Spire Search Partners reveals talent market highlights in the PE sector for 1Q 2025.

Key Trends

The increased focus on operational improvements and value creation within portcos is driving specific hiring trends and compensation structures in PE:

  • We see an increasing emphasis on operational value creation and LP transparency driving a surge in private equity hiring for transformation, system implementation, and process improvement roles. There’s a strong demand for analytics talent to provide valuable insights for LPs and portfolio management, underscoring the importance of data-driven decision-making.
  • PE firms are increasingly extending carry to Financial, Operations, and PortOps teams, a departure from the traditional focus on incentivizing deal teams only. This shift highlights the growing importance of driving operational and financial excellence and the need for competitive compensation packages to secure and retain top talent in these teams.
  • Last quarter saw the release of our 2024 Private Equity CFO Function Analysis, a comprehensive mapping of 20 leading PE firms in the $1B-$5B AUM range, and market-wide compensation data across key accounting and finance roles.

Top Posts

  • Artificial intelligence was the hot topic at our January PE CFO roundtable in NYC. In our recap, we dove into how PE firms leverage AI for everything from financial reporting and DDQs to compliance and expense management. We also discussed challenges like data privacy, inconsistent training data, and security concerns, including AI-driven fraud and legal risks.
  • Hunt Scanlon has named Spire Search Partners to their Private Equity Recruiting Power 100 list for 2025! We’re thrilled to again be recognized among the top PE firms, demonstrating our executive search expertise and understanding of the evolving PE landscape.
  • Executive coaching helps your portco leaders quickly adapt, drive strategic decisions, and build high-performing teams. While known for our search expertise, we also offer access to our curated network of top-tier executive coaches with proven success in the PE space.

Client Success Stories

We recently collaborated with leading private equity firms to add key executives to their leadership teams:

  • VP of Integrations and Initiatives Placement: Shoreline Equity Partners needed an experienced executive to lead complex integrations and create repeatable playbooks for their growing Southeastern US portfolio. We implemented a search strategy focused on a niche talent pool and rigorous assessments, and strategically identified and addressed challenges early on to place the ideal candidate. Read more in our CASE STUDY

Work Anniversaries (Past Placements)

We’re honored to celebrate the following individuals on their impressive work anniversaries:

  • Reynaldo Grant, Director at ING Capital for 11 years
  • Robert Serena, Senior Director, Quantitative Risk Management Officer at TIAA for 6 years
  • Rachel (Bingbai) Hou, Director at SoftBank Investment Advisers for 6 years
  • Eunice Ro Simmons, 5 years in investment operations and fund management at SoftBank Investment Advisers, having started as an Associate and currently serving as a Director

Notable Market Moves

CFO

  • New Republic Partners promotes Jason Grooters to Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. He previously was the Chief Financial Officer.
  • John Beczak joins Petra Funds Group as Chief Financial Officer. He comes from Resource Capital Funds where he was Partner & Chief Financial Officer.
  • Steve Glover was promoted to Chief Financial Officer at Pelion Venture Partners. He previously was the Administrative Partner.
  • Lisa Moceri joins Maxim Partners as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer. She comes from Crown Capital where she was the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer.

COO

  • Jeffrey Iverson joins Eldridge Capital Management as Partner and Chief Operating Officer. He comes from Eldridge Industries where he was the Operating Partner.
  • Serent Capital hires Olga Kaplan as Chief Operating Officer. She previously was the Senior Vice President at Vista Equity Partners.
  • Curate Capital promotes Conor Mack to Chief Operating Officer. He previously was the Chief of Staff.

BD/IR

  • Pinegrove Venture Partners appoints Frank Chang as Vice President, Investor Relations. He comes from Silicon Valley Bank where he was the Vice President – Global Fund Banking.
  • Ryan Drumm joins L Catterton as Managing Director & Chief Operating Officer, Investor Relations. He comes from American Industrial Partners where he was Partner, Marketing & Investor Relations.
  • Hellman & Friedman hires Adam Laursen as Managing Director, Investor Relations. He previously was with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority where he was Portfolio Manager, Private Equity.
  • Olivia Lassoff Barker joins Nexus Capital Management as Managing Director & Head of Investor Relations. She comes from Golden Gate Capital.
  • Greenoaks hires Alex Nguyen as Partner and Head of Investor Relations. He previously served as a Partner at Lux Capital.
  • Energy Capital Partners appoints Will Lipinski as Vice President, Investor Relations. He comes from Probitas Partners where he was the Director.

HR/Talent

  • Gryphon Investors appoints Scott Pitasky as Managing Director, Human Capital. He previously was the Chief People Officer at Unity Technologies.
  • S2G Investments hires Mary DaSilva as Chief People Officer. She previously was the Chief Talent Officer at The Vistria Group.
  • Bryan Sienerth joins Shore Capital Partners as Director of Talent. He comes from FALCON where he was Vice President, Executive Search.
  • Elizabeth Ryan joins Roark Capital as Head of Talent. She comes from Alpine Investors where she was the Talent Lead.

Recent Searches

  • Head of Finance, Management Co. @ $2.5b Private Markets Firm; adding senior leadership under the COO
  • VP of FP&A, Management Co. @ $2b Private Equity Fund; expanding team under the CFO
  • Sr. Director of Regulatory Risk @ Major Global crypto exchange; expanding US risk/compliance framework
  • Director of Performance & Verification @ Private Markets Consulting; specialty consulting firm catering to Private Markets
  • Head of Marketing Compliance @ Private Markets Firm; building out key compliance capabilities
  • Director of Fund & Portfolio Management @ $2B Private Credit/Equity Fund; lower mid-market, multi-sector investor
  • Mid-Market & PE Research/Analytics (Valuations) @ Pitchbook Data; team build leadership across credit, mid-market eq and PE Industry.
  • US Head of Credit Research (leveraged finance, private credit, CLO) @ Pitchbook Data; establishing research leadership for the region under Global Head