London, 8th February 2010
Last week was a positive week all round in business terms. Not only did we come out of recession, albeit by 0.1%, we also saw some major movement in the Private Equity space; all very encouraging.
The big news in the retail world was of course the sale of Pets At Home to KKR for £955m. With three other notable deals totaling over £900m, it seems that things are really starting to shift. If you listen to the experts then this is only the start, and whether it is because funds are running to the end of their investment periods or due to more stability in the credit market, this can only be positive for those Finance Directors and CFOs looking to take up roles in Private Equity-backed businesses.
For the past 18 months in recruitment terms this market has been fairly stagnant, even for those with proven ability in other similar environments, and practically impossible to break into for those wanting to secure their first move into a portfolio business.
This dynamic should start to change as more deals complete and more Finance Directors get changed or professional interim managers are drafted in to manage change or assess a situation. Competition for these roles will remain incredibly high and relevant industry exposure and specific experience in similar situations will be essential to most firms looking to take on such people.
Mary Driscoll is a Managing Partner at Maven Partners and a specialist in the recruitment of experienced Interim Managers and permanent employees into senior Finance positions often into Private Equity or Retail and Consumer businesses. For a confidential conversation please contact Mary on 020 7061 6489 or email marydriscoll@mavenpartners.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment