Spire Search Partners reveals talent market highlights in the PE sector for 2Q 2025.

Key Trends

Over the last three months, we’ve observed the private equity talent market being significantly shaped by ongoing economic uncertainty, deal slowdowns, and a strong pivot to operational excellence and new capital sources:

Deal Slowdown & Exit Bottlenecks

After a promising start to the year, global buyout dealmaking slowed in Q2 as tariff uncertainty and macroeconomic volatility disrupted both new investments and exits. The IPO market essentially froze, and exits via sales became harder, creating a backlog of portfolio holdings and putting liquidity pressure on both GPs and LPs.

Fundraising Challenges & New Capital Sources

Facing persistent fundraising challenges, PE firms are exploring new capital sources. With no buyout funds over $5B closing in early 2025 and a rebound not expected until 2026, attention is turning to retail investors. 401(k) plans alone could inject an estimated $500 billion per year into private markets by 2028, presenting a major new AUM opportunity.

Operational Focus for Value Creation

With longer holding periods, GPs are intensely focused on operational improvements and revenue growth for value creation. We see firms acting as true operators, mastering EBITDA growth and accelerating deal processes under pressure from LPs. We are actively working on and have seen an uptick in hiring for these operational roles.

Top Posts

  • Last quarter, Private Equity Info released its list of 50 notable deals made by Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) members, and it really shows what’s influencing the PE market. See more details in this article and view the list of recent platform acquisitions.
  • The AI Operating Partner is quickly becoming indispensable in PE. A Korn Ferry report shows they can drive significant gains, with improvements in finance and accounting reaching up to 25%. As AI becomes central to value creation, we’re seeing more firms bring in this dedicated expertise to really maximize its potential across their portfolio.
  • We gained valuable insights and key networking connections at several industry meetings. At the IRSA Annual Executive Search Conference, we connected with colleagues from leading boutique firms and discussed various trending topics, including the latest AI tools and advanced assessment techniques. Hunt Scanlon Media also hosted the excellent “Private Equity Recruiting: Leading and Scaling with Talent” event; our recaps below cover only a few standout sessions, as there was so much great information to take in:

Client Success Stories

We highlight recent collaborations with leading PE firms to add key executives to their leadership teams:

Vice President of Portfolio Valuations Placement

SoftBank Vision Fund needed a top-tier, diversity candidate in the competitive Bay Area – and we needed to provide more than a typical search. We launched a highly targeted strategy, mapping out key talent pools and engaging a diverse range of professionals.

Our focused approach paid off, and we identified four exceptional candidates, resulting in a successful placement that demonstrated our ability to deliver specialized talent solutions in particularly challenging scenarios.

Work Anniversaries (Past Placements)

We send a big congratulations to John MacDonagh and Eric Bellomo – they’re both Senior Analysts in Emerging Technology and are celebrating their 3rd work anniversary at PitchBook. We’re always excited to acknowledge our impressive past placements!

Notable Market Moves

PE/VC CFOs

  • Unusual Ventures appoints Brett Teele as Chief Financial Officer and Partner. He previously was the Chief Financial Officer of Valo Ventures.
  • City+Ventures promotes Kelsey Keslar as Chief Investment Officer. She previously was the Chief Financial Officer.
  • Playground Global promotes Greg Wilson to Chief Financial Officer. He previously was the Vice President of Finance.
  • Levine Leichtman Capital Partners promotes Rashma Patel to Chief Financial Officer. She previously was the Controller.
  • Factor Strategic Partners appoints Jacqueline Vedra as Chief Financial Officer and Partner. She comes from Excellere Partners where she was the Chief Financial Officer.
  • Joe Testani joins Painswick Capital as Head of Finance and Chief Compliance Officer. He previously was the Chief Financial Officer at SFW Capital Partners.
  • Eric Essary joins Morgan Street Holdings as Chief Financial Officer. He previously served as an Operating Partner at McKinney Capital and CFO of TNT Fireworks.

PE/VC – HR/Talent

  • Asel Ashergold joins EQT Group as Director, Portfolio Talent & EQT Network. She was previously a Portfolio Talent Partner in the Value Creation Group at Vista Equity Partners.
  • Prosperity Life appoints Nancy Whalen as Chief Human Resources Officer. She joins from Vista Equity Partners, where she served as Interim Head of Human Resources and Senior Vice President of HR.
  • Rubicon Technology Partners appoints Lindsay Ostrom as Vice President of Talent. She joins from GoBuyside, where she was a Principal.
  • Company Ventures appoints Tara Kaess as Talent Principal. She comes from Redesign Health, where she was Vice President of Talent Acquisition, CEO Talent.
  • Amber Greenberg joins Montauk Climate as Head of Talent. She was previously the Director of CEO Talent, Executive Search at Redesign Health.
  • Kapor Capital promotes Hilliary Turnipseed to Head of Talent. She previously served as Senior Director of Talent.
  • Angeles Equity Partners appoints Tanner Pattee as Head of Talent Acquisition. He joins from Alpine Investors, where he was part of the Talent team.

PE/VC – IR/BD

  • SQ Capital appoints Andrew Curry as Managing Director, Investor Relations. He joins from The Carlyle Group, where he was Managing Director and Head of Global Credit Investor Relations.
  • American Securities appoints Michael Counihan as Vice President of Investor Relations. He joins from BayPine, where he also served as Vice President of Investor Relations.
  • Seed Healthcare appoints Richard Hurley as Head of Investor Relations & Capital Formation. He joins from Hudson Sustainable Group, where he served as Head of Investor Relations.
  • Accel promotes Aimee Black to Director of Investor Relations. She was previously an Investor Relations Consultant.
  • Ridge Ventures appoints Karen Otani Brewer as Head of Investor Relations. She joins from Unusual Ventures, where she was Partner, Investor Relations & Operations.
  • Michael Graver joins Upper90 as Head of Investor Relations. He was previously a Partner at Mercury Capital Advisors.
  • Next Billion Capital Partners appoints Tracy Barba as Head of Investor Relations. She previously served as an Advisor at Greenhouse Capital Partners.

PE/VC + Operating Partners and Execs 

  • Chris Guest joins McKinney Capital as Operating Partner. He previously served as an Operating Partner at Abacus Investments.

Recent Searches

  • VP/Principal – Portfolio Initiatives @ $1b AUM mid-market PE; expanding team of generalists driving value creation strategy and initiatives
  • 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. Manager, Fund Management & Transaction Advisory @ $2.5b AUM mid-market PE; adding leverage under past placement in Fund/Portfolio Management
  • Sr. Director of Regulatory Risk @ Major Global crypto exchange; expanding US risk/compliance framework
  • Head of Marketing Compliance @ Private Markets Firm; building out key compliance capabilities
  • Head of PE Research @ Pitchbook Data; team building leadership across credit, mid-market equity, and the PE Industry