True Establishes Dedicated Private Credit Practice
October 29, 2026 – Global executive talent platform True has launched a dedicated private credit practice, led by Rick Bank, managing director and head of the private credit and private equity practices. The launch comes as private credit enters a significant credit cycle, with 67 percent of portfolio managers citing greater competition and 64 percent citing defaults and credit losses as factors affecting performance in 2026, according to PwC’s Global Private Credit Survey 2026. Credit-based asset manager portfolios often encompass more than 100 companies, creating executive talent requirements across highly differentiated ownership structures and stages of development and performance, including the need for restructuring, according to True.
By the time a lender becomes an owner, the need to transition the asset’s leadership may include legal requirements to do so in 60 days or less, putting inordinate pressure on the investors to stabilize the company while determining the right long-term executives. True’s private credit practice formalizes the work that Mr. Bank and his team have been doing with credit-based asset managers to address immediate leadership gaps while identifying permanent executives who can operate within the specific demands of the business.
“Private credit mandates require a different level of market intelligence and assessment,” said Sam McGrath, global GM, True Search. “Our ability to combine executive search with data-driven market mapping, executive assessment and TrueBridge gives clients a broader view of the talent market and the flexibility to address an immediate leadership gap while evaluating the long-term appointment. That combination gives clients a way to stabilize the business quickly while making a more informed permanent decision against the operating demands of the company.”
“Private credit creates a very different talent question from traditional private equity,” said Mr. Bank. “The decision often has to account for where the business is today, what the lender is trying to accomplish and what kind of executive can operate effectively within those conditions. That can mean solving for immediate stability while also identifying someone who can take the company through its next phase.”
The practice supports investors across CEO, CFO, COO, CHRO and board appointments, as well as investment and operational roles on the fund side. The practice also aligns closely with TrueBridge, the firm’s interim and fractional executive talent platform, to provide the flexibility to address an immediate transition, as True Search builds the permanent leadership team.
True recently applied this model to an asset undergoing restructuring on a compressed timeline to confidentially appoint a CEO. TrueBridge identified an interim CEO candidate in 15 days, enabling True Search to begin the permanent search in a non-confidential manner. By day 35, the interim CEO received a permanent offer from the board, and True Search pivoted the permanent CEO search to a successful independent director board search, and subsequently placed the new CTO.
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“What sets Rick and True apart is not just what they deliver, but how they operate,” said Michael Bevacqua, Bain Capital Special Situations and head of restructuring. “The speed is real. The quality is uncompromising. Every candidate that came to us was fully assessed, vetted, and back-channeled. No shortcuts, no filler. They understood what we needed, moved with urgency, and held a high bar throughout. That is an invaluable partnership in our industry. When the stakes are high and the timeline is tight, you want a firm that treats your outcome like their own. That is True.”
For clients, the combination of True Search and TrueBridge provides executive leadership continuity while the permanent appointment is identified. Their collective work incorporates market mapping, executive assessment and backchannel diligence to evaluate candidates against the operating demands of the company, giving investors a clearer view of available talent and what the role demands.
Proven Search Consultant
For more than 20 years, Mr. Bank has advised clients across a wide variety of industries, with a particular focus on transformational technology-enabled businesses, and has led more than 700 executive search engagements at the board, CxO and executive level. Over the course of his career, he has partnered with founders, investors, boards and CEOs to help design organizations and build leadership teams that drive high growth, profitable, and transformative scale, returning strong MOIC to stakeholders.
Working in both the private and public sectors, True has offices throughout the U.S. as well as the EMEA and APAC regions. Since the late 1990s, the firm’s founders have refined their search process with a blend of data-centric insights, relationship-building, and experience to produce a methodology that consistently improves hiring decisions and accelerates growth. The firm’s clients include Jet, Work Front, and Summit Partners.
True Search is a subsidiary of True Platform, a global portfolio of human capital services and products for high-growth tech and tech-enabled organizations. True recently placed No. 6 on the Hunt Scanlon Media “Top 50 Recruiters” ranking.
Related: True Launches Boutique Search Practice for Venture-Backed Companies
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
