Private Equity
Private Equity ownership invariably brings with it an accelerated growth trajectory and an expectation of rapid pace of change, coupled with a high degree of investor scrutiny. This places pressure on senior leaders in ways they often don’t expect, requiring them to rapidly develop new approaches and skills.
Trusted in Private Equity
Ivan Schofield
As a successful former CEO and serving NED/Chair, I understand the challenges of leading an organisation through rapid change whilst effectively orchestrating the investor and board environment.
My international executive and board experience, coupled with experience from coaching 125 executives (of which 25 CEO/MDs) over the last 7 years allows me to focus on the key areas to improve performance in a short space of time, never losing sight of the value creation imperative.
Typical assignments
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CEO performance has the greatest correlation with investment success. Nearly 50% of CEOs leave ‘in flight’ between years 2 and 4 at a significant cost to returns. The aim of CEO coaching is to significantly accelerate business progress whilst reducing the failure rate, particularly when there has been a step change in scope / complexity of role or stakeholder environment.
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Supporting Founders or CEOs from a founder-led environment to transition to the more demanding and fast-paced environment of Private Equity ownership.
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At the right time, a team event is an essential part of the value creation journey to enhance trust, mutual accountability, collaboration, alignment and organisation around the execution of the Value Creation Plan.
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Helping senior leaders manage and cope with greater scale and accelerated trajectory; often coupled with first exposure to board interactions / relationships.
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This issue is particularly important in the current environment of extended hold times; a bench of proven, talented individuals with deep institutional knowledge can reassure investors about continuity and thereby enhance or protect the exit multiple.
CEO coaching
Mid-market investors, confronted with an ageing talent pool of proven CEOs and an increased requirement for energetic, digital/tech savvy leaders are increasingly drawn to more alternative CEO profiles which carry a greater risk of failure:
First time CEOs
Founder CEO to Private Equity CEO
Has CEO experience but significant increase in scale / growth trajectory
Prior CEO/MD experience in a corporate environment
The most common issues that come up in the coaching work with such CEOs are:
Building board confidence / managing expectations
Handling difference constructively
Clear articulation of vision and strategy up down and across
Framing/articulating issues to galvanise alignment and action
Effective communication / use of authority especially when under stress
Putting the right people and structure in place
Establishing an effective team and decision-making processes
Self-doubt and imposter syndrome and loneliness
Letting go/delegating effectively
Assisting with challenging stakeholder situations
C-Suite & Senior Leader coaching
Stepping up to a C-Suite role is a significant career and life event. It is common, or even inevitable, that the working habits and methods that have served someone well in their career so far need to be re-evaluated. It is also common that previously tolerated behavioural traits become potential derailers with the increased visibility of senior leadership roles.
The term, coined by Marshall Goldsmith, “What got you here won’t get you there” applies in every case I have come across.
Typical assignments include:
Promotion to board-level executive
Transition to C-Suite
Significant expansion of responsibilities
Preparing for succession
The most common issues that come up in the coaching work at this level are:
Effective communication
Conveying confidence to senior stakeholders and effective expectation management
Raising issues constructively with senior stakeholders
Developing strategies to deal with excessive workload
Effective delegation and putting the right people and structure in place
Proactively attending to senior and peer stakeholder relationships/influence networks
Handling conflict/communicating effectively under stress
Creating accountability in appropriate ways
Clear articulation of strategy
Framing/articulating issues to galvanise alignment and action
Challenging relationship issues with senior stakeholders
Resilience, self-doubt and imposter syndrome
“As a result of Ivan’s work with a number of senior leaders, our organisation is stronger at all levels with several key people having stepped to senior leadership roles up as the business has scaled. Additionally, as we contemplate exit and the next phase of growth the senior bench is strong, giving confidence to prospective investors”
— CEO, Mid Market PE
“Working with Ivan has significantly supported my development as a leader - his coaching has been transformational in my ability to level up across a number of areas and through his extensive experience he has been able to help me navigate a number of challenges to deliver new value for my organisation. I wholeheartedly trust Ivan and this relationship has led to us being able to unpick these challenges quickly, get to the crux of the problem and work together to find the right solution. I would recommend Ivan to anyone looking to see a step change in their leadership potential”
— CCO, Consumer Marketplace