PrivateEquityCXO and Falcon Partners Recognize 2025’s Top 50 Private Equity Firms for Executives

PrivateEquityCXO and Falcon Partners have announced 2025’s Top 50 Private Equity Firms who best enable their portfolio company executives to drive maximum returns. Winners are determined through data collected from thousands of sponsor-backed executives highlighting their experiences and rating funds using PE-CXO’s Nine Dimensions of Governance Fit®, a strategic framework for conducting diligence ahead of key hiring decisions and improving existing partnerships.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250312983740/en/

PrivateEquityCXO and Falcon's Nine Dimensions of Governance Fit® provide a framework that can help sponsors and executives ensure a successful partnership. Exclusive insights provided by sponsor-backed executives helped to identify the Top 50 Private Equity Firms whose governance style and engagement are seen as best enabling their portfolio company executives to succeed. (Graphic: Business Wire)

“An aligned governance fit between sponsors and executives is a key driver of investment success — yet is often overlooked,” says Lindsay Guzowski, Co-Founder of PE-CXO. “This report gives executives and sponsors the data they need to build stronger partnerships and is one way PE-CXO furthers its mission to equip executives for success in PE-backed companies.”

Key insights from the report include:

• Extended hold periods have necessitated greater focus on long-term value creation. Sponsors must prioritize alignment with their executives as top-line growth becomes the primary driver for economic performance.
• Team Approach — a sponsor’s ability to take a collaborative approach to ensuring management buy-in — emerged as the driving factor influencing executive retention. Only 7% of executives expressed willingness to return to sponsors who failed to demonstrate a strong Team Approach.
• Data revealed significant differences in satisfaction between CEOs and other members of the C-suite.
• While a strong Investment Thesis remains executives' top priority, its importance has declined amid uncertain market conditions. Sponsors who can navigate external factors affecting deal performance while fostering collaboration with management have become much more valuable.

“The best outcomes happen when sponsors and executives align. This report provides both parties with a framework for effectively diligencing for governance fit,” says Rob Huxtable, CEO at Falcon Partners. “The Nine Dimensions of Governance Fit® is one way Falcon ensures great retained search outcomes for all of our stakeholders.”

Download the 2025 Top 50 Private Equity Firms for Executives Report here.

About PrivateEquityCXO

With 42k+ members, PrivateEquityCXO.com is the world’s largest community of private equity-backed executives. Through digital content, tools and services, we look to expand the pool of executives fit for PE portfolio companies and to help leaders build more valuable companies. PE-CXO.com gives members access to the most coveted portfolio company and fund-level executive jobs. For more information, email contact@pe-cxo.com.

About Falcon Partners

Falcon Partners LLC is a leading retained search firm with an exclusive focus on serving PE firms and their portfolio companies. Falcon conducts searches for transformational portfolio company C-suite leaders who can drive MOIC and IRR. Our mission is to provide clients a competitive talent advantage in the pursuit of value creation. For more information, visit Falcon-pe.com or email contact@falcon-pe.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250312983740/en/

An aligned governance fit between sponsors and executives is a key driver of investment success — yet is often overlooked. This report gives executives and sponsors the data they need to build stronger partnerships.