CEO
Interim CEO, converted to permanent
Consumer hair and scalp care brand
Interim executives and operators for private equity
The right operator, in the seat, this week.
I'm Ro Assal. PE sponsors call me when a seat opens, a plan stalls, or a deal closes without the team to run it. I put proven operators in place, fast, matched to the value creation plan.
<5 days
to place an interim executive or operator in the seat
~8 years
supporting PE portfolio operations and deal teams
50+
PE firms who trust me to serve talent needs across their portfolios
20+ years
of experience as a management consultant, business operator, and a Chicago Booth MBA
01 · About
An operator who places operators.
I started in strategy and operations at Accenture, then built and ran my own consumer brand. That's where I learned what it means to own a number, and how few people can walk into a business and move it fast.
For the past eight years, I've built interim and operator practices for private equity, working alongside portfolio operations and deal teams at dozens of firms. That gives me a view across portfolios of what actually works in the seat, and who has done it before.
I don't run résumé searches. I bring a business lens: I start from the value creation plan, vet for the top 5% who have already delivered that outcome, and put only my top 2 to 3 candidates in front of you.
Own a seat
Interim Executives
A CEO, GM, CFO, COO, CRO or CMO who steps into an open or failing seat, stabilizes it, and runs it until the permanent leader lands, or becomes that leader.
Own an outcome
Operators
A seasoned operator who takes one value creation initiative from plan to result: an integration, a pricing reset, a cost program, a commercial rebuild.
02 · Why interim
What sponsors get from the model.
Speed to seat
A proven operator in place in days, not the months a permanent search takes.
Embedded in your team
Not an outside advisor. They sit in the seat, run the function and own the result alongside management.
Try before you buy
Prove the profile in the seat before committing to a permanent hire, with the option to convert.
Expertise on demand
Bring in reps your team doesn't have: carve-outs, integrations, finance transformations, turnarounds.
Surge capacity
Extra hands for a stretched portfolio operations team, without adding permanent headcount.
A one-time cost, not a fixed one
No long-term commitment, and typically treated as a non-recurring EBITDA adjustment rather than ongoing overhead.
03 · Sample placements
Interim seats, operator engagements and deal advisory. Names withheld.
Interim leadership
Speed to seat
Finance
Interim CFO
PE-backed industrial company
Finance
Interim CFO, converted to permanent
PE-backed B2B data and analytics company
Finance
Interim SVP of FP&A and Treasury
PE-backed technology services company
Finance
Interim Controller, converted to permanent
PE-backed SaaS company
Finance
Interim Head of FP&A
PE-backed building products manufacturer
Commercial
Interim CMO, converted to permanent
PE-backed specialty food company
Commercial
Interim Head of Revenue Analytics
PE-backed K-12 EdTech company
HR
Interim CHRO
PE-backed fraud prevention software carve-out
Operators and consultants
Execution ownership
Transformation
Digital Transformation Lead
PE-backed data and analytics company
Commercial
GTM Transformation Lead
PE-backed specialty chemicals company
PMI
M&A Deal Support and Post-Merger Integration
PE-backed healthcare communications software company
PMI
M&A Integrations Lead
Multi-site healthcare services platform built through acquisitions
Operations
Inventory Optimization
PE-backed LED lighting manufacturer
Commercial
Pricing Transformation Lead
Global life sciences instruments company
Finance
Office of the CFO, Finance Transformation
PE-backed federal services company
Commercial
New Market Entry Consultant
PE-backed life sciences services company
Analytics
Data and Analytics Lead
PE-backed multi-brand restaurant franchisor
Diligence and advisory
Before and after the deal
Diligence
Diligence Advisor, US HR and PEO
Pre-deal diligence for a PE firm
Diligence
Commercial Due Diligence Advisor
Investor-backed specialty pharmaceuticals company
Diligence to board
Diligence Advisor, converted to Board Director
Advised a PE firm on a land mobile radio acquisition, then joined the PE-backed company's board
“Some of the best operators now choose interim as a career, and the smartest PE firms have noticed. They use interim as a deliberate tool, not a stopgap: proven talent in the seat within a week, no fixed cost, and an add-back at exit.”
Ro Assal
In their words
“She’s a true professional. Ro is organized, efficient and a great communicator. She brings significant value and expertise to PEs, and is highly organized and helpful with the consultants she hires.”
04 · Perspective
What I'm seeing across portfolios.
The CFO seat
This isn't a CFO shortage. It's a structural leadership gap.
The PE CFO now owns AI adoption, EBITDA growth, M&A and sponsor pressure at once. The pipeline producing people who can do all of it isn't keeping pace.
Read on LinkedIn
Operating partners
One firm's Operating Partner is another firm's Thursday call.
Every PE firm calls itself operationally oriented. The trap is when the internal bench becomes the answer regardless of the problem.
Read on LinkedIn
The interim muscle
"We need someone yesterday."
Interim gets sidestepped until it's the only option left. By then the situation has been compounding for weeks.
Read on LinkedIn
Who interims are
Some of the best operators aren't looking for a full-time job.
Not because they couldn't get one. Because interim is the job, by design, and they've done your exact situation before.
Read on LinkedIn
05 · Access the network
Get access to my network of PE-proven operators.
Tell me the seat or the situation. Within two business days, I can show you sample profiles of who's available now, or help you scope the need and find the best solution, whether that's an interim, a permanent hire or something else.
Thank you.
I'll be in touch within two business days.