — a combination generalist firms frequently miss.
A retained search, conducted with discipline.
Mandate definition
The business, the board and the decision come first — never the candidates.
Market mapping
A structured, confidential view of the credible leaders in the relevant market.
Targeted approach
Discreet, personal approaches to leaders who never see an advertisement.
Assessment
Careful assessment against the brief and the culture.
Shortlist & advisory
A considered shortlist with honest counsel, not a stack of CVs.
Appointment
Support through offer, negotiation and onboarding.
Frequently asked
What private equity roles do you search for?
CEO, CFO and C-suite appointments into portfolio companies, plus operating-partner and value-creation leadership, focused on luxury and premium consumer.
Do you search for leaders to prepare a business for exit?
Yes. We regularly appoint leadership specifically to deliver a value-creation plan and prepare a business for its next transaction.
Why use a luxury specialist for a PE-backed consumer business?
Because protecting brand equity is part of the return. We find leaders who deliver the plan without diluting the desirability that underpins valuation.
Appointing portfolio leadership?
Speak with us in confidence about a CEO, CFO or value-creation mandate.