They were looking for a seasoned valuation professional with significant experience, either in-house at a large venture capital or private equity firm, or with a major valuation consulting firm. Beyond hands-on valuation expertise, the VP of Valuations role demanded strong soft skills for engaging with portfolio companies and internal leadership, managing junior team members, and building efficient processes and automation. This was a strategic leadership position, not solely focused on portfolio valuation.

SoftBank Vision Fund was urgently seeking a highly experienced VP of Valuations in the Bay Area, a role critical for their operations. The search was significantly complex due to their commitment to building a diverse team. After several weeks of intensive internal sourcing and job postings, the Global Head of Portfolio Valuations encountered a significant hurdle.

The position required a very specific skill set from a geographically concentrated talent pool. SoftBank also needed someone of the highest caliber, who was capable of either working locally or relocating, to join their inclusive workplace. This combination of specialized expertise, location requirements, and a strong commitment to diversity made the role particularly difficult to fill.

With over two decades of executive recruiting experience and a robust network in the private equity industry, Spire Search Partners developed a precise strategy to identify the best candidate for SoftBank:

Targeted Mapping

We began by meticulously mapping the Bay Area’s PE/VC landscape, identifying leaders and senior team members in Portfolio Valuations. Leveraging LinkedIn and other resources, we initiated direct outreach to assess potential diversity candidates.

Expanded Search

Recognizing the niche talent pool, we broadened our search to include extensive networks within top consulting firms (the Big 4: PwC, Deloitte, EY, and KPMG), regional players such as RSM and Grant Thornton, and specialist valuation firms like Duff & Phelps/Kroll and Stout.

Intensive Engagement

We understood that building a strong, diverse candidate pipeline required persistent and personalized engagement. Due to the limited number of diverse candidates in this highly specialized field, several prospects required up to nine touchpoints to successfully engage them.

Our specialized networks and ongoing outreach helped Softbank address a significant talent challenge, successfully placing a qualified professional to advance their goal of a more diverse leadership team.

We ultimately presented a shortlist of four exceptionally strong and diverse candidates with varied backgrounds. The successful hire, a Berkeley Economics graduate from KPMG’s Economic Valuations business, perfectly aligned with the strategic leadership requirements of the role.

Her progressive experience across diverse asset valuations, along with strong client-facing and advisory skills, precisely met Softbank’s need for both uncompromising quality and crucial diversity. She was also a local resident, which eliminated relocation costs and allowed for quicker onboarding.