PRIVATE EQUITY
TALENT REPORT
AI Aptitude Tops ‘Must Have’ Skillsets, CEO Recruitment & Retention Trends, Compensation Expectations, Turnover, Candidate Trends, Market Trends in Software & SaaS
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The Bespoke Partners Private Equity Talent Report is available at no charge to current partners and staff of private equity firms. Complimentary copies available to qualified executives who join the Bespoke Partners Leader Community.
CEO compensation, turnover and market trends are the focus of our exclusive report on private equity software and SaaS. Over the past decade Bespoke Partners has transformed the leadership of hundreds of private equity portfolio companies via our market-leading CEO, Board, and P&L recruiting practice.
More than 90% of the most active software and SaaS investors in the US trust Bespoke for mission critical executive recruiting, including CEOs.
Our unparalleled network of more than 100,000 top executives across the sector gives us unique insight into talent trends.
Bespoke Partners has been a market leader in P&L executive placements for private equity-backed Software and SaaS companies for over a decade. Our track record includes 370+ placements, contributing to 78+ successful exits and the creation of more than $40.7 billion in enterprise value. With a 9.5 client NPS and an average of less than 100 days to close, Bespoke remains a trusted partner for firms seeking transformative leadership.
Topics discussed:
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AI Aptitude Tops ‘Must Have’ Skillsets
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CEO Recruitment & Retention Trends
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CEO Leader Turnover
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CEO Compensation Trends & Expectations
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Candidate Preferences
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Market Trends
Track record for this Practice:
370+
Number of CEO, Board & P&L Placements
78+
Number of Exits assisted
$40.7B+
Enterprise Value Created
9.5
client satisfaction
<100
Average days to close
Our leaders in this practice
Katherine Baker
Partner
CEO, Board & P&L Practice Lead
Go-to-Market Practice Expert
Based in Bespoke’s Austin office, Katherine leads the CEO, Board, & P&L Practice and is a GTM Practice expert to help build the executive teams for private equity backed software and technology companies. Over the last several years Katherine has completed over 200 searches for firms such as WCAS, Francisco Partners, Clearlake Capital, Insight Partners, TA Associates, Providence Equity, and more.
Kristie Nova
Founding Partner
CEO, Board & P&L Practice Co-Lead
25+ years of executive search experience, Kristie founded Bespoke Partners in 2011. Through Kristie’s tireless efforts Bespoke now partners with the world’s most successful private equity firms.
Jenny Gray
Partner
CEO, Board, and P&L Practice Expert
Jenny Gray is a Partner at Bespoke Partners within our CEO & Board Practice. Jenny specializes in leading CEO & Board searches for our clients across growth equity to buyout with portfolio companies in B2B SaaS.
Alexandra Bossetta
Partner
CEO, Board, and P&L Practice Expert
Alexandra serves as Partner at Bespoke in our CEO, Board, and P&L Practice. She leads executive recruitment and assessment for high-growth, PE-backed and public software organizations and has extensive experience placing leaders in CEO, President/ COO, Sales and Marketing, and HR Talent leadership roles.
News & Insights
Finding AI-Adept CEOs: What Sponsors Need to Know
In this Tailored Talent panel discussion, Bespoke Partners CEO Eric Walczykowski sits down with Katherine Baker, Jenny Gray, and Alex Bossetta, the leaders of the CEO, Board and P&L practice, to talk through what sponsors are looking for, why the talent market is tighter than ever, and what it takes to land an AI-adept CEO in 2026.
Talent and Value Creation: The CEO’s Executive Team Decisions
In Part 2 of this Tailored Talent conversation, Bespoke Partners CEO Eric Walczykowski continues his discussion with Patrick Dennis, CEO of Avaya, former CEO of Venafi, shifting to the executive team decisions that determine whether a value creation plan actually gets executed.
The CEO’s Private Equity Playbook: Leading a Sponsor-Backed Company
In Part 1 of this Tailored Talent conversation, Bespoke Partners CEO Eric Walczykowski sits down with Patrick Dennis, CEO of Avaya, former CEO of Venafi and a multi-exit software operator, to talk through how he approaches a new PE-backed role from the moment he says yes.
Your full-spectrum human capital partner
Bespoke Partners is the leading software executive search firm and the top private equity recruiter. We have transformed hundreds of companies with our recruiting expertise in: CEOs, CFOs, CROs, CMOs, CSOs, CCOs, CCSOs, CHROs, CPOs, CTOs, CIOs, CISOs, VPs of Engineering, VPs of Marketing, VPs of Sales, VPs of Product, VPs of Customer Success, VPs of HR, VPs of Operations, Controllers, VPs of FP&A, Presidents, GMs, Board Members, Operating Partners and many more.