Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO)
Private Equity–Backed Platform Company
Company Overview
Our client is a private equity–backed platform company originally formed in Q4 2025 as part of a deliberate buy-and-build strategy. Since formation, the platform has completed its first add-on acquisition and currently has multiple additional acquisitions under LOI, with an aggressive integration and growth roadmap over the next 24–36 months.
The organization is transitioning from founder-led teams and decentralized HR practices into a scalable, institutional talent and people infrastructure capable of supporting rapid M&A, workforce integration, leadership development, and exit readiness. Talent is a core value-creation lever for the investment thesis, and the CHRO will play a mission-critical role in building the people, culture, and organizational foundation needed to scale the platform.
This is a hands-on, execution-focused CHRO role — not a purely policy or administrative position. The ideal candidate has built HR infrastructure inside private equity–backed, multi-entity, high-growth environments and thrives in fast-moving, transformation-oriented settings.
Position Summary
The Chief Human Resources Officer will serve as a key member of the executive leadership team and a strategic partner to the CEO, COO, CFO, CTO, and PE sponsor. This leader will be responsible for designing, implementing, and scaling the company’s people strategy across the platform and all acquired businesses.
The CHRO will own:
- Talent strategy aligned to the investment thesis
- Organizational design and workforce planning
- Post-acquisition people integration
- Leadership development and succession planning
- Compensation, incentives, and performance management
- HR infrastructure, systems, compliance, and policies
- Cultural integration and change management
This role requires a leader who can balance strategy with execution, build credibility quickly with legacy teams, and create scalable people processes that support rapid growth.
Key Responsibilities
1. Talent Strategy & PE Alignment
- Partner with the CEO and PE sponsor to define a people strategy aligned with value creation
- Translate the investment thesis into talent priorities, leadership needs, and organizational capabilities
- Serve as the primary HR interface with the Board and Operating Partners
- Establish KPIs tied to retention, engagement, productivity, leadership bench strength, and organizational scalability
- Ensure the talent model supports both current operations and future acquisitions
2. M&A Talent Diligence & Integration
- Lead human capital due diligence for current and future acquisitions, including:
- Organizational structure and leadership assessment
- Talent gaps and succession risks
- Compensation and benefits alignment
- Cultural dynamics and change readiness
- Own Day 1 and Day 100 people integration plans
- Align roles, reporting structures, and leadership expectations post-acquisition
- Standardize core HR practices while respecting local business nuances
- Identify and retain key talent during and after integration
3. Organizational Design & Workforce Planning
- Design a scalable organizational structure that supports platform growth
- Partner with the CEO and COO on role clarity, spans and layers, and leadership alignment
- Build workforce planning models tied to growth, acquisitions, and productivity targets
- Establish succession planning processes for key leadership roles
- Support the build-out of shared services or centralized functions as appropriate
4. Performance Management & Incentives
- Implement a performance management framework aligned with growth and accountability
- Design compensation structures, incentive plans, and bonus frameworks that align with PE value creation goals
- Partner with the CFO on workforce cost modeling and incentive plan design
- Ensure performance processes drive clarity, accountability, and development
- Align leadership incentives with EBITDA growth, integration success, and operational performance
5. HR Infrastructure, Systems & Compliance
- Build and scale the HR function to support a multi-entity platform
- Lead selection and implementation of HRIS and talent systems as needed
- Standardize policies, employee handbooks, and compliance practices across entities
- Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws
- Develop scalable onboarding, offboarding, and employee lifecycle processes
6. Leadership Development & Culture
- Partner with the CEO and PE sponsor to define and reinforce desired leadership behaviors
- Implement leadership development and coaching initiatives
- Build a leadership bench to support growth and future acquisitions
- Drive cultural integration across legacy and newly acquired businesses
- Serve as a visible and trusted leader during periods of change and transformation
7. Change Management & Employee Experience
- Lead change management efforts related to acquisitions, restructurings, and system implementations
- Develop communication strategies to support transparency and engagement
- Monitor employee engagement and implement action plans where needed
- Balance speed of integration with thoughtful cultural alignment
Ideal Candidate Profile
Required Experience
- Prior experience as a CHRO, VP of HR, or senior HR leader in a private equity–backed or high-growth environment
- Direct experience supporting M&A integrations and multi-entity organizational builds
- Strong background in organizational design, performance management, and talent strategy
- Experience building or scaling HR infrastructure in a rapidly evolving business
- Experience partnering directly with Boards, CEOs, and PE sponsors
- Comfortable operating in fast-paced, evolving environments with changing priorities
Preferred Background
- Experience supporting buy-and-build strategies in services, industrials, healthcare, consumer, or other multi-site industries
- Exposure to companies transitioning from founder-led cultures to institutional scale
- Experience preparing organizations for exit, recapitalization, or strategic sale
- Blend of strategic HR leadership and hands-on operational execution
Leadership Attributes
- Execution-oriented and pragmatic
- Strong business partner who understands financial and operational drivers
- Credible advisor to executives and operators
- Comfortable driving change in legacy environments
- Trusted partner to both investors and management teams
Why This Role Is Compelling
- Opportunity to build the people and talent foundation of a rapidly scaling PE-backed platform
- Direct impact on leadership quality, organizational scalability, and integration success
- High-visibility role with regular Board and sponsor interaction
- Ability to shape culture, leadership capability, and workforce strategy from the ground up
