The team at Drayton are proud to have partnered with a leading, mid-market private equity house to identify and secure a new CEO but also a main board Operations Director and Commercial Director. The business has huge potential but had struggled with the cultural and performance step-change sought by the private equity owner, resulting in sub-optimum EBITDA delivery.
The investor had been supportive of the incumbent management team but ultimately had to take action as they watched value eroding. The first stage was the identification of a P/E and turn-around experienced CEO, ideally with knowledge of this business's key categories. The Drayton shortlist was highly relevant but one candidate demonstrated ahead of his competitors the full breadth of skills and experience required.
The newly appointed CEO needed to stabilise operational performance whilst also restoring confidence within the business. This, in turn, gave reassurance to the investors. Thanks to Drayton's highly efficient support in the appointment of an outstanding Operations Director, the quality and supply issues were soon all but eliminated. This allowed the CEO, with the close support of the P/E owners, to begin the search for a new Commercial Director. Drayton Partners led a comprehensive search process across the food industry, both domestically and internationally, and identified an individual with extensive commercial expertise but also outstanding broader leadership capability.
Rob Seery, Director at Drayton Partners, commented:
"Ultimately, this is a first class business that had lost focus and momentum during the challenging period of transition from one owner to another. Confidence dropped to rock-bottom, resulting in significant quality and service issues. However, thanks to the outstanding leadership of the newly appointed CEO, along with his reshaped Board, this situation has now been turned around. Everyone is excited again by the prospects for this high potential food company"