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.
In Part 2, Eric and Patrick continue this discussion, shifting to the executive team decisions that determine whether a value creation plan actually gets executed.
Watch Part 1:
Most CEOs stepping into a PE-backed role for the first time underestimate how much of the job is about alignment before the work begins. The deal model, the sponsor relationship, the board you build around yourself. Getting that right before the company is running is what separates a smooth hold from one that becomes a constant negotiation.
Watch Part 2:
The most consequential decisions in a PE hold are not the ones made in the boardroom. They are the ones made about people. Which executives to bring in, when to make changes, how to build the right measurement infrastructure before you hire the revenue leader, and why the CFO search is structurally harder than most people will admit.
Part 1 - The CEO's Private Equity Playbook: Leading a Sponsor-Backed Company
Most CEOs stepping into a PE-backed role for the first time underestimate how much of the job is about alignment before the work begins. The deal model, the sponsor relationship, the board you build around yourself. Getting that right before the company is running is what separates a smooth hold from one that becomes a constant negotiation.
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.
Topics include:
- Why the deal model is true north and what it means if a sponsor will not share it
- How to pressure-test the deal thesis before day one through outside-in research
- The three dimensions of push and pull: financial, operational, and governance
- Why clear boundary conditions on executive hiring matter more than most CEOs realize
- The case for smaller, faster boards in PE-backed software
- How to match independent directors to the highest-complexity elements of the value creation plan
Part 2 - Talent and Value Creation: The CEO's Executive Team Decisions
The most consequential decisions in a PE hold are not the ones made in the boardroom. They are the ones made about people. Which executives to bring in, when to make changes, how to build the right measurement infrastructure before you hire the revenue leader, and why the CFO search is structurally harder than most people will admit.
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.
Topics include:
- Why Patrick hires to the season, not the destination, and what the special forces executive model looks like in practice
- The cascade effect of a CRO change and why a year of rebuild is 20 to 25 percent of a five-year hold
- Why revenue operations should be built before the CRO is placed
- What Patrick wants from a CRO: forecast accuracy, consistency, and transparency, not just growth
- The structural tension that makes the CFO search the hardest in PE-backed software
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