Transaction Advisory

Pre-Investment Leadership Profiling

pre-investment profiling icon

Our Service

The leadership profiling service is designed to help private equity firms gain detailed insight into the underlying capability and potential of the NewCo executive team, prior to investment. We provide objective, impartial perspectives on key individuals and leadership teams.

We highlight skills and capability gaps and predict how they are likely to perform against agreed business objectives. This data-driven approach arms investment teams with specific insight to address talent issues quickly and budget for future changes.

What We Do

We use a combination of online assessment tools and 1-1 behavioural interviewing techniques to build data-driven insight into the capability, motivations and development potential of the team. We highlight gaps that need to be addressed immediately through the introduction of experienced, non-executive talent as well as longer-term development and organisational changes to optimise team performance.

Our analysis provides objective insight, relative to the agreed business goals, and enables specific action to create and sustain high-performing culture, through transformation and growth.

Using this approach we are able to:

1. Answer
Critical Questions

  • Are the right people in the right roles?
  • How can the team be set up for success?
  • What should a Chairman or CXO bring to the party to optimise the team?

2. Align Talent with
Business Objectives

  • What are the objectives and timelines post-investment?
  • What immediate changes are agreed/required?
  • Is budget in place for exec development/coaching?

3. Optimise
Organisational Design

  • Align current structure, reporting lines and responsibilities
  • Is it optimised for sustainable growth?
  • What is the stated culture and is this apparent in the way the business operates?

4. Build
Confidence

  • Highlight the key strengths and development needs of each individual in the team
  • Provide focussed support for execs to perform at their best
  • Identify key successors early and accurately

How it is Delivered

Using our framework, a team of 5 C-Level executives can usually be profiled in a number of days (depending on their availability), with any immediate issues/actions being flagged to you, as they arise. Reporting and feedback take a further couple of days, so it is possible to gather and deliver insights within a 2-week timeframe.

1. Comprehensive qualitative and quantitative dataset

Delegates complete a combination of online questionnaires and face-to-face interviews which provide a comprehensive qualitative and quantitative dataset. This is used to inform the organisational design, define development needs and clarify specific talent requirements.

2. Behavioural profiling

In addition to the online assessment tools, we conduct unique, behavioural interviews to establish HOW individuals operate in their current environments. This insight enables us to predict how individuals will operate in different situations and where to focus development interventions.

3. Personal and investor reports

Individual and team feedback is collated into personal and investor reports and this is shared/discussed with the individuals and key stakeholders.

4. Recommendations

All of the data insights are collated into a combined report and this is provided to the investment team, along with specific advice and recommendations, highlighting any risks, concerns or actions that need to be resolved.

Sample Analysis

The 5 Box Model

Is a way of identifying the key traits of human performance at work.

We collect specific data on the unique traits of each individual and use this to describe their underlying characteristics, how they operate today and how they are likely to operate in the future.

This section of the profile will give you a view of their current capability to succeed (their Behaviour), and their future potential to succeed (their Intellect, Values and Motivations).

the 5 box model

Intellect

Information:
The speed and accuracy at which an individual can take in, retain and process information.

Method:
Data captured through psychometric assessment.

intellect outputs

Values & Motivations

Information:
The innate characteristics that fundamentally shape an individual’s natural behaviour.

Method:
Data captured through psychometric assessment.

values and motivations

Behaviours

Information:
Measures what an individual will do, not what they can do.

Method:
Data captured through Behavioural Event Interview.

behaviours

Where We Have Done This Before

The PE firm used this approach during the due-diligence process to identify risks and to help safeguard their investment.

As an incoming Chairman with no previous experience of working with the executive team, It gave me a different, comprehensive and fast-paced understanding of their ability to hit the next stage objectives. The process allowed me to get a more rounded view of the strengths and weaknesses upfront, rather than waiting to discover things as I went along, saving a lot of time and enabling me to make relevant changes faster.

The insight helped to manage stakeholder expectations, specifically during the early delivery stages, where investment was needed to make organisational changes. Having anticipated these changes in advance, we had a pre-agreed budget in place, which meant that we could focus on the important task of achieving results.

Peter Barrett, Chairman, Tempcover

Meet Some of Our Experts

DWG is the UK’s most experienced digital transformation consultancy. A team of 50+ senior digital experts, diverse and internationally experienced, meet some of them:

Will Barribal

Organisation & Leadership

Katherine Farnon

Organisational Design
& Culture Expert

Why DWG

DWG has compelling characteristics to deliver clear and meaningful insights and solutions.

1.

Proven Digital
Change Expertise

All of our 50+ team members have 15+ years of senior digital change experience. From real-world, market-leading client and agency delivery backgrounds. Supported by an extensive ecosystem of associates and industry leading technology solution partners.

2.

A Think + Do
Approach

Our strategy team of domain experts help clients to think through the right approaches for their needs. While our optimisation and delivery team can assist with successful execution.

3.

Outcome
Focused

We are laser-focused on delivering business benefits. With a mantra of producing value and change through delivery.

4.

Successful
Methodologies

Using tried and tested methodologies to de-risk and deliver better outcomes.

5.

Delivered in the
Right Spirit

A team of committed, collaborative, innovative and trusted practical experts.

6.

Outstanding
Value

Using our innovative business model we are able to offer clients industry-leading value.

PDF Download + Our Other Private Equity Solutions

Rapid Digital
Evaluation

A fast assessment of
an organisation’s
digital capabilities

Acquisition
Due Diligence

A full analysis of
likely success
from a digital context

Digital
Turnaround

Quickly solving critical
business issues via
digital solutions

Digital
Transformation

Comprehensively improving
an organisation’s value
through digital
digital positioning

Digital
Positioning

Strengthening the
organisation’s digital
position at exit

Contact

andrew salmon

Andrew Salmon

Managing
Partner

Call +44 (0)7801 439011

Will Barribal

Senior Partner - Strategy, Leadership & Innovation

Call +44 (0)7584 205613