New Report: Recruiting Top Executives in Resurgent Private Equity Sector

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bespoke Partners, the leading executive search firm for private equity portfolio companies, today released its 2H2025 Software & SaaS Talent Market Update Report, detailing signs of a resurgent private equity sector and rising demand for seasoned portfolio executives.

The report details how demand for Software and SaaS portfolio C-suite and VP leadership is outstripping supply, with the result that an already tight talent market is growing tighter.

“Search velocity — recruiting with clarity, speed and precision — is how top firms are landing transformative talent today,” said Eric Walczykowski, CEO of Bespoke Partners. “That includes leveraging AI to gain comprehensive talent market visibility and to counteract market tightness.”

Drawing on Bespoke’s work with hundreds of portfolio companies and private equity sponsors, the report analyzes key talent trends as exit paths are re-opening and deal-flow picks up. Findings include:

• Compensation remains sharply elevated, with average C-suite cash salary and bonus topping $537,000, reflecting the ongoing high demand for seasoned leaders.
• Turnover is exceptionally low, as executives stay put to lead their companies to exit.
• Many sponsors are hiring C-suite leaders into earlier stage companies where VP level leaders would have sufficed before. This reflects the critical importance of talent in value creation.
• AI is a foundational technology in recruiting now and is essential for eliminating talent market blind spots.

As part of an ongoing series, this report provides valuable insights for private equity firms as they navigate the complexities of leadership transitions and maximize value creation.

Private equity professionals and portfolio company executives can get a complimentary copy here: www.bespokepartners.com/private-equity-talent-report/

About Bespoke Partners

Bespoke Partners is the leading executive recruiter for private equity and the largest firm specializing in recruiting for software and SaaS companies in the United States.

Bespoke-recruited executives have orchestrated more than 200 portfolio company exits totaling nearly $600 billion, creating more than $200 billion in value for their private capital sponsors.

Bespoke Partners is Built Different, with a unique firm structure, functional role focus and deep expertise in 28 software subsectors. Bespoke’s data-driven services utilize the Executive Index, a comprehensive AI-augmented talent market mapping platform. The Executive Index enables Bespoke to complete searches in less than half the industry average time with a 95% placement success rate.

The firm has placed more than 1,500 top-performing executives into private equity portfolio companies. Successful searches include CEOs, CFOs, CROs, CMOs, CPOs, CTOs, CIOs, CHROs, Board Members, Operating Partners, Vice Presidents and many more.

Learn more at www.bespokepartners.com.