Frequently Asked Questions for Executives

Who is Notch Partners?

Notch Partners helps private equity investors to establish and nurture relationships with deal-capable CEO's in order to drive proprietary deal flow, gain competitive advantage in auction processes, hire in-house Operating Advisors and to fill the "talent pipeline" for future portfolio company needs for longstanding private equity clients. Notch also provides traditional executive search services, focusing on CEO's, CFO's, board members, and other C-level executives. The firm was founded by Andrew Thompson and Mei-Mei Tuan in 2002.

Who are your clients?

Our clients include a select set of institutional private equity investors. These firms control funds ranging in size from $500 million to over $25 billion, and they invest across all sectors globally. Our clients see reaching out to Deal Executives as a central part of their sourcing strategy and competitive differentiation.

Is there a typical Notch executive?

The executives who we introduce to our clients do share a number of characteristics, the most important being that they have a history of operating success which culminated in significant P&L responsibility. In addition, they are likely to provide our clients with a competitive edge in their investment program, through their experience and insight, their deal ideas, specific acquisition targets, or proprietary angles on upcoming deals. Most Notch executives have decades of experience in their industry. For a more complete picture of a Notch executive, please see our Deal Executive section.

What is a "Deal Executive?"

Our clients want to meet executives who are committed to seeking a deal situation where they can add considerable value as a senior executive, advisor, or board member in both the pre- and post-acquisition phase. Many Deal Executives are also Job Seekers, in that they are open to hearing about job openings, but most Job Seekers are not Deal Executives. Pure Job Seekers are less interesting to our clients when there is a defined management need within a client's portfolio company. While Job Seekers are of interest to us and our clients, active engagement with them depends on the timing of open opportunities.

I'm not a Deal Executive. Is there any reason for me to contact Notch Partners?

Yes, it is useful to be part of our network of executives, as our clients do call upon us to do standard executive searches or to find executives to help on due diligence. Further, you may have the beginnings of a deal thesis (or even a specific acquisition target) that you would like to discuss with us, even if you feel your ideas are not yet developed enough to approach an investor. We would be more than happy to hear from you. Let us know if you have deal ideas to discuss or if you would just like to be a part of the Notch Network.

How does Notch add value?

We view identifying and introducing executives to the right private equity firms as just the first step, though it is often something which our clients are too busy to do for themselves. Our most significant value is imparted in two ways: working with executives to cultivate their deal ideas and angles on auction situations; and working with executives and our clients over the course of an executive relationship to ensure that maximum value is created by the relationship. We understand what private equity clients are looking for, and we help our executives deliver it. Over the course of the months following an introduction, we remain proactively involved, to keep promising relationships from falling through the cracks.

How many executives do you work with?

The Notch Network consists of over 3,000 CEO-level executives who have exceptional track records and are interested in creating meaningful and productive relationships with private equity firms. At any given time, Notch is actively engaged with 30+ executives who are currently working with one or more of our clients, and an additional 20-30 executives who are working to develop deal ideas to present to investor clients.

How do you source your executives?

We source our executives in several ways. Through extensive research, we regularly reach out to CEO's who are leaders in their industries and have a strong track record of earning returns to stakeholders, with a particular emphasis on executives with private equity backgrounds. We regularly address groups of executives, with the objective of educating them on how to make themselves valuable "Deal Executives" for our clients and meeting new executives who are already actively involved with deals. Finally, and most gratifyingly, we receive frequent inquiries from executives who are referred by individuals we have worked with in the past.

How does Notch work with its executives?

Working with Notch offers a different type of experience which many executives find compelling and refreshing. Rather than taking a passive backseat approach and waiting for the "ideal" position to materialize through a traditional job search, our executives work independently and with our private equity clients to create opportunities, through private equity deals and firms, which best suit their interests and capabilities. While the open-ended nature of the process may be unsettling to some, our executives take comfort in the fact that, Notch is continually involved to maintain a robust feedback loop and to ensure that no meaningful relationships get lost in the shuffle. To many of our executives, we have become trusted advisors and confidants.

What form do the relationships between investors and executives typically take?

There are a number of ways an operating executive can get involved with private equity firms and their portfolio companies. If there is sufficient common ground and mutual interest to engage, at the outset, a relationship can take the form of an "executive-in-residence" position (paid or unpaid). In some cases, our clients may offer an executive the CEO role in a newly created company with the mandate of making acquisitions in their industry. Some firms take on "Operating Partners" who can engage in a range of activities, including deal sourcing, thesis creation, deal evaluation and generally rounding out in-house financial perspectives with their operational expertise. In cases where there is real interest on the part of the client, but in which no formal role makes sense, Notch helps maintain an ongoing dialogue with the executive so that the client can quickly access the executive when the need arises.

How does Notch get paid?

We are paid by our private equity clients. Executives do not pay to be affiliated with Notch.