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Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Columbus, Ohio Metro Area | Private Equity-Backed Platform Company

Opportunity Overview

Our client is a recently established private equity-backed platform company headquartered in the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area. The platform was formed through the combination of two complementary businesses and serves as the foundation for a broader growth and acquisition strategy being executed by a well-capitalized private equity sponsor.

The private equity firm has a defined value creation plan focused on accelerating growth through a combination of organic initiatives and strategic acquisitions. The sponsor intends to build a market-leading platform through an active buy-and-build strategy, leveraging both operational improvements and M&A execution to drive scale, profitability, and enterprise value.

The investment thesis is centered around a 5- to 7-year investment horizon, during which the organization is expected to significantly expand its geographic footprint, service capabilities, customer base, and overall market presence before a future liquidity event.

To support this next phase of growth, the company is seeking a Chief Executive Officer who can lead the integration of the existing businesses, build a scalable operating platform, execute strategic acquisitions, and drive substantial value creation alongside the Board and ownership group.

This opportunity offers a competitive base salary, performance-based annual bonus, and meaningful equity participation, creating the opportunity for significant wealth creation aligned with company performance and a future exit event.

Position Summary

The Chief Executive Officer will be responsible for the overall leadership, strategic direction, operational performance, and financial results of the platform company.

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the CEO will partner closely with the private equity ownership group to execute the company's value creation plan. The successful candidate will lead the continued integration of the founding businesses while driving organic growth, operational excellence, acquisition execution, and organizational development.

The CEO will be expected to build a scalable platform capable of supporting significant future growth through both organic initiatives and strategic acquisitions while maintaining a strong culture of accountability, performance, and customer focus.

Key Responsibilities Strategic Leadership & Value Creation

• Develop and execute the company's strategic growth plan in partnership with the Board and investors.
• Lead execution of the private equity sponsor's value creation strategy.
• Establish annual operating plans, budgets, and performance objectives.
• Drive initiatives focused on revenue growth, profitability enhancement, and enterprise value creation.
• Position the company as a market-leading platform within its industry.

Platform Integration & Organizational Development

• Lead the continued integration and optimization of the founding platform businesses.
• Create alignment across teams, systems, processes, and culture.
• Build a scalable organizational structure capable of supporting future growth.
• Recruit, develop, and retain top leadership talent.
• Establish accountability and performance management throughout the organization.

Organic Growth & Commercial Excellence

• Lead all sales, marketing, customer success, and business development initiatives.
• Develop and execute strategies to increase revenue, market share, and customer retention.
• Strengthen commercial processes, pipeline visibility, forecasting, and sales effectiveness.
• Expand existing customer relationships while identifying new growth opportunities.
• Drive market expansion and strategic growth initiatives.

Mergers & Acquisitions

• Partner with ownership on acquisition sourcing, target evaluation, and transaction execution.
• Participate in due diligence, integration planning, and value creation assessments.
• Lead post-acquisition integration activities and synergy realization efforts.
• Establish repeatable acquisition integration processes and best practices.
• Successfully integrate acquired companies into the broader platform.

Operational Excellence

• Improve operational efficiency, scalability, and execution capabilities.
• Implement KPI-driven management processes across all functional areas.
• Identify and execute process improvement initiatives.
• Drive margin expansion and operational performance improvements.
• Ensure operational infrastructure supports long-term growth objectives.

Financial Leadership

• Maintain full P&L responsibility and accountability.
• Lead budgeting, forecasting, cash flow management, and strategic planning processes.
• Drive EBITDA growth and financial performance improvements.
• Monitor key financial and operating metrics.
• Support lender, investor, and Board reporting requirements.

Board & Investor Relations

• Serve as the primary operating partner to the Board and private equity ownership group.
• Present operating results, strategic initiatives, acquisition opportunities, and forecasts.
• Provide regular updates regarding value creation progress and business performance.
• Support future capital allocation decisions and strategic initiatives.
• Help prepare the business for a successful future liquidity event.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is an experienced executive leader with a proven ability to scale businesses, drive operational improvement, and create value within a private equity-backed environment.

This individual will possess a strong combination of strategic leadership, commercial acumen, operational expertise, and financial discipline.

Required Qualifications

• Prior experience as a CEO, President, Division President, General Manager, COO, or senior executive with significant P&L responsibility.
• Demonstrated success leading businesses through periods of growth and transformation.
• Strong track record of driving revenue growth and operational improvement.
• Experience building and leading high-performing executive teams.
• Strong financial acumen and business management capabilities.
• Ability to develop and execute strategic growth initiatives.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous private equity-backed company experience.
• Experience leading a platform company or buy-and-build growth strategy.
• Acquisition integration experience.
• Experience working directly with Boards of Directors and institutional investors.
• Multi-site or multi-business leadership experience.
• Demonstrated history of value creation and successful exit events.

Leadership Characteristics

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Strong ownership mentality and accountability.
• Entrepreneurial mindset combined with operational discipline.
• Strategic thinker with a hands-on leadership approach.
• Ability to lead through complexity, growth, and change.
• Commercially focused and customer-oriented.
• Data-driven decision-making capabilities.
• Strong leadership presence and communication skills.
• Ability to build alignment across investors, leadership teams, employees, and customers.

Compensation & Equity

The compensation package includes:

• Competitive Executive Base Salary
• Performance-Based Annual Bonus
• Meaningful Equity Participation Opportunity
• Comprehensive Executive Benefits Package
• Significant Long-Term Wealth Creation Potential Through Future Exit Event

Why This Opportunity?

This is a unique opportunity to lead a newly formed private equity-backed platform company at a pivotal stage of its evolution.

With the combination of two strong businesses already completed, the foundation is in place for accelerated growth. The private equity sponsor is committed to investing in both organic initiatives and strategic acquisitions to build a larger, more valuable enterprise over the next 5 to 7 years.

The successful CEO will have the opportunity to shape the future of the organization, lead a meaningful buy-and-build strategy, develop a high-performing leadership team, and participate directly in the value created through a significant equity ownership program.

For an executive seeking the challenge of building a market-leading platform, integrating acquisitions, driving operational excellence, and creating substantial enterprise value, this opportunity offers a rare combination of autonomy, resources, growth potential, and financial upside.