A 20-page practical guide to finance hiring across the PE deal lifecycle
For private equity firms and operating partners managing portfolio company finance talent, finding the right CFO, Controller, or FP&A Director is one of the highest-leverage decisions of the hold period. The wrong hire costs multiples. The right hire accelerates your thesis. This guide was built specifically for that decision.
Finance talent is one of the most underleveraged value creation levers in private equity. The right CFO accelerates your thesis. The wrong one costs you multiples and time you cannot get back.
This guide was written for PE deal partners and operating partners who are making finance hiring decisions across the hold period. It covers the full picture, from post-close through exit, with the kind of specificity that comes from having been inside these companies, not just reading about them.
- The CFO archetype framework (Builder, Scaler, and Harvester) and how to match the right profile to your stage of investment
- Why the Controller and FP&A Director determine whether your CFO can actually do their job
- The five most expensive finance hiring mistakes in PE and how to avoid them
- What to look for beyond the resume when evaluating finance candidates
- How to time hiring decisions across the deal lifecycle
- Compensation and retention strategies that keep finance talent through the exit
Written by Michael S. Hill, CPA, CVA. A decade of senior finance experience inside PE-backed companies, now recruiting exclusively in accounting and finance through Royal Search Group.