C-Suite Succession Planning for a Private Equity-Backed APAC Expansion

A private equity-backed offshore engineering and inspection company, with revenues of approximately USD 120 million and operations across 9 Asia-Pacific markets, was preparing for a significant regional expansion. The incumbent CEO was transitioning to a board advisory role, and the CFO position had been vacant for 5 months.

The Challenge

Both searches carried significant complexity. The CEO requirement demanded an executive with offshore energy sector depth, PE reporting experience, and the personal authority to lead a 900-person organisation across diverse APAC markets. The CFO requirement added M&A transaction experience to an already demanding financial leadership brief.

The PE sponsor had a clear timeline: both executives needed to be in role before a planned Series B close in Q1 2025. A delay in either search would jeopardise the capital raise timeline.

DSG's Approach

We ran both searches concurrently with dedicated consultants on each brief, sharing intelligence where candidate networks overlapped. For the CEO role, we extended search to include executives from adjacent sectors — major offshore contractors, subsea inspection companies, and energy services groups — broadening the effective talent pool from 40 to over 120 credible profiles.

"DSG's ability to run two C-suite searches simultaneously, with full transparency to our investment committee, was exceptional. Both hires were transformational." — Operating Partner, PE Sponsor

The Outcome

The CEO was appointed from a major APAC-headquartered offshore contractor — a candidate DSG had identified but who had not applied to any advertised roles. The CFO joined from a Big 4 transactions advisory background with prior CFO experience in an energy services company. Both were in role six weeks before the Series B close.