Private Equity Partners

Reduce Leadership Risk Across Your Portfolio

With lean teams and tight timelines, there’s no room for a leadership miss. PCI’s psychologists help private equity firms and portfolio companies hire, and evaluate, the leaders who drive value creation.

Talk About a Partnership You’ll speak with an organizational psychologist.
Fast, rigorous, and built for private equity
  • Reports in 1 to 2 business days after the interview
  • Evening and weekend interviews at no extra charge
  • Two psychologists rate every candidate, and every report is peer reviewed
  • Portfolio-wide terms, with each company engaging us directly

Portfolio Leaders Are Made of a Different Cloth

Executives who thrive in PE-backed companies share traits and abilities that resumes and interviews can’t reliably measure. When the fit is wrong, the cost to the investment can be severe. We tailor every assessment to the role, and commonly measure:

Fast learner and strong problem solver
Disciplined and decisive
Innovative and improvement-focused
Energetic, driven, and hardworking
Comfortable with risk and ambiguity
Resilient, adaptable, and stress-tolerant
Low ego and thick-skinned
Collaborative and open-minded

Two Ways We Reduce Leadership Risk

Objective, psychologist-led insight at the moments that matter most to your investment.

HiringExecutive Hiring AssessmentsAssess C-suite and VP finalists for portfolio companies, with each finalist’s strengths, gaps, and derailment risks side by side, so you choose the leader most likely to deliver on the plan.Learn more →
Pre- or post-acquisitionManagement Team AssessmentsGet an objective read on the leadership team you’re acquiring or have just acquired. Our Bench Strength Dashboard shows where to invest and where to act:
  • High potentials
  • Misplaced talent
  • Possible blockers
  • Risks to mitigate
  • Culture fit
  • Mobility across the portfolio

A Smarter Alternative to the Marathon Interview

Some executive assessments rest on a single interview that can last six hours or more, at a premium price, often without evidence that it predicts success. PCI delivers validated insight in a fraction of the time and cost.

Marathon interview
PCI
Candidate time
One interview lasting six hours or more
About 3 hours: a 2-hour online battery and a 1-hour phone interview, with evening and weekend times
The interview
A wide-ranging life history, from childhood on
A structured, job-relevant interview. No judging upbringing or pedigree, which don’t predict performance
Who decides
One psychologist’s judgment
Two psychologists rate independently, then reconcile, plus peer review
What carries the most weight
One interviewer’s impressions
Validated tests of cognitive ability, personality, and leadership style
Proof it works
Experience and reputation
Our own validation studies, with results at the top of industry benchmarks
Speed and report
Weeks, and a long narrative report
Days, and a clear, concise, custom report with a debrief
Investment
Premium pricing
A fraction of the cost

How a Portfolio Partnership Works

You make the introduction. Each portfolio company works with us directly.

1You Introduce PCIWhen a portfolio company faces a key hire or a leadership question, you connect them with us.
2The Company Engages Us DirectlyPortfolio-wide terms are available to every company, with no master agreement, minimum volume, or commitment on your part.
3You Gain Consistent InsightEvery leader is assessed the same rigorous way, so you can compare talent and spot risk across your portfolio.

How It Works

Thorough enough for a C-suite decision, fast enough for a deal timeline.

1Intake CallWe define the role and the success factors we’ll assess against with your team.
2Online AssessmentEach leader completes a 2-hour battery measuring cognitive ability, personality, and leadership style.
3Psychologist InterviewA one-hour structured interview with a PCI psychologist, scheduled around the candidate, including evenings and weekends.
4Report and DebriefTwo psychologists rate independently, and a peer-reviewed report arrives in 1 to 2 business days, followed by a debrief.

What Our Clients Say

PCI’s forward-looking approach measures cognitive ability and behavioral fit directly against the job description. The result is clear, metrics-based guidance that helps us predict future success, avoid costly missteps, and make confident hiring decisions.

Chief People and Culture Officer, PE-backed portfolio company

We’ve found PCI to be very data driven and constructive, while being less time consuming and invasive for the individuals than some of the other options out there.

Managing Director, private equity firm

Protect Your Next Leadership Decision

Talk with an organizational psychologist about executive assessments for your portfolio.

Talk About a Partnership Contact Us