By Victoria Montagu and Samantha German
Operating partners used to be more behind-the-scenes advisors. Now they’re increasingly in the spotlight, on the front lines of portfolio execution.
One explanation? With interest rates remaining high, cheap leverage and financial engineering are no longer on the table. Value creation is now the name of the game.
As a result, there are high expectations on PE operating partners. They’re the growth levers. The pressure? Deliver ROI faster, smarter, and with more domain depth than ever. The NU team has placed and assessed countless private equity operating leaders across numerous funds, stages, and sectors. Here’s what we’re seeing in the market and where some PE firms still misfire on OP roles.
Specialists Are Winning. Generalists Are Fading.
While the days of the Swiss Army knife operating leader aren’t entirely behind us, we’re seeing a clear shift in how private equity firms are structuring their post-close leadership support. What was once a single, catch-all role is now increasingly being split into distinct functions.
Finance and talent have long been core spikes in these roles, but there’s a growing emphasis on go-to-market, AI, product, and domain-specific expertise, particularly in fintech, SaaS, and infrastructure. This trend isn’t limited to mega-funds; middle-market and growth equity shops are also becoming more surgical in how they drive execution after a deal closes.
And pure consulting backgrounds alone don’t cut it anymore. Today’s top operating partners have built and scaled businesses themselves. They’ve run P&Ls, driven exits, and executed inside the portfolio, not from the sidelines.
Today’s PE Operating Partners Are in the Trenches
The best operating partners don’t sit in the ivory tower. They roll up their sleeves and work shoulder-to-shoulder with CEOs and executive teams. They need to add tangible value in the first 100 days. That can mean rebuilding teams, evolving tech stacks, and winning trust quickly.
Velocity matters. Pace of impact matters. Firms want to know: How fast can an operating partner move the needle (while still earning trust and winning friends)?
Whether it’s sitting in manufacturing or distribution facilities, riding in trucks with frontline home services professionals, or shadowing the executive leadership team, the best talent we interview for this role is on the ground. This is not a remote position.
PE Operating Leaders Are Shaping the Talent Playbook
Operating partners are increasingly calling the shots on when to launch a search and which firm gets the work (or they’re working right alongside PE talent partners). That makes them a high-leverage audience and a growing part of our search ecosystem. And many are defining job specs themselves, so they know what great looks like.
Their influence stretches pre-deal, too. In earlier-stage or growth equity environments, they often evaluate functions before close and shape hiring strategies the minute the deal is done.
Where PE Firms Misfire on Operating Partner Roles
Here’s where things fall apart:
- Hiring for credentials, not impact. Impressive resumes don’t always translate into real results. The best OPs show measurable outcomes.
- Over-relying on 1099s (especially in down markets). Some firms are moving full-time operating partners into 1099 roles to cut fixed costs. But in our experience, this uncertainty and lack of commitment to their role tends to dilute the impact they can have, both internally and externally.
- Miscasting the role as a catch-all. When firms treat OPs as a plug-and-play fix for deal flow, executive gaps, and portfolio firefighting, it signals a lack of role clarity, and it often backfires. Top operators walk away. The firm ends up with misaligned hires, weaker execution, and missed opportunities to drive real value.
- Skipping EQ and relationship screens. Boardroom presence and team-building instincts matter just as much as functional chops. Without emotional intelligence, even the smartest OPs can create friction instead of traction.
What Sets Top Operating Partners Apart
Here are some of the tells we dig into:
- Tied to thesis. Can they articulate how they shaped and executed an investment thesis?
- Fast pace of impact. What did they actually deliver in their role, and how quickly?
- Cultural fluency. Can they navigate from the boardroom to the front lines?
- Lived experience. They’ve done the job, not just advised on it.
- Strategic diplomacy. Can they influence deal teams, founders, and functional leaders with credibility and tact?
What’s Next for the Operating Partner Role
- More AI, product, and data-oriented operating leaders
- More pre-deal involvement from OPs as deal flow tightens
- More pressure to deliver early wins to earn trust with founders and deal teams
NU’s PE Operating Partner Expertise
Operating partners are a critical lever for value creation. We’ve seen that over and over again.
Our team has assessed and placed numerous high-impact OPs, from commercial leaders at mid-market firms to finance leaders at growth equity firms and AI experts at large global firms.
We zero in on what matters most. We want to see ownership of the thesis, execution velocity, and the ability to build trust with founders, executives, and deal teams.
And our AI-native model frees us to go deeper on diligence, pressure-test for fit, and surface the kind of operating leaders who will move the needle.
If you’re building or strengthening your OP bench, let’s talk.
NU Advisory Partners is an AI-native retained executive search and advisory firm focused on senior executive, operating, and board positions. If you’re interested in learning more, head to our homepage.
