by: Gustav Brown & Natasha Bunten
Introduction: The Evolving Healthcare PE Landscape
The healthcare private equity sector is experiencing unprecedented momentum in 2025, with global healthcare PE deal values reaching an estimated $115 billion in 2024 — the second-highest total on record according to Bain & Company’s 2025 Global Healthcare Private Equity Report. This surge has been propelled by an increase in large deals, with five transactions exceeding $5 billion compared to just two such deals in 2023. As investment activity intensifies, the demand for specialized executive talent who can drive value creation in healthcare portfolio companies has never been greater.
For mid-market private equity firms in particular, the landscape is especially promising. Fund-raising by healthcare-focused PE firms has increased 40% over the last three years, a trend showing no signs of slowing. This growth is creating intense competition for executives who possess the unique blend of healthcare expertise, operational acumen, and financial sophistication required to transform healthcare organizations.
At ECA Partners, we’ve observed firsthand how the evolving healthcare PE landscape is reshaping the demand for executive talent. This article examines the critical leadership roles driving value creation in PE-backed healthcare companies and provides insights into how firms can identify, attract, and retain these high-impact executives.
The Value Creation Imperative in Healthcare PE
Stakes are high for healthcare PortCos today. With exit opportunities constrained by persistent bid-ask spreads and higher interest rates, PE firms are focusing intensely on operational value creation rather than financial engineering. According to McKinsey’s 2025 Global Private Markets Report, continued lack of bid-ask convergence and higher-than-historical interest rates have complicated sponsor exits, making it essential for sellers to sharpen their focus on building comprehensive value-creation strategies.
This shift places enormous pressure on portfolio company leadership teams to deliver measurable improvements in:
- Operational efficiency: Streamlining clinical workflows, optimizing staffing models, and reducing administrative overhead
- Revenue cycle performance: Enhancing billing efficiency, improving collections, and maximizing reimbursement
- Strategic growth: Executing both organic growth initiatives and inorganic expansion through acquisitions
- Digital transformation: Implementing technology solutions that improve patient care while reducing costs
- Regulatory compliance: Navigating an increasingly complex healthcare regulatory environment, which Kirkland & Ellis notes will continue to evolve in 2025
The executives capable of delivering on these imperatives have become the most sought-after talent in the healthcare PE ecosystem. Let’s examine the key leadership roles driving value creation in today’s market.
The Healthcare PE Executive A-Team: Key Roles Driving Value Creation
Chief Executive Officer: The Transformation Leader
The ideal CEO for a PE-backed healthcare company in 2025 must balance multiple priorities while driving rapid transformation. Beyond traditional healthcare management skills, today’s healthcare PE CEOs need deep experience in:
- Change management: Leading organizational transformation during periods of significant growth or restructuring
- Multi-site operations: Managing geographically dispersed healthcare facilities with consistent quality and performance
- Technology integration: Leveraging digital solutions to enhance care delivery and operational efficiency
- Strategic partnerships: Forging relationships with other healthcare entities to expand market reach and capabilities
- Value-based care models: Transitioning from fee-for-service to value-based reimbursement structures
The most effective healthcare PE CEOs combine these competencies with the ability to align diverse stakeholders around a common vision, from clinicians and employees to investors and board members.
Chief Financial Officer: The Strategic Value Architect
The CFO role in healthcare PE portfolio companies has evolved dramatically beyond traditional financial management. A mid-market healthcare portfolio company CFO in 2025 needs specialized skills in modeling and executing both organic and inorganic growth strategies, with particular expertise in evaluating tuck-in acquisition opportunities and their potential synergies.
According to BDO’s 2024 PE Portfolio CFO Outlook Survey, 21% of CFOs expect to pursue a carve-out or divestiture this year, and 33% expect to pursue a restructuring or reorganization, highlighting the critical role CFOs play in executing complex transactions in the healthcare space.
Today’s healthcare PE CFOs must excel in healthcare reimbursement expertise, operational finance, data analytics, value-based care economics and M&A integration.
Research from Compensation Advisory Partners shows that CFO compensation has continued to rise, with 4% growth in base salary last year and more significant growth in long-term incentives. As portfolio sizes remain limited and the need for exceptionally successful exits grows, the CFO role will continue to expand in importance, making experienced healthcare PE CFOs increasingly in-demand.
Chief Operating Officer: The Execution Engine
While CEOs focus on strategy and CFOs on financial performance, COOs are essential for translating vision into operational reality. The ideal COO needs strong change management skills to drive adoption of new technologies and processes, effectively collaborating with clinical leadership to ensure operational improvements align with patient care objectives.
Essential competencies for healthcare PE COOs include:
- Operational standardization: Implementing consistent processes across multiple facilities
- Staff optimization: Enhancing workforce productivity while maintaining clinical quality
- Supply chain management: Reducing costs while ensuring availability of essential supplies
- Quality improvement: Implementing programs that enhance clinical outcomes and patient experience
- Technology implementation: Overseeing the deployment of operational technology solutions
COOs who can successfully balance operational efficiency with clinical excellence are critical to driving EBITDA growth in healthcare portfolio companies.
Chief Information Officer: The Digital Transformation Leader
As healthcare becomes increasingly technology-driven, CIOs have emerged as key value creation executives. According to PwC’s research on private equity value creation, digital transformation is essential for unlocking value, increasing profits, and speeding up exit time for portfolio companies.
McKinsey’s analysis of digital transformation in healthcare found that nearly 90% of health system executives report that digital and AI transformation is a high or top priority for their organizations, yet 75% of respondents reported their organizations are not yet able to deliver on that priority due to insufficient planning or resources.
Effective healthcare PE CIOs bring expertise in telehealth implementation, data analytics platforms, EHR optimization, cybersecurity, and AI/automation solutions. The best healthcare PE CIOs combine this technical expertise with business acumen, ensuring technology investments deliver measurable ROI.
The Evolving Skill Set for Healthcare PE Executives
Beyond role-specific competencies, several cross-cutting skills have become essential for executives in PE-backed healthcare companies:
1. Data-Driven Decision Making
PE teams increasingly rely on market intelligence to forecast demand trends, analyzing payer claims data, regional demographics, and patient utilization rates to determine whether investments align with larger macro trends. According to FTI Consulting, this emphasis on data extends to portfolio company management, where executives must leverage analytics to drive decision making and performance improvement.
Research from the Dimensional Insight blog indicates private equity teams increasingly utilize real-time dashboards to monitor patient outcomes, revenue cycles, and key quality metrics, allowing them to identify areas for operational improvement.
Successful healthcare PE executives demonstrate:
- Fluency with business intelligence tools and platforms
- Ability to translate data insights into actionable strategies
- Experience implementing data governance frameworks
- Comfort with predictive analytics and scenario modeling
2. Value-Based Care Expertise
As healthcare continues its shift from volume to value, executives must understand the clinical, operational, and financial implications of value-based care models. According to a Deloitte survey of 121 healthcare C-suite executives across six countries, accelerated digital transformation was cited as the issue most likely to impact global health systems in 2025. This transformation is largely driven by the need to succeed in value-based care environments.
Key competencies include:
- Experience with alternative payment models
- Understanding of quality measurement and reporting
- Expertise in care coordination and population health
- Ability to align clinical and financial incentives
3. M&A and Integration Experience
With add-on acquisitions becoming a primary growth strategy for healthcare PE portfolio companies, executives with M&A experience are in high demand. Carve-outs are gaining prominence as PE firms look for alternative sources for deal volume given a decline in overall sponsor-to-sponsor activity.
Valuable skills include:
- Due diligence expertise
- Integration planning and execution
- Synergy identification and realization
- Cultural integration management
4. Technology Implementation Leadership
Forward-looking healthcare executives must harness technology to enhance efficiency, streamline reporting for internal use, meet stakeholder demands, and satisfy regulatory requirements. This requires a blend of technological understanding and change management expertise.
Consider, for example, Boston Consulting Group’s analysis of health care in 2025, which predicts that digital solutions and AI will continue transforming healthcare through applications like smart implants, wearable devices, and tools that improve patient care while boosting operational efficiency.
Similarly, a report from HealthTech Magazine suggests healthcare organizations are increasingly interested in AI tools that provide clear value through better clinician experiences, reduced costs, increased administrative efficiencies, and improved patient care.
5. Regulatory Navigation Skills
The regulatory environment for healthcare continues to grow more complex, making compliance expertise increasingly valuable. As we move forward in 2025, stabilizing market and political conditions will likely continue to promote private equity investments throughout the healthcare sector, accompanied by ongoing regulatory oversight and increased scrutiny.
Finding and Attracting Top Healthcare PE Executive Talent
The competition for experienced healthcare PE executives has never been more intense. To secure the right leadership talent for portfolio companies, PE firms must take a strategic approach to executive search and recruitment.
Expand the Candidate Pool
Rather than limiting searches to executives with direct PE experience, firms should consider candidates from adjacent settings who possess transferable skills:
- Health system executives: Leaders from non-PE healthcare organizations who bring deep industry knowledge
- Healthcare consultants: Professionals with experience advising PE firms and portfolio companies
- Managed care executives: Leaders who understand the economics of healthcare delivery and reimbursement
- Healthcare technology leaders: Executives who can drive digital transformation initiatives
By broadening the candidate pool, PE firms can access a wider range of perspectives and experiences.
Focus on Evidence-Based Selection
Traditional executive search approaches often rely heavily on subjective assessments. At ECA Partners, we advocate for an evidence-based approach that emphasizes:
- Objective assessment: Using standardized evaluation criteria to compare candidates
- Reference verification: Conducting thorough background checks and reference interviews
- Track record analysis: Evaluating candidates based on quantifiable achievements
- Cultural alignment: Assessing fit with both PE sponsor and portfolio company cultures
This data-driven approach minimizes bias and increases the likelihood of successful placements.
Offer Compelling Value Propositions
To attract top talent in a competitive market, PE firms must craft compelling value propositions that address:
- Equity opportunity: Providing meaningful upside potential tied to value creation
- Professional development: Offering opportunities for growth and advancement
- Impact potential: Highlighting the opportunity to transform healthcare delivery
- Support resources: Ensuring executives have the tools and teams needed for success
According to CompanySights’ research on PE executive compensation, equity ownership is a key component of executive compensation in private equity, aligning executive interests with those of the PE firm and providing the potential for significant financial upside upon a successful exit.
BDO’s Private Company Executive Compensation Survey found that CFO total cash compensation typically runs at 46%-59% of CEO compensation, with variable compensation increasing with each successive generation of ownership in family-owned companies.
The most attractive opportunities combine financial incentives with professional fulfillment.
Consider Fractional and Interim Leadership
For certain situations, full-time executive hires may not be the optimal solution. PE firms should consider:
- Fractional executives: Part-time leaders who provide specialized expertise across multiple portfolio companies
- Interim executives: Temporary leaders who manage transitions or address specific challenges
- Advisory relationships: Experienced executives who provide guidance without taking operational roles
These flexible arrangements can provide immediate access to expertise while permanent solutions are developed. If you’re interested in learning more, check out our interim consulting and executive services here.
Conclusion: The Path Forward for Healthcare PE Talent
As healthcare private equity continues to evolve in 2025, the executives who drive value creation in portfolio companies will remain the most critical factor in investment success. According to JM Search’s analysis of private equity talent trends, 82% of Operating Partners report involvement throughout the entire lifecycle of an investment. Talent, therefore, will remain at the heart of value creation in private equity.
At ECA Partners, we specialize in connecting PE firms and their portfolio companies with the exceptional healthcare executives who can transform organizational performance and drive superior returns. Our evidence-based approach to executive search ensures that our clients find leaders who not only possess the right skills and experience but also fit seamlessly into their organizational cultures.
ECA Partners is a specialized executive search firm focused on private equity and PE portfolio companies. We provide our clients with the very best talent to execute their value creation plans, with particular expertise in healthcare and other specialized sectors. To learn more about our approach, contact us at [email protected].
Gustav Brown is a Managing Director at ECA Partners. He can be reached at [email protected].
