The First 100 Days in a PE-Backed Company: What Leaders Get Right (and Wrong)
Why the First 100 Days Matter More in PE
In private equity, the clock starts at close. Sponsors need clarity, teams need direction, and the board needs line-of-sight to value creation. The best leaders treat Day 1–100 not as “ramp time,” but as a credibility sprint: establish the agenda, show early signal, and prove you can operate with speed and judgment.
Step 1: Draft and Share a 90-Day Agreement
The strongest CEOs don’t just talk about alignment—they codify it in a one-page agreement with the sponsor/board. It’s not a legal contract, but it is binding in expectation.
What goes in it
Top 3–5 priorities tied to the investment thesis.
Critical decisions expected in the first quarter (e.g., leadership changes, capital allocation, pricing resets).
Quick wins that will demonstrate traction.
6–8 baseline metrics the board and management agree matter most.
Update cadence (weekly calls, biweekly reports, monthly reviews).
Decision rights — what the CEO owns vs. consults vs. escalates.
Example: 90-Day Agreement (One-Page Template)
Company: [Portfolio Company Name]
CEO: [Executive Name]
Sponsor: [PE Firm/Lead Partner]
Top 3 Priorities (Day 1–100)
[e.g., Stabilize supply chain throughput by +15%]
[e.g., Launch pricing reset on top 20 accounts]
[e.g., Upgrade CFO seat]
Critical Decisions
[Facility consolidation yes/no]
[Product line exit decision]
Quick Wins
Install weekly production huddles
Renegotiate top 5 supplier contracts
Cut DSO by 10 days
Baseline Metrics (tracked weekly)
Gross margin by product line
On-time delivery %
Cash conversion cycle
Sales cycle length
Cadence of Updates
Monday dashboard email (6–8 KPIs)
Friday 30-minute sponsor call
Monthly deep dive board pre-read
Decision Rights
CEO decides: [operational/people up to $X spend]
CEO consults: [pricing changes >10%, capex >$500K]
Board decides: [M&A, facility closures, capital structure]
Specific example
At a $120M multi-site services company, the CEO’s 90-Day Agreement listed “route density” and “tech utilization” as top levers. By Week 8, re-sequencing routes improved gross margin by 240 bps—because priorities and metrics were crystal clear and tracked in real time.
Step 2: Build Momentum with Quick Wins (Weeks 3–6)
Your goals: demonstrate traction and judgment while you stand up deeper changes.
Quick wins that signal control
Cash discipline: tighten billing cycle, reduce DSO, clean up inventory.
Pricing hygiene: eliminate orphan discounts, enforce approvals.
Customer focus: personally rescue top 5 at-risk accounts.
Org clarity: fix obvious role overlaps that slow decisions.
Example
In a healthcare roll-up, a new COO found each clinic used different supply vendors. A 30-day standardized formulary reduced supply costs by 8% and cut stock-outs to near zero. That small win built credibility for a larger EMR integration that followed.
Guardrails
Don’t “create” wins by deferring CapEx you’ll need in a quarter.
Share credit widely; let the team see early victories as their wins.
Step 3: Make the Hard Calls (Weeks 6–10)
By now you’ve gathered data and earned some trust. It’s time to turn insight into structural change.
Where decisions usually land
People: upgrade 1–2 key seats (often Sales, Finance, Ops). Call Thrive :)
Portfolio/Products: cut unprofitable SKUs, re-price low-value contracts.
Operating rhythm: stand up a weekly exec review and monthly strategy review.
Tech/data: decide whether to modernize systems or build reporting layers while you operate.
Example
At a specialty manufacturer, the CEO discovered 18% of SKUs drove negative contribution margin. Cutting the bottom quartile and re-pricing the next quartile increased plant throughput by 12% and freed working capital - without losing Tier 1 customers.
Step 4: Codify the Operating Model (Weeks 10–14)
By the end of 100 days, you should have an operating model that doesn’t rely on heroics.
Checklist
Dashboard: 6–8 KPIs with owners and targets, published weekly.
Cadence: weekly exec meetings, monthly board pre-read, quarterly talent review.
Decision rules: clear thresholds for who decides what.
Talent plan: succession for top team; recruiting plan for next 3 hires.
Change story: a simple narrative everyone can repeat: “We win by X. Our 3 priorities are A, B, and C.”
Example
An enterprise SaaS CFO introduced a “Monday 9s” dashboard (nine KPIs, nine minutes). Time saved in meetings forced issues into owner-driven workstreams and shortened the quote-to-cash cycle by 17 days in one quarter.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Over-indexing on cost when growth levers matter more.
Culture mismatch—moving too slow, or too blunt.
Boiling the ocean—too many initiatives without sequencing.
A Simple 100-Day Calendar
Mondays: KPI cascade + blockers; confirm decisions needed this week.
Wednesdays: 1:1s with functional heads; customer call block.
Fridays: Sponsor update email: progress, risks, next week’s focus (5 bullets).
Every 2 weeks: Floor walk or ride-along to keep ground truth.
Day 100: Present the operating model and next-two-quarters roadmap.
Closing Thought
Your first 100 days are about signal: that you understand the value thesis, can mobilize the team, and will surface risk early. The 90-Day Agreement is your contract of trust—it proves you and your sponsor are on the same page and sets the stage for value creation that compounds.