Addison Group’s precision executive search delivers the perfect CEO
A leading automation software organization needed a new CEO to help it navigate through its growing pains.
Challenge
A private equity-backed transformation was underway for our client, a 20+ year-old Series B organization with a strong legacy but significant growing pains. The company’s no-code automation platform had fallen behind, burdened by years of technical debt and internal misalignment. The board made the bold decision to bring in a new CEO — a rare blend of product strategist, technologist, and cultural stabilizer — while the founder/CEO remained in place for a six-month transition. This high-stakes leadership change required surgical precision.
Solutions
The PE sponsor knew this wouldn’t be a typical CEO search. The ideal candidate had to have deep product and technical chops, executive maturity, emotional intelligence, and the humility to navigate a delicate founder transition — all while relocating to a secondary market. Addison Group was chosen because of our ability to execute nuanced, high-impact leadership searches under complex conditions.
We launched a two-pronged intake process — aligning directly with the private equity firm and then separately with the executive team — to map out competing priorities and identify common success markers. We held weekly update calls, walking through shortlists, recalibrating market feedback, and tightening the criteria with each pass. Our team applied a refined search methodology, tapping into product-focused SaaS operators and technology executives who had successfully scaled through turnaround cycles.
Despite an early setback when our initial frontrunner accepted another offer, we doubled down. Within a week, we surfaced a second exceptional candidate — an experienced SaaS product and engineering executive with turnaround experience — who is now the company’s current CEO. They have since led the company through its transition phase and are now actively executing on the next chapter of their growth strategy.
We have an ongoing relationship with the PE firm and their portfolio. Additionally, our precision and success when finding the CEO led us to placing this client’s Head of Human Resources.
The Addison Group difference
We know that great teams start with great people.
That means we focus on quality, not quotas. We focus on seeing candidates beyond their resumes to understand their goals and make sure they align with your mission. And it means working with you to get detailed insights into your teams. We find people who fit, not just who’s available.
No one gets talent like Addison Group.®
