Background
A private equity firm recently completed a growth investment, adding a specialty retail operation to an existing wholesale manufacturing brand. The investor group initially engaged us for a post-close leadership assessment to determine whether a commercial or retail-focused executive hire was needed to integrate the new asset.
Challenge
What began as a narrow leadership diagnostic immediately revealed a complex organizational challenge. The legacy CEO was beginning to show signs of diminished control over the business as the company approached a pivotal selling season. Compounding this, multiple C-suite leaders were planning imminent exits and roles were undefined post-acquisition. The investor group had an opportunity to strengthen operational visibility to enable more confident and timely decision-making. An objective partner was urgently required to assess the full picture and stabilize the company.
Key Objectives
The firm set out to thoughtfully navigate a CEO transition during a critical peak season, while maintaining stability and continuity across the organization. In parallel, they initiated a confidential search for a successor and focused on strengthening the leadership team, all while building a solid organizational foundation to support the incoming CEO’s success. At the same time, they prioritized handling any workforce changes with care, guided by a clear and defensible framework that supported both the business and its people.
Solution
Organizational Audit
We began with a comprehensive leadership assessment and organizational audit, providing clear visibility into leadership dynamics and areas of opportunity across the team. Based on these insights, we partnered closely with the investor group to shape a thoughtful path forward, recommending an approach that enabled an immediate, confidential search while maintaining stability through the holiday period to ensure continued operational momentum.
CEO Transition and Accelerated Search
The CEO transition itself required careful choreography. We developed the full communications plan, scripted the company-wide town hall, and guided the investor team through each step. The transition landed cleanly. In parallel, we ran a confidential executive search and successfully placed a new CEO on an accelerated timeline despite the challenging seasonality of the search window.
Establishing the Runway for New Leader
Once the holiday season closed and the full picture of the business came into focus, it became clear that a workforce rightsizing was needed to set the incoming CEO up for success. We conducted an org audit and built a structured, criteria-based selection framework for the reduction-in-force, ensuring decisions were grounded in role impact and organizational need rather than tenure or compensation alone.
Facilitating Alignment and Stabilizing Leadership
As the new CEO stepped into the role, we layered in executive coaching to support both the incoming leader and the remaining team through the transition. When tensions emerged between members of the senior team during onboarding, we facilitated alignment between the investor group and new leadership, helping both sides hear each other and move forward together. Ongoing coaching and continued leadership work have supported the organization's stabilization into the next phase.
The Result
- De-risked portfolio: CEO transition executed with zero operational disruption during peak season
- New CEO placed: Confidential search delivered a qualified leader on an accelerated timeline
- Org reset: RIF and coaching created a clear, stable runway for the new CEO
- Turnaround Pipeline Established: Continued leadership upgrades and team rebuilding to drive a full turnaround
Final Takeaway
This engagement is a first-hand example of how people risk, left unaddressed, compounds quickly, especially in post-acquisition environments where operational oversight is lean. Investor groups who bring in a people-focused partner early are better positioned to move with confidence, communicate clearly through change, and retain the talent that is calibrated to projected growth. What started as a leadership assessment became a full-org stabilization. The company didn't just survive a difficult transition, it came out the other side with stronger leadership, a right-sized team, and a clear path forward.