For many executives, becoming a CEO of a private equity-backed company offers a rare chance for both career acceleration and meaningful financial upside. For those considering the pivot, understanding how executives have made the most of the opportunity is critical. We interviewed two C-suite leaders, Ric Alvarez, CEO of Hans Kissle Foods, and Chris Hamilton, former President and CEO of Red Collar Pet Foods, whose experiences with successful exits reveal key insights into what is required to achieve this positive outcome, from thoughts on evaluating the opportunity to ensuring you have the right motivation, tips for effectively engaging with the board and private equity stakeholders, and more.
What was your motivation going into a private equity–backed business in the first place?
Ric Alvarez: “I understood from the beginning that my focus had to be on more than the promise of an eventual payoff. Just because I wanted to create wealth did not mean that it would happen – and that’s the wrong attitude. Personal wealth creation happens if all the shareholders and stakeholders achieve their goals. If they win, you win. But if it’s one-sided and they don’t, you’re not going to achieve it. You might not even last the whole period.”
Chris Hamilton: “While I was still at Mars, there was always this desire – because I come from a family of entrepreneurs – at some point, to have more ownership over the direction of a business. The corporations I’ve been a part of, the very large multinational corporations, have lots of hands and brains in decision-making, so compared to private equity, your ability to affect the business on a daily basis is dramatically different. So, going in, I was really seeking ownership.”
JM Perspective: For leaders thinking about going into a private equity-backed business, financial gain cannot be the only consideration. Leaders who succeed in these environments need to be excited by the opportunity to take greater ownership of a company’s direction, make faster and more meaningful business decisions, and create value for all stakeholders, recognizing that personal upside is ultimately tied to the overall success of the business, its investors, and its employees.
What were your key considerations when you were evaluating the opportunity?
RA: “I knew going in at J&K Ingredients that this was not going to be your typical three-, four-, five-year hold. [The business] was not in the food industry. You have to go in with an expectation of how many years you’re going to be in the position, get a feel for who the buyer is going to be. If it’s going to be another private equity buyer, they’re going to want to keep most of the senior leadership team on.”
CH: “In a way, I had been preparing for this for years. Even though we were the third largest division, we were always a little bit mavericks within the Mars organization. My team and I had always thought, ‘hey, you know what, if Mars ever decides to get rid of this business, it would be great to go with it.’ I heard through the grapevine that Mars might be selling the division, so I went to my boss and raised my hand to lead the project, knowing I would likely be going with the deal.”
JM Perspective: For executives evaluating a PE-backed opportunity, the role itself is critical to understand, but so is the investment timeline, the sponsor’s thesis, and what a future exit could mean for the business. Strong candidates tend to enter these situations with a realistic understanding of the hold period, the probable buyer landscape, and the level of commitment required, while also assessing whether they are personally aligned with the business and motivated to help lead it through a period of transformation and ownership change.
Which of your actions or decisions do you think most influenced the company’s eventual exit outcome?
RA: “I knew not to focus just on the financial results of a business. It’s also about the process. How the changes in systems will ensure replicability of results as the business continues to scale. You need to have a basic understanding of these systems, and that doesn’t happen by reading. You need to spend time on the floor. Still today, if I’m in town at the facility, I go to the floor two or three times a week. The people know me. You need to have a connection. I’m not going to tell them how to run the production plant – that’s not my job. My purpose is to achieve engagement.”
CH: “Our response to COVID set us apart from the competition. When COVID hit, we acted quickly. We put together a crisis team to ensure we had all the most current information and then briefed our plants twice a day. We also made a couple of critical decisions. First, we made sure that we had redundancy in our supply chain wherever we could. Second, we committed to making all our safety operating decisions based on the rules of the most restrictive municipality we were operating in.
When there was the huge run-up in dog ownership with people sheltering at home, we had supply when our competition didn’t. As a result, we picked up a bunch of new business from our competitors. Then, opportunity came knocking in early 2022 and said, ‘hey, we want to buy your business.’”
JM Perspective: Exit outcomes are shaped by a combination of operational leadership and financial performance. Leaders who create marketable value tend to focus on building scalable systems, maintaining strong engagement with frontline teams, and making disciplined operating decisions that strengthen resilience. In all cases, leadership agility is paramount, since companies that capitalize on strategic opportunities are more likely to edge out the competition.
How does the relationship between the CEO and the PE sponsor shape the path to exit?
CH: “A great private equity firm will have an opinion, but they really leave the decisions up to management. The reason that they hire subject matter experts or business leaders is because that’s what they need to be successful. If [private equity firms] could do it all themselves, they wouldn’t need us. If the business is doing well, they leave you alone. If it’s not, that’s when you will have more discussions.”
JM Perspective: CEO-sponsor relationships work best when there is clear alignment around accountability, trust, and decision-making authority. Private equity sponsors typically expect management teams to lead the business day to day, only stepping in more actively only when strategic adjustments are needed. As a result, executives should assess whether the sponsor’s operating style matches their own leadership approach and whether they are comfortable working in an environment where autonomy is earned through execution and results.
What advice would you give other executives evaluating a PE-backed opportunity to gauge whether it’s likely to deliver a successful exit?
RA: “Understand the whole time what’s in [the firm’s] mind. Get a feel for who the new buyer is going to be. Also, know when to walk away. Be thoughtful about opportunities where legacy ownership will retain meaningful control or operating influence over the business without clear governance.”
CH: “Use your assessment skills as a foremost business expert to assess whether the investment thesis they are selling you has a chance of succeeding. And if it does, how strong is that chance? And then you need to do your own personal risk assessment, because you’re never going to know everything. You can ask all the right questions, but ultimately, it’s going to be a leap of faith.”
JM Perspective: When evaluating a PE-backed opportunity, executives should carefully assess not only the investment thesis itself, but also the ownership structure, governance dynamics, and likely exit path. At the same time, executives need to recognize that no diligence process eliminates uncertainty entirely, making personal risk tolerance and conviction in the business fundamentals critical factors in deciding whether to move forward.
Achieving an exit in private equity-backed business isn’t driven by chasing a payout – it’s earned through disciplined leadership, aligned incentives, and clear-eyed decision-making. As CEOs Ric Alvarez and Chris Hamilton highlight, executives who excel in PE-backed environments prioritize building durable systems, staying close to the business, and acting decisively when it matters most. Equally critical is a deep understanding of the sponsor’s strategy, a strong working partnership, and a willingness to rigorously pressure-test the investment thesis before stepping in. The upside can be substantial, but it’s not guaranteed. Those who approach opportunities with realism and a readiness to navigate complexity are best positioned to convert potential into results.
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