PE Sponsors & Platforms
Leadership for platforms and add-ons.
Before close, after close, and when a seat has to change quietly.
Where we help
Before close, after close, and quietly
Before close
A candid read on the management team while you are still underwriting. Under NDA, Greenbriar & Russell tells you where the bench is strong, where it is thin, and what a replacement would take in this market.
The first 100 days
The seats a new owner often needs filled fast: CFO, COO and VP Integration. The work can start under NDA before close, so the search is already moving on day one.
Add-on presidents and founder succession
An acquired company needs a president who can keep the founder's customers and people while adopting the platform's systems. When a founder is ready to step back, we plan the handoff with the founder, not around them.
Confidential replacement
When a sitting leader has to change, word cannot reach the team, customers or competitors. Greenbriar & Russell runs the search under a written protocol, from NDA to controlled reveal.
Compensation, org design and succession
Not every problem is a search. Corey Kravitz advises owners and sponsors on pay bands, org design and succession, and that work often shapes the search that follows.
Protocol
Confidential replacement
- NDA first. Nothing about the seat or the company is shared until it is signed.
- A code name for the search, used in every document, call and file.
- No postings on any job board, career site or social channel.
- A scripted communications plan that sets who knows, what they hear and when.
- Anonymous outreach. Candidates learn the sector, scale and scope, not the name.
- A controlled reveal. Your name goes to a qualified, interested candidate only with your approval.
Seats
Platform and add-on roles
- Platform CEO
- COO
- CFO
- CRO
- VP Integration / M&A
- Regional President
- Add-on GM
- VP Service
- Controller
Sector theses
Where leadership decides the outcome
HVAC and mechanical service roll-ups
Private equity has spent years assembling regional HVAC and mechanical service companies into multi-state platforms. The hard part now is leadership. Platforms need presidents and service leaders who can grow maintenance agreements across many branches and keep the local relationships customers buy from.
Controls integrator consolidation
Independent controls and building automation integrators are being rolled into larger platforms. The thesis rides on leaders who can standardize estimating, project delivery and service across shops built on different product lines and cultures.
MEP engineering consolidation
Sponsors are buying MEP engineering and commissioning firms long owned by their principals. Those deals turn principals who hold a P.E. license into operators inside a larger company, with growth targets to hit. The leaders who matter keep engineers engaged while the platform adds process and scale.
Energy services and critical power
Data centers, electrification and aging infrastructure keep pushing demand for efficiency upgrades, on-site power and critical power service. Sponsors backing energy service companies need leaders who can sell long-cycle technical work and still deliver on margin.
FAQ
Questions we hear
Can you start before the deal closes?
Yes, under NDA. Greenbriar & Russell can assess the management team, map the market for the seats you expect to fill, and have a plan ready for day one. Outreach waits for your go-ahead.
How do you keep a replacement search from leaking?
With a written protocol: NDA first, a code name, no postings, a scripted communications plan, anonymous outreach and a controlled reveal. The sitting leader, the team and the market hear nothing from us until you decide they should.
Who is the client, the sponsor or the portfolio company?
Greenbriar & Russell agrees on that in writing before the search starts. Often the sponsor and the platform CEO share the decision, so we set the decision rules up front and report to both.
Will you recruit from our portfolio companies?
Not while we work for you. Off-limits terms are agreed in writing before work starts. They name the companies covered and for how long, so nothing is left to guess.
Talk about a platform
Pre-close, post-close or a quiet replacement. You'll hear from Corey directly within one business day.