The company that most needs an operator never gets one

A full-time operating partner is priced for a portfolio, not for one company. So the company that most needs one never gets one. Rent the seat instead: one company, month to month, for as long as the problem takes.

What does a full-time operating partner cost?

At the general partner level, full-time operating executives averaged $338K to $655K in base salary in 2023, depending on firm size, before bonus and carry. That's from Heidrick & Struggles' 2024 North American private equity operating professional compensation survey.

Why the math fails the one company that needs it

Look at the math from the sponsor's side. You can justify that number across a portfolio, because the person covers every company in it. What you cannot justify is that number for the one company that's behind, which is the only company that needs somebody in the building full time.

So the underperforming asset gets a fraction of an operator's attention, which is the exact opposite of what it needs, and everybody agrees this is unfortunate and does it anyway.

Rent the seat

The answer isn't complicated. Rent the seat instead of filling it. One company, month to month, for as long as the problem takes.

You're not buying a headcount. You're buying the months where somebody lives inside the thing that isn't working.