Recruiting for Holdings & Family Offices

Holdings and family offices operate where strategy, capital and operational management meet. Here, people decisions are not an administrative matter – they are a key lever of value creation. Whether the task is building an effective holding structure, appointing the management of a portfolio company or filling a staff function within the family office itself: the demands on discretion, precise fit and speed are exceptionally high.

fortalent knows what owners, advisory boards and investor circles expect. We understand that every appointment serves a strategic intention – professionalising an investment, a generational change in leadership or building new business areas. Your senior consultant guides you personally and confidentially through the entire process.

Let’s discuss your requirements

What holdings & family offices can expect from us

• Strategic role clarification: Together with owners and decision-makers, we develop role profiles that reflect not only the professional requirements but also the governance structure and the owners’ expectations.
• Discreet direct approach at the top level: Confidential executive searches, sensitive succession arrangements and discreet mandate management are part of our core business. We know what is at stake.
• Experience with portfolio structures: Whether a holding manages three investments or thirty – we understand the challenges of filling cross-functional roles, management positions and supervisory board seats.
• Quality-assured selection process: Structured interviews, management assessments, background checks and references – adapted to the sensitivity of each mandate.
• Sparring and advice: Beyond the executive search itself, we act as a sounding board on organisational design, compensation and onboarding strategy.

As a boutique advisory, we differ markedly in process design and outcome from large firms that handle a multitude of mandates simultaneously. At fortalent you can expect processes tailored to your needs, with no internal interfaces and no loss of information. Above all, we are willing to go the extra mile for your project.

Private equity & venture capital: appointments across the portfolio

For private equity and venture capital investors, the workforce is often the decisive value driver of an investment. We support you along the investment cycle: before closing with an HR Due Diligence that assesses the leadership team, key roles and key-person risks, and after closing with an appointment roadmap that underpins the value creation plan.

In growth-financed scale-ups, the focus is often on the first C-level appointments alongside the founders – personalities who bring structure to growth without slowing its momentum. And when an exit or a follow-on funding round is on the horizon, we make sure the team is investor-ready.

A distinct environment demands deep understanding

In holding and family office structures, entrepreneurial responsibility and family interests converge. People decisions are therefore often more complex than in conventional corporate structures: skills and experience count, but so do trust, loyalty and the ability to navigate a politically sensitive environment.

We bring the experience and sensitivity this setting requires. Whether CFO of an investment holding, managing director of a portfolio company or Head of Family Office: we find personalities who convince professionally and fit an owner-led culture.

If you want to fill a role that “really matters”, let’s use a short initial conversation to clarify what the market looks like, which search strategy is realistic, and how we can align processes, stakeholders and the decision timeline.