Executive Search for PE and VC Backed Startups

Roles we fill: CEOs and Managing Directors for portfolio companies, first professional CEOs and COOs, CFOs for fund raises and IPOs, CTOs and Heads of Product, CHROs, Chief Business Officers, Heads of Growth and Sales, Chief Risk and Compliance Officers, Company Secretaries for listed companies, Independent Directors, and Founder's Office leaders.

PE portfolio companies: buyouts and growth equity

Roles we fill: CEOs, Key Strategic Roles, CFOs, COOs, CHROs, Business Unit Heads, Heads of Strategy and Integration, Value Creation leaders and Emerging Unconventional Roles.
Service domain: mid-market and large companies bought or funded by private equity, from manufacturing and healthcare to financial services, consumer and IT services.
Product categories: buyout platforms, buy-and-build roll-ups, growth equity rounds in profitable companies, carve-outs from larger groups.
Market overview: PE and VC funds invested about US$43 billion in India in 2024, up 9%, and exits reached about US$33 billion, with public markets making up 59% of exit value.
Global view: global funds now treat India as a core allocation in Asia, and portfolio boards expect global reporting, governance and value creation discipline.
Hiring challenges: after a deal closes, the founder or promoter often steps back, and the fund needs a CEO or CFO within months. Leaders must deliver a hundred-day plan and work with an investor board on a fixed exit horizon.
Leadership hiring lens: we test value creation records: margin improvement, acquisitions integrated, working capital released, and leadership through a previous sale or listing.
Ownership culture: promoter heritage with investor discipline. Leaders must earn the trust of the remaining promoter and the fund at once.

VC-funded technology start ups

Roles we fill: first professional CEOs and COOs, CTOs and Heads of Engineering, Heads of Product, CHROs, Chief Business Officers, Heads of Growth and Sales.
Service domain: SaaS and enterprise software, consumer internet and D2C brands, logistics and supply chain technology, edtech and agritech, from Series A to late stage.
Product categories: software platforms, marketplaces, subscription products, consumer brands sold online, AI and data products.
Market overview: venture capital investment in India reached about US$16 billion in 2025 across more than 1,300 deals, with deal count up 18%. More than 55,200 start ups were recognised by DPIIT in FY2025-26 alone.
Global view: many Indian SaaS companies sell mainly to US and European customers from India, so leaders need global go-to-market experience as well as Indian operating depth.
Hiring challenges: the first professional CXO is the hardest hire: the founder still leads most decisions, pay mixes cash and stock options, and the role changes with every funding round.
Leadership hiring lens: we test whether a leader has built, not only scaled: a function set up from zero, a team hired from scratch, a process created where none existed.
Ownership culture: founder-led and fast, with investors on the board who expect reporting discipline from day one.

Fintech and financial services start ups

Roles we fill: CEOs, CFOs, Chief Risk Officers, Chief Compliance Officers, Chief Credit Officers, CTOs, Heads of Lending, Payments and Partnerships.
Service domain: payments, digital lending and NBFCs, wealth and insurance technology, banking infrastructure and regtech.
Product categories: UPI and payment apps, digital loans and credit cards, investment and insurance platforms, banking software and APIs.
Market overview: UPI processed about 24,162 crore transactions worth ₹314 lakh crore in FY2025-26, with more than 55 crore users.
Global view: India's payment rails are now studied and adopted abroad, and Indian fintechs are expanding to the Gulf and South East Asia.
Hiring challenges: RBI regulation shapes every senior role. Risk, compliance and credit leaders with both bank discipline and start-up speed are rare.
Leadership hiring lens: we test regulatory track records, credit cycle experience, and the ability to grow without breaking compliance.
Ownership culture: venture-backed fintechs, bank-backed ventures and NBFCs each balance growth and control differently.

Healthtech and life sciences platforms

Roles we fill: CEOs, COOs, Medical Directors, Heads of Clinical and Quality, Heads of Business Development, CTOs, CFOs.
Service domain: hospital and diagnostics chains, digital health, medtech, specialty pharma and CDMO platforms built or funded by investors.
Product categories: diagnostics and imaging, telehealth and health records, medical devices, specialty and generic medicines.
Market overview: healthcare deal volume grew about 80% in 2024, one of the fastest-growing sectors for PE and VC in India.
Global view: Indian healthcare platforms attract global funds because of scale and cost, and medtech start ups are winning export approvals.
Hiring challenges: leaders need clinical credibility and commercial skill at once, and quality and regulatory leaders are in short supply.
Leadership hiring lens: we test patient outcome and quality records alongside growth, and regulatory history for medtech and pharma roles.
Ownership culture: doctor-founded businesses, PE-backed chains and venture-funded start ups each need a different kind of leader.

Pre-IPO and newly listed companies

Roles we fill: CFOs with listing experience, Company Secretaries, Heads of Investor Relations, Chief Risk Officers, Heads of Internal Audit, Independent Directors.
Service domain: start ups and PE-backed companies preparing for listing on the main board or SME platforms, and companies in their first years as listed entities.
Product categories: IPO readiness, governance and board building, investor relations, listed-company compliance.
Market overview: Indian companies raised a record ₹1.95 lakh crore through more than 365 IPOs in 2025, and companies under 20 years old raised about half of all IPO money across 2024 and 2025.
Global view: more Indian start ups now choose to list in India rather than abroad, which brings SEBI governance standards into young companies.
Hiring challenges: CFOs and company secretaries who have taken a company public are few and in high demand, and boards need independent directors with real sector depth.
Leadership hiring lens: we test listing experience, audit and governance records, and the ability to handle public investor scrutiny.
Ownership culture: founder-led companies becoming public companies must change how decisions are recorded and disclosed. We look for leaders who can guide that change.

Ownership culture across start ups and PE / VC backed companies: how ownership shapes leadership fit

Ownership type	Culture and what attracts leaders	Retention risk and what we test for
Founder-led, venture-backed start up	Speed, ownership and stock options; leaders want to build something of their own	Fit with a hands-on founder and comfort with ambiguity
PE-backed portfolio company	A clear plan, real authority and a share in the exit	Pressure of a fixed horizon; we test delivery against a value creation plan
Promoter company after a PE investment	Family heritage with new investor discipline	Balancing promoter and fund expectations; we test diplomacy and governance
Pre-IPO or newly listed company	Public market profile and long-term wealth creation	Scrutiny of public investors; we test governance and disclosure discipline

Frequently asked questions

Do you hire the first professional CXO for a funded start up?

Yes. It is one of the most important searches we run, and we plan it around the founder's role as much as the new leader's.

Do you hire CEOs and CFOs for PE portfolio companies after a deal closes?

Yes. We work to the fund's timeline and test every candidate against the value creation plan.

Can you find CFOs and company secretaries with IPO experience?

Yes. We map leaders who have taken companies public on the main board and SME platforms.

Is the search confidential?

Yes. Outreach is discreet, and the company is named only to the shortlist.

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Leadership roles we fill in this practice

Founders can also read about leadership hiring for founders, and about leadership hiring in emerging sectors.

See executive search by city and all the leadership roles we search for.

Leadership hiring for PE and VC backed start ups and portfolio companies.