The deal is done. Now the plan needs an operator.
Sponsors buy Northwest companies in software, marine and food, healthcare services and advanced manufacturing. Strong operators are hard to hire when the largest employers in the region set the price, and a permanent search outlasts a first quarter.
Where the hold loses time
The pattern repeats across founder-run acquisitions:
The search runs into the hold period
A permanent hire takes months to land, while the value creation plan has been live since completion.
Founder reporting is not sponsor reporting
The company reports as it always has, and the sponsor needs monthly numbers it can compare and lend against.
Seller and sponsor read the business differently
Each side is right about something, and with no operator between them the gap turns into friction.
The exit shapes the structure
The founder's rollover and the timing of the eventual sale carry tax consequences that need care from the start.
Operators join portfolio companies within weeks, on terms sized to the hold. A sponsor can brief us for one workstream, as cover before a permanent appointment, or to see what the company needs before committing to one.
Who this is for, and who it is not
Best for
- Deploying a senior operator inside a portfolio company
- Executing a 100-day plan the moment the deal closes
- Value creation through the hold, not another advisory report
- Building reporting, systems and management credibility before an exit
- Operational diligence and leadership-gap assessment before you buy
Not for
- A strategy deck or set of recommendations to hand back
- A business that wants an adviser, not an operator inside it
- Pure diligence with no operator deployed afterwards
- A mandate for oversight rather than hands-on execution
How we work with sponsors
The deal team gets an operator plus our governance around them for as long as the plan runs.
Slippage flagged early
We check in with the sponsor and the executive on a fixed cadence and say so when the plan slides.
Breadth behind the seat
A collective of 800+ stands behind the executive when a finance question turns out to be an operating one.
Held by the company, not one person
The engagement belongs to the portfolio company. If the executive moves on, the next search starts from the brief we already hold.
Matched to the plan
We match on the value-creation plan and on the founder who rolled over and is still in the building.
Across the PE investment lifecycle
From pre-deal to exit preparation.
Pre-deal: operational due diligence
Embed a Fractional COO or CFO to support your ODD. They identify gaps your model hasn't priced.
Post-acquisition: fill the leadership gaps
Begin deploying the right operator within days of instruction. No recruitment pipeline, notice periods, or trial risk.
Value creation: operational improvement
Build financial infrastructure, operating cadences, commercial engines, and professional people structures.
Exit preparation: build credibility
A Fractional CFO producing clean board reporting and investor-grade financials is a meaningful credibility signal in any sale process.
The value-creation matrix
Each value-creation lever maps to the operator built to own it. Most plans pull two or three at once.
Portfolio company leadership options
Match the right fractional operator to the specific portfolio company need.
Operating partners to
