When is the right time for a company to enlist the expertise of a Chief Transformation Officer (CTrO)? The answer is EARLIER! Gaining operational focused insights before a close is at the forefront of strategic discussions for Private Equity (PE) firms and their portfolio companies as they grapple with the complexities of today’s unpredictable and often unforgiving market. A recent article by Bain & Company, “The Chief Transformation Officer: Your Navigator for the Uncharted Waters Ahead,” focuses on the significance of the CTrO role as a guiding force through turbulent times. Althoug ..read more

How can PE Firms drive outsized returns when there have never been more competitors chasing the same number of deals? Traditionally, private equity firms used the due diligence phase to explore insights, risk mitigation, and the identification of growth prospects and had several months to dig into a company while using the financials as the most essential tool or backbone of this analysis. Recent analyses from PitchBook underscore the critical importance of involving industry executives before and during the due diligence process to succeed in a crowded market and transition the due diligence ..read more

How does a company drive growth, increase efficiency (margin/EBITDA) and stay ahead right now? By using technology as a growth lever. The recent democratization of AI is creating a wave of new M&A opportunities and pushing the necessity of technology-savvy executives to the forefront. Many of today’s digital business strategies are designed to increase productivity through intelligent process automation. This is sparking interest in investing and/or acquiring businesses that will allow companies to remain competitive and leverage AI-innovations. Companies specializing in this new fron ..read more

In the midst of the current economic, political and cultural uncertainty, there seems to be a common reactionary response – to freeze.  At Lancor, we are noticing this pause in hiring due to new M&A activity, but we are also seeing a meaningful increase in new hires as PE firms look to upgrade existing talent.  Attracting and keeping top talent is the #1 issue in private equity. So when deal flow dips, it allows firms to generate more alpha through partnering with the best executives. For those who are actively looking for new roles in this climate, my advice is to adopt a proact ..read more

“Don’t call us, we’ll call you.” While most Executive Recruiters don’t advertise this mantra, this is unfortunately industry standard when it comes to candidates. Why wouldn’t executive recruiters want to hear from top decile candidates? It is simple. Their clients are the companies they are recruiting for – not the candidates themselves. Their job is not to advocate for a candidate, but the company that hired them.  It is also easier for them to source prospects from their existing network, database and use strategic formula for each placement. However, this is not the way we work a ..read more

When executive recruiters choose a candidate–who exactly are they looking for?  How can I get on an executive recruiter’s shortlist? These are questions we get asked often at Lancor. The truth is most search firms fill an opening with a cookie cutter approach where they simply source their candidates from the hiring company’s top competitors. We feel that this approach doesn’t lead to finding the best fit for a company’s transformative growth. At Lancor, we don’t take that simplistic approach, nor do we simply focus exclusively on exceptional resumes with Fortune 500 firms or Ivy Lea ..read more

It used to be considered the capstone of a career to be the CEO of a publicly traded firm. The perks of being a corporate CEO included media attention, industry status, high salaries and stock options. For those who were reaching for the highest rung on the corporate ladder, becoming a CEO was the ultimate goal. Not anymore. Interestingly, what we are seeing at Lancor is that 9 out of 10 times, candidates are opting to be a CEO for PE firms over publicly traded companies.  With over 4000 Private Equity Backed companies out there–all in need of a strong CEO– C-Suite candidates are now in t ..read more

Is my job safe during a recession? Will businesses continue to hire if the markets crash? Is this a good or bad time to switch jobs?   At Lancor, we are consistently asked by both the P.E. firms that we work with, and the executives we place, about where we see things headed. Currently, most executives are concerned that hiring freezes, layoffs, and job insecurity will inevitably go hand-in-hand with a recession. While unfortunately these recession job scenarios are possibilities as outlined below, overall I see a more optimistic picture.  THE BAD NEWS: What happens during a booming ..read more

It pays to be a CFO right now.  From 2020 to 2021, Chief Financial Officer compensation rose 9%. For a company and its owners, CFO hiring has never been more critical. Chief Financial Officers are needed to steer companies through these volatile economic times including continued pandemic uncertainty, a wild stock market, a likely upcoming recession, an out-of-whack supply chain, inflation, and a challenging labor market. Any of those one issues would require a strong CFO to navigate, but all together means exceptional leadership is absolutely necessary.   So how do you bec ..read more

The best books introduce you to unexpected new ideas that can impact the choices you make in life and work. I’ve been actively seeking out these types of reads, particularly ones involving the future of business and innovation. In the P.E. world, where tremendous investment is being put into new ideas and businesses across sectors, understanding the state of the country, the future of tech and artificial intelligence, plus the shift in politics, economics and mindset, will be beneficial to any investor. Here are three of the best books for 2022 that should be on your current reading/listening ..read more