Effective private markets executive search calls for an understanding of the operational and cultural differences between public and private markets teams.
As the asset class has expanded, competition for senior talent has intensified. Over the past decade, Godliman Partners has helped our public markets clients build out private markets divisions, and we also work with specialist private markets boutiques as they expand into the EMEA region.
With a 100% closure rate of our assignments since 2019 and over 79% of our candidates placed since 2013 still with the same company, our long-term retention records speak to our commitment to lasting impact.
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closure rate of our assignments since 2019
Effective private markets executive search calls for an understanding of the operational and cultural differences between public and private markets teams.
Public markets tend to place a premium on team stability, process consistency and long-term track record. By contrast, private markets are inherently deal-driven, operating through successive fund cycles in which capital is raised, deployed and held over multi-year periods, creating intense phases of activity followed by long investment horizons.
The search process must therefore identify candidates who can operate with pace, who are often individualistic and transactional by nature, while still aligning with the governance and expectations of the hiring firm, ensuring cultural fit is as robust as technical capability.
Godliman Partners appoints senior private markets investors, including Originators, Structurers, and Portfolio Managers across private debt, infrastructure debt and equity, and real estate debt and equity.
Drawing on decades of experience in senior-level asset management and private markets recruitment, our assessment focuses on the behaviours that matter most, including:
Commercial judgement and the ability to evaluate opportunities and risks
Relationship-building and the ability to negotiate, influence, and collaborate effectively
Investment ownership and risk mitigation, reflected in disciplined execution and monitoring
Many asset management firms feel that capital raising for private markets strategies is inherently different from public markets sales and distribution. In private markets fundraising the products, investor audience, and fund cycle are entirely distinct: capital is raised episodically from a narrower, more specialised set of LPs with long-dated fund structures and incentive models that shape a very different approach to engagement and talent.
This has increasingly led to the creation of dedicated alternatives sales ‘verticals’, which supplement the traditional public market structures of regional and channel-focused teams. Two models have emerged:
The product specialist model is often the path of least resistance, and offers the greatest efficiency. In this model, firms maintain their existing regional coverage (UK, DACH, Nordics, S. Europe, etc.). Generalists own the client relationships, providing key client focus, while product specialists supplement meetings with technical depth on Alternatives.
A dedicated Alternatives or Private Markets sales team is common, as the business is built around a specific product set. In this model firms build specialist teams covering specific strategies (e.g. private credit, real estate, infra), which are run in parallel to regional or channel sales coverage.
Godliman’s experience of hiring across both public and private markets distribution allows us to advise clients objectively on the strengths and limitations of each model, and to connect them with the leading product specialists and capital raisers across EMEA.
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Many high-performing private markets professionals are tied in by long-term carry remuneration structures. Reaching them relies on access, informed judgment, and understanding the conditions and timing that might allow senior investors to make a move.
A credible, discreet approach that builds trust with senior operators over the medium term is essential. This reflects the relationship-driven nature of the private markets industry, where trust and professional reputation determine whether conversations even begin.
We have worked with Godliman Partners for 18 years and they have provided us with a first-rate executive search service.
Through our Best-Fit Search™ process, supported by tools such as our personality profiling and aptitude testing, we pair rigorous research with behavioural and cultural insight. This delivers hires with success and longevity well above industry standards.
Our focus is on engaging candidates discreetly and constructively, ensuring alignment with both culture and strategic intent. This produces short lists grounded in both quantitative and qualitative assessment, not just a paper track record.
Our Values & EthosDetailed market mapping of origination, investing and capital raising teams
Direct access to passive candidates through trusted private-markets networks
Qualitative research to surface individuals with long-standing networks and proven deal-making ability
Assessment of leadership behaviour, cultural alignment, and motivation, to support confident hiring decisions
Godliman Partners has built a trusted reputation in Alternatives recruitment, spanning Private Markets and Real Assets executive search. Our work spans appointments that shape early strategy, sharpen organisations’ direction, and support firms as they move through key phases of growth.
Firstly, we understand the demands of specific asset classes and the distinct talent required to support different investment strategies.
Secondly, we place senior individuals who strengthen investment capability and bring focus and discipline to capital raising and capital deployment.
We have a long track record of supporting private credit, real estate, and infrastructure teams through keystone leadership appointments and subsequent team build-outs. We work across the full market to identify leaders with the strategic vision and relationships to add value from the outset.
A five person Real Estate Investment team build out for an asset owner.
Building a five person Private Debt team to establish new European capability.
We support clients with senior hires and longer-term talent planning across the EMEA region, often partnering with them through successive mandates as their organisations evolve. These engagements frequently involve appointing leaders who bring clarity, strengthen organisational discipline, and help firms progress through key stages of development.
Our experience reflects the varied nature of private markets, and our ability to match firms with senior talent who can contribute effectively within their specific environment.
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In one recent assignment, we enabled a team build-out that contributed to a fourfold increase in assets under management over eight years
What asset classes are covered by alternatives recruiting firms?
Alternatives recruiting firms typically cover all non-traditional asset classes outside public equities and fixed income. This includes private equity, private credit, infrastructure, real estate, hedge funds, commodities, real assets, secondaries, speciality credit and other differentiated or illiquid strategies. Some firms focus on a subset, while others span the full alternatives landscape depending on client needs. Godliman Partners works with investors active across the private credit,. infrastructure and real estate areas, identifying senior executives who can guide early and high-growth businesses through key stages of development.
What is the difference between Private Markets and Real Assets investing?
Private Markets investing covers illiquid, privately negotiated investments such as private equity, private credit, infrastructure and real estate. Real Assets is a subset focused specifically on tangible, cash-flow generating assets like infrastructure, property, energy and transport, where investment and operational considerations are closely linked.
What is Real Assets Recruitment?
Real Assets recruitment focuses on hiring professionals who invest in and manage tangible assets such as infrastructure, real estate, energy, and transportation. Success in this area depends not only on financial analysis but also on understanding asset operations, regulation, and long term project delivery.
Unlike private markets strategies centred on company ownership or financing, Real Assets roles demand a blend of investment judgement, operational insight and sustained stakeholder management.
Identifying the right leaders requires an appreciation of how these investment and operational demands come together. Effective hiring depends on finding individuals whose technical capability and working style align with the distinctive rhythm and responsibilities of Real Assets investing.
What is Alternatives Recruitment?
Alternatives Recruitment refers to hiring talent for all non-traditional asset strategies, comprising anything outside the classic public equities and fixed income space. That includes private markets (private equity, private credit, infrastructure, real estate, etc.), but also hedge funds, Real Assets, commodities, real estate investment trusts, speciality credit, and other less conventional strategies.
By contrast, Private Markets is a subset of this, focused specifically on the illiquid, privately negotiated asset classes (private equity, private credit, infrastructure, Real Assets) rather than liquid-market alternatives such as hedge funds or commodity strategies.
Identifying the right leaders in alternatives requires an understanding of how each strategy operates, from the fast-paced and ‘hunter’ model culture of hedge funds to the operational and structuring demands of private credit, Real Assets and infrastructure.
Effective hiring depends on recognising these differences and matching firms with individuals whose technical depth and behavioural fit align with the distinct rhythm and expectations of each alternative asset class.
If you are planning a senior appointment or considering future leadership needs across private equity or venture capital, contact our team today.
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