For most of private equity’s modern history, executive compensation answered a single question: how do we keep this leadership team in place until we sell? Pay was built around a clean three to five year arc, with the bulk of the reward waiting at the finish line. That model assumed a predictable exit. Today, that assumption no longer holds.

Hold periods have stretched, capital markets have become more volatile, and sponsors are asking far more of the executives running their portfolio companies. As a result, the purpose of compensation has also changed to adapt. It is no longer a retention contract. It has become an engine for value creation, engineered to reward the specific behaviours that build a more valuable business: EBITDA quality, working capital discipline, pricing power, clean M&A integration, digital transformation, and exit readiness.. READ MORE