Capital is easy to find. Operators are not.
Zurich holds a great deal of capital. The people who can run what it buys are harder to come by.
Where investment firms run short
Family offices, funds and holdings share the same gaps:
Diligence without an operator's view
The model is checked and the management is taken on trust.
A holding with no chief executive
Several businesses owned, and nobody running the centre.
Seats outnumber directors
Each holding needs a board, and the same few people sit on all of them.
A company in trouble at short notice
The call comes late and a replacement takes months to find.
For diligence, a portfolio role or an independent board seat, we match an operator from our collective of 800+ to the company and the moment. The agreement is company to company and ends on our standard notice.
Who this is for, and who it is not
Best for
- Adding operational value to investees without taking on management risk
- Giving founders a vetted operator you can refer with confidence
- Supporting several portfolio companies from one standing relationship
- Professionalising an investee while respecting its existing culture
- Staying in your governance role while the engagement is run for you
Not for
- Installing a controlling manager to run the company for you
- A single one-off introduction with no ongoing oversight
- Investors who want to direct day-to-day operations themselves
- A freelancer directory rather than a managed engagement
The operator, and what surrounds them
A family office or fund needs to trust the seat it fills. We keep the brief and the oversight in place for as long as the operator is there.
Oversight alongside yours
We report alongside the executive to whoever holds the investment, and name a gap against the plan as soon as we see one.
Breadth for a holding
When a holding company's problem crosses finance, operations and people, the operator can call on colleagues across our collective of 800+.
Replacement without a restart
No one is kept idle in reserve for you. We keep the brief current, so if the operator moves on the next search starts with full context.
Fit with the owners
We match on the holding's aims, its time horizon and the managers already there. An operator they will not follow cannot deliver.
The partnership model
One relationship. Portfolio-wide coverage.
Establish the standing relationship
We understand your investment thesis, your portfolio, and the types of leadership gaps most common across your investments.
You introduce us when needed
When a portfolio company needs operational leadership, you make the introduction. We handle everything else.
The right operator, fast
Discovery, matching, scoping, engagement management, and ongoing oversight, without you managing or coordinating it.
Visibility without burden
Lightweight reporting to you, not operational detail, but confidence that the engagement is performing. Investor-grade oversight without investor-level involvement.
Support by investor type
Different investors carry different portfolio needs. We match the operator to the need and manage the engagement, so it never lands back on you.
The operators we embed in your portfolio companies
Every operator is matched to the portfolio company's stage, sector and challenge.
Our executives have worked across
