Recruiting for Private Equity & Venture Capital: Driving Growth Through Talent
September 17, 2025 – The demand for exceptional talent has never been greater in private equity and venture capital, where growth and innovation depend on the ability to build high-performing teams. As firms face rapid change and intense competition, scaling leadership and adopting forward-thinking talent strategies have become mission-critical priorities. For these organizations, finding and developing the right talent is essential to staying ahead in today’s dynamic market.
Hunt Scanlon Media is bringing together over 250 private equity and venture capital leaders, chief talent officers, CHROs, operating partners, dealmakers and executive recruiters at the Julia Morgan Ballroom at The Merchant’s Exchange in San Francisco on October 22, 2025. Join us as we explore the unique talent challenges of fast-paced, high-growth sectors and discover innovative strategies to unlock leadership potential, build scalable teams, and drive lasting success.
As private equity firms push for faster, more effective transformation, talent remains one of the most underleveraged levers for value creation. Chris Gagnon, former global leader of McKinsey’s organization practice, and Sandy Ogg, former head of talent at Blackstone and CHRO of Unilever and Motorola, now partners at CEO.works, will share new thinking on how to drive change through talent. In this engaging follow-up to their session at last year’s conference, they will examine why traditional transformation models often fail—and how to rethink execution through precise talent deployment. Attendees will be invited to explore how emerging technologies, including AI, are reshaping the pace and impact of transformation in today’s most demanding environments.
Building High-Performing Leadership Teams with Data-Driven Insights
Leadership is one of the most critical factors in investment success, yet many PE firms still rely on instinct over insight when making talent decisions. The most strategic investors are using data-driven personality assessments to understand how executives lead, make decisions, and work together—directly impacting portfolio performance. With the world’s largest database on personality and leadership, Hogan Assessments provides a science-backed approach to identifying strengths, risks, and team dynamics to optimize executive selection, alignment, and development. This session, which includes Hogan’s chief science officer Ryne Sherman, will explore how personality data can help PE firms mitigate risk, accelerate value creation, and drive stronger returns.
Related: How to Identify Leadership Potential in Private Equity Acquisitions
In private equity and venture capital, talent strategy is pivotal for driving growth and innovation. This session, moderated by DHR Global’s Keith Giarman, explores how talent officers and executive search professionals design and implement strategies tailored to the high-growth demands of PE and VC-backed companies. Discussions will focus on scaling teams, developing leadership pipelines, and aligning talent initiatives with investment objectives. Learn how leading firms address the challenges of leadership development, talent acquisition, and retention to foster innovation and ensure long-term success in a competitive landscape. The panel for this discussion includes: Matt Levy, partner at NU Advisory Partners; Joseph Blass, CEO of Ezekia; Victoria Tucker, managing director, portfolio operations at American Pacific Group; Karen Wolcott, senior director and head of HR at The Chernin Group; and Mitch Clay, talent director at Bessemer Venture Partners.
Scaling Executive Leadership Teams in High-Growth Sectors
In evolving and highly volatile markets, high-performing leadership teams have never been more critical. In this session, Rhys Hughes, executive talent partner at Google Ventures, will share stories of scale and explore strategies for building and managing teams in fast-paced industries like enterprise and consumer technology. Avetis Antaplyan, founder and CEO of HIRECLOUT, will moderate the discussion.
How AI Can Elevate Recruiter Impact and Decision Quality
In today’s talent market, portfolio companies are expected to scale quickly, operate leanly, and still make high-quality hiring decisions that fuel long-term success. But the old ways of recruiting can’t keep pace with these demands. AI is no longer just a buzzword—it’s a practical lever for increasing recruiter efficiency, surfacing stronger candidates, and creating repeatable, data-driven hiring processes across the portfolio.
A Private Equity Blueprint To Secure High-Impact Leaders
Private equity firms have started the year with a renewed focus on talent as a driver of value creation. In an increasingly competitive investment environment, securing the right leaders is more critical than ever. Leo Cummings, an associate at Hunt Scanlon Ventures, takes a closer look through the lens of industry experts at JM Search to examine the key talent trends shaping private equity.
In this session, Samir Joglekar, chief revenue officer at Greenhouse, and Nicole Hirsch, global head of recruiting at Lattice, will explore how VC and PE-backed companies can harness AI to elevate—not just automate—their hiring operations. Learn how to drive measurable improvements in recruiter productivity, candidate quality, and hiring velocity, while also reducing bias and risk. You’ll walk away with real-world examples, proven metrics, and actionable frameworks to help your portfolio companies hire smarter and scale faster.
The rules of the talent game have been shifting dramatically across the private equity and venture landscape. As firms compete for capital, they are also in a war for top leaders to execute on their strategies. Hiring transformational leadership is now more crucial than ever, particularly in a fast-paced, results-driven environment where returns have become harder to generate.
Related: Interim Executives in Demand for PE and VC Firms
Drawing on decades of experience with Ramsey/Beirne Associates, Benchmark Capital and now X10 Capital, David Beirne will examine the critical convergence of people and investments, resulting in the true impact that leaders have on value creation. Mr. Beirne will share some personal stories that have never been told as he delivers insights and perspectives to win in the increasingly competitive war for talent. Expect a candid look at how top investors are rethinking human capital. Todd Savage, managing director at Russell Reynolds Associates, will moderate the discussion.
Meeting the Challenges of a Competitive Market
Private equity and venture capital firms are navigating a rapidly evolving market where workforce challenges demand innovative solutions. This session examines how talent officers and executive search professionals are rethinking traditional approaches to address the complexities of attracting, developing, and retaining top talent. Discussions will center on building organizational resilience, adapting talent strategies to market shifts and AI, and fostering leadership that thrives in dynamic environments. Gain insight into how firms are reshaping their talent playbooks to stay competitive and drive sustained growth.
The discussion will be moderated by Alex Bates, CEO of HelloSky. The panel for this discussion includes: Renee Cronin, director, executive talent at Greylock; Avisha Mehra, VP of talent, talent partner at Khosla Ventures; Lauren Serota, chief people & culture officer with Brand Velocity Group; Jeremy Cohen, CEO of The Talent Studios; Zack Deming, managing director & practice leader at DSG Global.
Collaboration: Internal Alignment & External Partnerships
Building winning leadership teams in private equity and venture capital requires seamless collaboration across investors, founders, and operating executives. Blake Lindgren, VP, executive talent at Insight Partners, will explore best practices for aligning hiring decisions across key stakeholders, optimizing partnerships with search firms and talent providers, and resolving common misalignments that can slow growth. This session will provide actionable insights on how firms can create a more integrated approach to talent acquisition, ensuring leadership teams are positioned for long-term success.
To register for Hunt Scanlon Media’s upcoming conference please click here!
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
