The end of
easy money.
The beginning
of talent.
The search firm built exclusively for PE finance. We find, assess, and place the leaders who drive value creation — not just fill the seat.
The game
changed
in 2022.
For a decade, Private Equity ran on cheap debt and multiple expansion. Talent was an afterthought. That era is over.
With the end of zero-interest-rate financing, the old playbook is obsolete. Returns are now driven by operational excellence — by the quality of the finance leader inside the portfolio company. By whether your CFO can build a value-creation engine, not just close the books.
And yet the way most PE firms hire senior finance leaders hasn't changed at all. Same closed networks. Same recycled shortlists. Same search firms presenting the same faces.
1 Percent was built to change that. Not by working harder within the existing model, but by replacing it entirely.
"The game changed. The hiring playbook didn't. That's the problem we exist to solve."
Your network
is not enough.
Most PE firms believe they can hire the right CFO through their own network. That confidence is understandable. It is also one of the primary reasons the mis-hire rate in PE finance is as high as it is.
"The cost of a wrong CFO hire is not measured in their salary. It is measured in delayed exits, reduced EBITDA multiples, and lost value creation."
The cost of a wrong hire
The right hire is not a cost. It is the highest-return decision a PE firm makes in the first 100 days.
Network Bias
You only see who you already know. The best candidate for this business, at this stage of the investment cycle, is rarely the first name that comes to mind — and rarely in your existing network.
Pedigree Bias
The right school. The right firm. The right title. Pedigree predicts performance in a corporate context. It does not reliably predict performance in the specific demands of a PE-backed environment.
Interview Bias
Unstructured conversations between smart people feel rigorous. They are not. Research consistently shows they have low predictive validity for senior leadership roles. PE partners are expert at assessing financial models — not leadership capability.
Confirmation Bias
Once a trusted contact makes an introduction, the bar for disconfirming evidence rises sharply. The social dynamics of the referral make objectivity harder, not easier — and the wrong hire harder to avoid.
A different kind
of search firm.
We are not a generalist recruiter with a PE practice. We are a specialist consultancy that operates exclusively in PE-backed businesses, placing senior finance leaders at CFO, FD, and VP Finance level.
Retained Only
We do not operate on contingency. Every engagement is fully retained, which means our entire focus is on your search — not on racing to fill a role for a fee. If we take on your search, we finish it.
Proprietary Talent Pool
Through the FCP PE programme, we maintain an exclusive, continuously assessed pipeline of PE-ready senior finance leaders. These candidates are not on job boards. They are not being presented by your current search firm.
Certified & De-Risked
Every candidate we present has been through structured assessment — psychometric profiling, scorecard evaluation, and peer review from PE-exited executives. You receive a dossier, not a CV.
Radical Transparency
Weekly structured updates. Honest assessments. We will tell you when your brief is wrong. We will tell you when the market doesn't match your expectations. We are advisors, not order-takers.
CFO Readiness Assessment
Not every search starts with a vacancy. Sometimes the question is whether the person already in the seat has what it takes. Our CFO Readiness Assessment gives PE firms a structured, independent view — psychometric profiling, a competency interview against PE-grade criteria, and a written recommendation — on whether to develop, support, or replace their incumbent finance leader.
At £12,500, the assessment costs less than a month of a misaligned CFO’s salary — and a fraction of the value destroyed when the wrong person is in the seat. The fee is credited in full against any subsequent search or development engagement.
Independent psychometric and competency assessment against PE-grade criteria. A written scorecard with a clear recommendation.
Where the recommendation is to develop, the incumbent is enrolled directly into FCP PE — our structured programme for finance leaders building PE-grade capability. The assessment fee is credited against enrolment.
At programme completion, we reassess. Either the incumbent has closed the gaps and the PE firm retains a now PE-grade CFO — or the case for replacement is backed by structured evidence. If it's replace, 1 Percent conducts the search.
Priced at a fixed fee of £12,500 + VAT. The assessment fee is credited in full against FCP PE enrolment (develop outcome) or against the search retainer (replace outcome) — whichever path follows.
Ready to discuss a search?
We take on a limited number of retained searches per quarter.
Six reasons PE firms
choose us over everyone else.
There are dozens of search firms who will tell you they specialise in PE. Very few can demonstrate it. Here is what makes 1 Percent structurally different — not just in positioning, but in practice.
We own the talent pipeline.
Through FCP PE, we maintain a continuously assessed, exclusive pool of PE-ready senior finance leaders. These are not candidates on job boards or in competitor databases. They are known to us, assessed by us, and available only through us. When you brief 1 Percent, you access talent your competitors cannot reach.
We present dossiers, not CVs.
Every candidate we present has been through psychometric profiling, structured competency assessment, and review by our advisory board of PE-exited executives. You receive a full scorecard with a clear recommendation — not a stack of CVs and a covering note. The decision-making burden on your team is dramatically reduced.
We are advisors, not order-takers.
Most search firms tell clients what they want to hear. We tell you what you need to hear. If your brief is wrong, we will say so. If the market doesn't match your expectations on salary or experience, we will tell you before you waste three months finding out. Our value is in the counsel, not just the candidate.
We are retained only. Always.
We do not operate on contingency. We take on a strictly limited number of searches per quarter. This means when 1 Percent is engaged on your search, it has our full attention — not a fraction of it. We finish what we start, with a 100% retained search success rate.
We understand PE from the inside.
Our advisory board includes PE-exited CEOs and CFOs who have lived the journey — buy-and-build, 100-day plans, exit preparation, value creation. We do not just understand the job description. We understand the environment the person is walking into, and we assess candidates against that reality, not against a generic competency framework.
We are PE finance. Nothing else.
1 Percent does not place marketing directors, operations managers, or technology leaders. We place senior finance leaders — CFO, FD, VP Finance — exclusively into PE-backed businesses. This is not a practice within a larger firm. It is the entire firm. That focus is what makes us the best at what we do.
Speed is not a compromise.
It is a signal.
The assumption that senior searches must be slow is wrong. A long, drawn-out process does not mean a thorough one — it means an unfocused one. When the brief is clear, the relationships are trusted, and all parties are committed, a PE-grade search can move at the pace the investment demands.
Group CFO placed in 28 days from engagement to delivery. Seven structured stages including psychometric assessment.
Five candidates presented. All five taken forward by the client. Three reached second stage. Two were appointable. 100% alignment across all parties from day one.
The preconception that senior searches must be long to be rigorous is one of the most expensive assumptions in PE. Time kills deals. Momentum builds them.
Strategic Brief
Day 1We immerse in your investment thesis, the portfolio company's stage, and the specific demands of the role. We challenge the brief where necessary — a wrong brief produces a wrong shortlist.
Proprietary Search
Days 2–10We search our exclusive FCP PE pipeline first, then conduct a targeted market search. We do not post job adverts. Every candidate is approached directly, confidentially, and with a clear understanding of the role.
Shortlist Presented
Days 10–18Shortlisted candidates undergo psychometric profiling and structured competency assessment. You receive a full dossier — not a CV — with a clear recommendation on fit. Our fastest search: five candidates presented, all five taken forward.
Appointment Made
Days 18–30+We manage the process, the offer, and the first 90 days. The pace is determined by alignment, not convention. When all parties are committed and the process is clear, speed is a feature, not a risk.
FCP PE.
The programme
that changes
everything.
Application only. Strictly limited places.
Apply for FCP PEThe Finance Career Programme PE is an exclusive, application-only community for senior finance leaders who are serious about securing roles in PE-backed businesses.
This is not a coaching programme. It is a structured, rigorous pathway — built on 18 years of executive search intelligence — that prepares you for the specific demands of PE finance leadership and connects you directly to the opportunities that never reach the open market.
PE-Exited Mentors
Learn from executives who have lived the PE journey — CFOs and CEOs who have successfully navigated buy-and-build, exit preparation, and value creation in portfolio companies.
Psychometric Assessment
Every member undergoes a comprehensive psychometric assessment and receives a full scorecard — the same assessment we present to PE clients. You know exactly where you stand.
Exclusive Access
FCP PE members are the first to be considered for every retained search we conduct. 87% of the roles we fill never reach the open market. Your access to them starts here.
The Badge of Excellence
FCP PE certification signals to the market that you have been assessed, trained, and endorsed by the search firm built exclusively for PE finance. It is a mark that matters.
Senior people.
Every time.
At 1 Percent, the person who takes your brief runs your search — supported by an advisory board of PE-exited executives who have lived the journey from both sides of the table. No handoffs. No junior teams. No researchers presenting candidates they have never met.
Lawrence Pammen
Founder & Managing Partner
Two decades placing senior finance leaders into PE-backed businesses across the UK, Europe, and the US. The relationships on both sides of this market — with PE partners, operating partners, and the finance leaders who run their portfolio companies — have been built over hundreds of searches, not assembled for a pitch. That depth of trust is what makes the 1 Percent model work: clients who know us do not need to be convinced, and candidates who have worked with us refer others without being asked.
Mark Mason-Gallie
Senior Advisor · PE-Exited CEO
A highly experienced CEO with a track record of leading PE-backed businesses through growth, transformation, and successful exit. Mark brings the perspective of someone who has sat on both sides of the table — as a leader being hired into a PE environment, and as an executive who has built and exited businesses with PE backing. His insight into what great finance leadership actually looks like in practice is central to the 1 Percent assessment model.
Two conversations.
One standard.
Whether you are a PE firm with a critical finance hire, or a senior finance leader ready to access the opportunities that never reach the open market — the conversation starts here.