Leveraging our experience working with over a hundred private equity firms, Notch assists its clients in developing and executing formalized executive programs that are suited to each firm’s unique approach to investing. While most private equity firms recognize the value of creative networking, many find it difficult to devote the time attention needed to turn executive relationships into proprietary deals, deal angles and auction insight – and to keep these relationships alive between active deal situations.

For established programs, Notch helps execute the program’s goals and keep it on track. Ongoing assistance can take the form of identifying and screening executives, working with executives to develop ideas within the framework of the program, developing communications programs and maintaining productive feedback between executives and clients.

For clients with an “ad hoc” approach to executive relationship building, Notch enables these firms to scale up their proactive efforts without distracting from day-to-day investment and portfolio activities, laying the groundwork for productive, long-term relationships with qualified executives. Creatively leveraging these relationships can provide a very powerful competitive advantage in pre- and post-deal situations.

For all clients, whether or not they are interested in developing a formal program, Notch can serve as a “virtual bench” of talent. In addition to the thousands of CEOs in Notch’s network, the Notch Partners Private Equity CEO Council is a group of highly-successful, backable executives whom we have screened for outstanding career achievements and strong interest in private equity. The Council is a resource at-the-ready for all Notch clients.

Recognizing that every buyout firm cultivates executives in different ways and with varying degrees of intensity, the professionals at Notch have developed a set of best practices that can be customized to each client. We believe that with an appropriate amount of process and structure, private equity firms can derive an immense amount of value with disproportionately low investment of time and effort. Program elements that Notch can help to address include, but are not limited to: