The Next Chapter: Guiding a PE-Backed HR SaaS Platform Toward Growth

Client Overview

Our client is a private equity-backed, remote-first SaaS company specializing in performance and compensation management tools for HR teams. Serving both SMB and enterprise clients, the company’s customizable and secure platforms are used by some of the world’s most innovative companies—including Uber, LinkedIn, and Coinbase. Since its founding over a decade ago, the company has delivered solutions that empower people, align company rituals, and enable high-performance cultures.

With a strong reputation for innovation in HR tech, the company offers highly adaptable tools for compensation calibration, performance management, and employee engagement. Operating at the intersection of culture and data, the company remains committed to flexible, people-first product development with enterprise-grade reliability.

The Challenge / Mandate

The company was transitioning out of founder-led leadership and needed a new CEO to guide it through its next stage of growth. The role called for a commercially driven leader with deep operational and SaaS industry experience—someone who could build a scalable revenue engine, enhance internal systems, and support the team through change.

Key responsibilities included:

• Evolving the referral-based sales model into a structured, high-performing commercial engine
• Coaching and scaling the company’s software development and DevOps teams
• Re-evaluating and optimizing the operating model for scalability, sustainability, and efficiency
• Developing and executing strategic plans in collaboration with the Board of Directors
• Ensuring operational excellence while maintaining the company’s strong culture and customer relationships
  

The ideal candidate needed to bring high-growth experience in SaaS, a strong HR tech point of view, and the leadership maturity to drive sustainable success.

Search Strategy

The search focused on high-performing executives in HR tech and adjacent software sectors who combined strategic vision with hands-on operational execution.

Key criteria included:

• Industry Experience: SaaS leadership, with preference for HR tech or compensation platform experience
• Functional Skills: Strong commercial and GTM acumen, paired with operational leadership and technical fluency
• Leadership Track Record: Experience growing global teams, transitioning founder-led businesses, and delivering sustainable revenue growth
• Cultural Fit: High EQ, low ego, and proven success building scalable systems and talent infrastructure
• Preferred Qualifications: MBA from a top-tier institution and experience collaborating with PE boards

The search emphasized candidates who had both built and scaled technology teams, with a focus on process repeatability, KPI alignment, and customer-centric growth strategies.

The Placement

ECA presented a strong slate of candidates with SaaS and HR tech backgrounds. The selected finalist brought a unique blend of HR consulting, global operations, and digital transformation experience. He was a thought leader in the HR tech space and had served in senior leadership roles across consulting and Fortune 500 companies.

His experience included:

• Managing global operations across North America, EMEA, APAC, and LATAM
• Leading large-scale HR technology and customer experience transformations
• Supporting board-level strategy development and investor communications
• Deep subject matter expertise at the intersection of HR, compensation, and digital innovation

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His ability to scale people operations, lead high-impact change initiatives, and communicate effectively with investors made him an ideal fit for the CEO role.

The Outcome

The new CEO is now leading efforts to accelerate growth while maintaining a premium customer experience. He is driving the build-out of scalable commercial infrastructure, streamlining operations, and leading talent development efforts—laying the foundation for long-term success and a potential future exit.