Seeking an Executive Board Placement for National Facility Services Business

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How PE Firms Can Excel at Executive Search

Our client, Saw Mill Capital, knew that executive board placement for their PE firm was critical to advancing the growth goals for their portfolio company, Rasa Floors—a flooring replacement company looking to expand throughout the United States. Saw Mill turned to Apex Leaders, a trusted partner among board member search firms for private equity, to source a perfect-fit executive candidate.

As a specialized executive recruiter in this space, Apex Leaders understood their unique needs.

Scaling a Business with Board-backed Expertise

To widen its current footprint, management teams from Sawmill and Rasa Floors sought an executive board placement with experience scaling a business. The teams specifically requested a current or recent CEO or COO with a history of operating and growing a service business with outsourced facilities. 

The chosen board placement would advise Rasa Floors management on expansion strategies, design and manage a national service platform and implement large-scale technology solutions.  Adequate research and recruiting would be required to find the most relevant and qualified candidates.

Recruiting for board positions  with deep operating experience ensured that Saw Mill could confidently move forward with scaling initiatives across the country.

Saw Mill and Rasa Floors provided several specific criteria for candidates, including that the company could benefit from senior-level board talent with experience in both interior and exterior facility services. The company expressed that a background in multi-family property management would also prove useful. 

Additionally, given the company’s vision for growth, Saw Mill and Rasa Floors hoped to find a candidate who previously drove regional expansion. Ideal candidates would have experience adding profit-generating services to a company’s offerings and implementing service-related tech at scale. Candidates with private equity experience were a plus. 

To guide their strategy for board of directors recruitment, Saw Mill and Rasa Floors outlined a specific set of qualifications: 

• Served as current or former CEO or COO, essentially a C-suite leader 
• Previously operated and grew service business with outsourced facilities 
• Could advise management on expansion strategies 
• Offered insight on how to design and manage a national service platform 
• Possessed implementation skills for large-scale technology solutions 
• Had experience in interior and exterior facility services 
• Demonstrated a background in multi-family property management 
• Formerly drove regional expansion efforts 
• Showed aptitude for adding profit-generating services and service-related tech 
• Had experience working with private equity firms 

These layers of expertise often prove invaluable when recruiting for board leadership that can support both management and investors. Finding such qualified candidates is a hallmark of an effective executive search firm. 

Rigorous Research to Find the Perfect Placement

In-depth research, recruiting, and vetting began shortly after listening to the teams’ needs. With extensive experience in executive board placement, experts at Apex Leaders utilized a unique bespoke process to gather information and ask key questions. 

After a personalized executive search, Apex Leaders introduced Rasa Floors and Saw Mill to a current President and COO with 20+ years of relevant experience. The candidate precisely met the teams’ specific candidate criteria, including his proven aptitude at scaling a business. 

Rasa Floors and Saw Mill decided to place the candidate, Gyner Ozgul. The new board member is a leader at Smart Care Equipment Solutions—a PE-backed commercial food service equipment maintenance and repair company. The company is the largest independent service provider of commercial cooking, ware-washing and refrigeration repair. 

Ozgul brought significant operations experience during a prior 13 years in various roles at food safety company Ecolab. While at Ecolab, he ran operations in a branch-based model for facility services across verticals, including restaurants, hospitals, health care, industrial and retail. 

With Ozgul on the board, Rasa Floors successfully began executing its growth strategy. The company drew on Ozgul’s expertise to refine the process.

His appointment demonstrated the importance of specialized recruiting for board directors who can not only advise but also take on operational leadership roles when needed, strengthening the entire leadership team.

This comprehensive approach is what distinguishes top-tier executive recruiting firms.