Everyone obsesses over making the right executive hire, and rightly so; a lot hinges on finding the perfect leader. But after years of working with PE and VC-backed businesses, I’ve learned the real risk shows up after the contract’s signed, when the pressure kicks in, the support thins out, and the clock starts ticking.

I’ve seen brilliant placements fall flat, not because they weren’t capable, but because no one cleared the runway. So I’m writing this to address what happens after the hire, and how you can set your leaders up for lasting success.

Why ‘strong on paper’ doesn’t always materialize

Leadership misfires in PE and VC are frustrating, costly and all too common. Often, they happen despite hiring someone who ticks every box on paper, because a great resume doesn’t necessarily translate to on-the-ground success.

Portfolio companies operate under hyper‑accelerated timelines, lean infrastructures and sharply elevated investor expectations. Executives who thrived in large corporates, where infrastructure is mature, teams are deep and decisions are filtered through layers, often falter when asked to roll up their sleeves and deliver with minimal ramp-up.

Leaders who can’t recalibrate quickly stall within their first 6-12 months. I found it harrowing to learn that 60% of CEOs in portcos are replaced within a year. It’s what prompted me to take a closer look at this issue, because such high turnover doesn’t just slow growth, it rewinds it, and risks permanently diluting value creation. To reverse the trend, firms must rethink how they approach onboarding.

The importance of onboarding in PE & VC

It’s easy to treat onboarding like an HR formality – a quick orientation, a few meet-and-greets, then straight into the deep end. But in PE and VC-backed firms, onboarding should be treated like a value-creation lever, because done right, that’s exactly what it is.

The best onboarding plans I’ve seen hardwire alignment from day one. There are three things I suggest doing:

• Mirror business-critical goals: Map onboarding to the value creation plan, whether that’s hitting revenue milestones, accelerating product development or expanding into new markets. Give the leader clear visibility on what matters most and where to focus early momentum.
• Make it a shared responsibility: It’s not on the executive alone to “figure it out.” Founders, boards and investors should co-own onboarding through proactive support, regular check-ins and removing early blockers.
• Define “what good looks like”: Vague expectations are a recipe for failure. Alignment upfront on scope, style and success gives leaders the clarity and confidence to deliver fast.

Signs that your leader is struggling

In my experience, there are some tell-tale signs that a leader is spinning their wheels. These show up subtly in how they spend their time, make decisions and connect with the team:

• Endless meetings without forward motion
• Delayed decisions masked as “gathering context”
• Blaming inertia on unclear direction from the board
• No early wins to build credibility and momentum
• Team engagement that feels transactional, not trust-driven

These signal the leader hasn’t yet made the psychological shift from inheriting a business to owning it. Catching these behaviors early allows for realignment before the opportunity window closes.

How to help leaders navigate pressure and ambiguity in portcos

Leading a portco means operating in a strange tension: freedom to act, but with very little room to fail. For first-time CEOs or Revenue Leaders especially, the early phase can feel like walking a tightrope with no safety net. A bit of coaching through that ambiguity makes a huge difference.

Some strategies I’ve seen work in helping leaders settle in:

• Encourage structured reflection, not just relentless activity
• Set 30-day goals tied directly to value creation plans
• Identify one quick win to build confidence and credibility fast
• Assign internal point person to unblock, translate, and navigate culture

Importantly, schedule weekly check-ins with founders or investors to keep expectations aligned. Without early clarity, their involvement can quickly shift from supportive to obstructive. Mid-course redirection and unclear definitions of success stall more transitions than underperformance does.

Getting onboarding right in PE & VC: A 2025 playbook

The hardest lesson portcos must learn is that most leadership hires fail because no one sets the stage for them to succeed. In PE and VC-backed firms, where timeframes are tight and pressure is baked in, onboarding needs to be seen as a strategic extension of the investment thesis.

I’ve helped countless firms get their leadership transition right. Here’s what best-in-class onboarding looks like in 2025:

• Before day 1: Align internal comms to set the tone across the organization. Map key stakeholders and clarify who the leader should engage with, when and why. Introduce executive coaching before the start date to fast-track readiness.
• Weeks 1-6: Establish 30, 60 and 90-day KPIs tied directly to business priorities and value creation goals. Create structured feedback loops with investors and the board. Where helpful, embed short shadowing stints with founders or key operators to transfer institutional knowledge.
• Ongoing scaffolding: Build an internal “operator network” or peer coaching pod around the executive. This reduces isolation, accelerates onboarding and gives them a trusted space to pressure-test decisions.
• At 60 days: Review commercial traction, culture fit and alignment with investor expectations. If something’s off-track, it’s early enough to course-correct.

At Hanover, we’ve seen how quickly momentum can build, or vanish, in the first stretch of a leadership transition. That’s why we stay involved beyond the hire, working shoulder-to-shoulder with leaders and their organizations to spot friction early, remove barriers, and make sure the promise of the hire turns into real-world performance.

Turning placements into performance

Leadership transitions are often treated like the finish line when they should be the starting gate. If a portfolio executive doesn’t ramp fast, the whole business slows down, and by the time it shows up in the numbers, you’ve already lost months of value.

By treating onboarding as a strategic process, aligning on clear outcomes early, and staying actively engaged post-placement, PE and VC firms can mitigate leadership risk and unlock the conditions for value to scale.

If you’re looking to de-risk a leadership transition or set a new hire up for real impact, I’d love to have a conversation. Reach out to me directly.