For years, private equity hiring has followed a fairly predictable formula: if you wanted a senior finance role in a PE-backed business, you were expected to have done it before. Particularly at leadership level, prior private equity experience has long been viewed as non-negotiable.

But more recently, we’re seeing private equity firms become far more open-minded in how they approach senior hiring, especially within tax and treasury.

Drawing on recent senior appointments and ongoing conversations across her network, Lorna Blair, Partner in our Tax & Treasury Practice, explores why PE-backed businesses are becoming increasingly open to tax and treasury leaders without prior private equity experience.

From Lorna’s perspective, the shift reflects both the shortage of experienced PE treasury talent and the increasing importance of treasury itself within the value creation agenda.

That wider shift is also reflected across the market. PwC’s 2025 Global Treasury Survey described treasury as becoming “a more strategic, innovative and data-driven partner that is critical to enterprise value creation” as businesses navigate continued volatility, refinancing pressure and tighter liquidity management. It is a trend that is increasingly influencing hiring decisions within PE-backed businesses.

A limited talent pool is reshaping treasury hiring in private equity

One of the biggest challenges remains the size of the talent pool itself. Senior treasury talent within private equity is still relatively limited and, in many areas, the market simply has not matured enough to keep pace with demand.

That challenge is not unique to private equity. Recent reporting from Treasury Today highlighted limited movement at the senior end of the treasury market throughout 2025, particularly across international treasury leadership roles. With such a constrained talent pool, many PE-backed businesses are recognising that insisting on prior PE experience alone can unnecessarily narrow access to high-calibre talent.

As a result, hiring criteria are becoming more nuanced.

Rather than focusing purely on whether someone has worked in a PE-backed business before, firms are increasingly prioritising commercial judgement, operational agility, credibility with boards and lenders, and the ability to manage complexity under pressure.

Ironically, many of those capabilities are highly developed in leaders coming from large listed organisations. “Coming from a large, listed environment, you develop a rigour around governance, risk management and lender relationships that becomes second nature. What’s exciting about bringing that into a fast-growing platform is that those disciplines aren’t constraints – they’re accelerators. The business needed someone who could stand up a full treasury function from scratch, but with the credibility and frameworks that institutional lenders expect. That combination of corporate discipline and entrepreneurial pace is where the real value sits.” Princy Royce, Head of Treasury at Pure Data Centres backed by Oaktree Capital Management.

Why listed-company leaders are increasingly succeeding in PE environments

Historically, there has often been a perception that executives from listed businesses may struggle to adapt to the pace or intensity of private equity. PE environments are leaner, faster-moving and far more cash-focused. Treasury leaders are expected to move quickly between strategy and detail; presenting to boards one moment, then getting deep into liquidity, funding or operational performance the next.

But increasingly, candidates from larger corporates are proving they can make that transition successfully.

In many cases, these leaders bring exactly what growing PE-backed businesses need most: structure, governance and operational maturity. As portfolio companies scale, refinance, acquire, divest or prepare for exit, those qualities become increasingly valuable.

Leaders coming from larger organisations often arrive with best-in-class governance, controls and processes already embedded into the way they operate. For PE-backed businesses looking to professionalise quickly, that experience can be hugely impactful.

That combination of corporate rigour and entrepreneurial agility is increasingly valued within PE-backed businesses. As Princy Royce, Head of Treasury at Pure Data Centres (backed by Oaktree Capital Management), explains: “Coming from a large, listed environment, you develop a rigour around governance, risk management and lender relationships that becomes second nature. What’s exciting about bringing that into a fast-growing platform is that those disciplines aren’t constraints – they’re accelerators. The business needed someone who could stand up a full treasury function from scratch, but with the credibility and frameworks that institutional lenders expect. That combination of corporate discipline and entrepreneurial pace is where the real value sits.”

The trend is already visible across the market.

Recent placements led by Lorna have included senior treasury leadership appointments into PE-backed businesses supported by investors including Bain, EQT, Ardian and Oaktree Capital Management, with many of those hires coming from larger corporate environments rather than traditional PE portfolios.

What is particularly interesting is that sector experience is also becoming less rigid.

Strong treasury leaders are increasingly viewed as commercially transferable operators rather than sector specialists. Moves between industries that may once have seemed unlikely are becoming more common, provided candidates can demonstrate adaptability, pace and strong financial leadership capability.

Treasury has become a strategic lever for value creation in private equity

This broader shift also reflects the growing strategic importance of treasury within private equity itself.

Cash management, liquidity, debt oversight and capital efficiency have become central to how PE firms create value. The Association of Corporate Treasurers has also highlighted that private equity firms are expected to continue investing heavily in treasury capability across portfolio companies into 2026, particularly as refinancing activity, operational cash management and financial resilience remain firmly under scrutiny.

In that environment, the Head of Treasury has become one of the most important roles within the finance leadership team, often acting as a critical adviser and operational counterpart to the CFO.

As a result, hiring decisions are becoming more pragmatic.

For many PE-backed businesses, insisting on prior PE experience alone now feels unnecessarily restrictive, particularly when there is a relatively small pool of proven talent available. Instead, firms are recognising that high-calibre leaders from listed businesses can often accelerate maturity, strengthen controls and bring valuable external perspective into the organisation.

For tax and treasury professionals, that creates a significant opportunity.

And for CFOs and investors, it signals a broader evolution in how finance leadership is being assessed: less about where someone has worked before, and more about whether they can operate effectively in the environment the business is moving into next.

To discuss senior tax and treasury hiring trends, leadership opportunities or talent strategy across the UK and international markets, please do get in touch with Lorna.