Operating Partner / Portfolio Transformation Executive
Location: London, United Kingdom
Employment Type: Permanent or Interim / Contract
The Opportunity
A highly active lower mid-market private equity investor is seeking an experienced Operating Partner or Portfolio Transformation Executive to support a portfolio of industrial and business-to-business companies across the UK and Europe.
The role is focused on working with management teams and investors in complex operational situations where businesses require hands-on intervention, strategic repositioning and operational improvement. Typical scenarios may include revenue decline, customer concentration challenges, working capital pressures, margin compression, organisational restructuring, acquisition integration and broader transformation initiatives.
This is not a traditional board-level advisory position. The successful individual will be expected to work closely with management teams, often in challenging environments, helping businesses navigate periods of change while building sustainable long-term value.
The firm is open to both permanent and interim solutions depending on the profile and experience of the candidate.
Key Responsibilities
- Partner with portfolio company CEOs and leadership teams to diagnose operational and commercial challenges.
- Lead and support turnaround, restructuring and performance improvement initiatives.
- Develop and execute value creation plans across portfolio businesses.
- Support companies experiencing revenue decline, customer losses, operational inefficiencies or cash flow challenges.
- Drive operational excellence programmes focused on profitability, scalability and sustainable growth.
- Assist management teams through acquisition integration and buy-and-build strategies.
- Improve reporting, governance and performance measurement frameworks.
- Act as a trusted advisor to investors, boards and executive teams.
- Provide hands-on support during periods of transformation, organisational change and strategic repositioning.
- Identify and implement practical solutions to complex business challenges.
Candidate Profile
The successful candidate will typically come from one of two backgrounds:
Route One – Former Private Equity-Backed CEO
- Minimum six years' experience as a CEO within a private equity-backed environment.
- Proven track record leading businesses through growth and transformation.
- Experience managing distressed, underperforming or special situation environments.
- Demonstrated success improving operational performance, profitability and organisational effectiveness.
- Experience working directly with private equity investors and boards.
Route Two – Portfolio CEO / Transformation Specialist
- Experience serving as CEO, Interim CEO, Executive Chair or Operating Executive across multiple private equity-backed portfolio companies.
- Track record working across at least three to five businesses requiring turnaround, restructuring or transformation support.
- Experience addressing complex situations including:
- Cash flow and liquidity challenges.
- Customer attrition and declining revenues.
- Margin erosion.
- Operational underperformance.
- Integration and post-acquisition challenges.
- Leadership and organisational restructuring.
Required Experience
- Strong background in management consulting, operational consulting or performance improvement environments, or significant exposure to those methodologies throughout a corporate career.
- Deep understanding of how to diagnose and solve complex business problems.
- Extensive experience within lower mid-market businesses.
- Strong exposure to founder-led and family-owned companies.
- Significant M&A and acquisition integration experience.
- Strong business-to-business sector experience.
- Industrials or industrial-adjacent sector expertise strongly preferred.
- Experience operating in businesses undergoing rapid change, transformation or restructuring.
- Ability to work effectively with management teams while maintaining credibility with investors.
Preferred Attributes
- English or Dutch language capabilities strongly preferred.
- Highly commercial and pragmatic approach.
- Comfortable operating in hands-on environments rather than purely strategic roles.
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
- Ability to build trust quickly with founders, CEOs and leadership teams.
- Comfortable travelling across portfolio locations as required.
Why This Opportunity?
This is an opportunity to join an ambitious private equity platform and have a direct impact on value creation across a portfolio of businesses. The successful individual will be a key partner to investors and management teams, helping businesses navigate complex challenges while driving long-term growth and operational improvement.
The role offers significant exposure to portfolio company leadership, investment professionals and board-level stakeholders, with the flexibility to be structured as either a permanent Operating Partner appointment or an interim transformation mandate.
