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Jessica Mercedes
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Our Services

Executive Search
Permanent CFO and senior finance appointments for PE-backed businesses. We assess value creation mindset, exit readiness, and cultural fit — not just technical credentials.
Fractional CFO Leadership
Experienced PE finance leadership on a part-time or interim basis — bridging gaps between investments, supporting portfolio transitions, or providing capacity when a full-time appointment isn't yet the right move.
Market Mapping
A structured view of available CFO talent before you open a formal search. Understand the landscape — compensation benchmarks, supply constraints, and candidate profiles — so you enter the process with conviction.
Assessment
Structured evaluation of CFO candidates or incumbent finance leaders against PE-specific competencies — value creation orientation, board presence, and the operational bandwidth to perform across the full hold period.
Strategic Finance Leadership for Value Creation
We specialise in CFO and senior finance appointments for private equity-backed businesses where value creation isn't optional - it's the mandate.
Our expertise sits at the intersection of executive search and operational finance. We understand PE environments because we've operated within them: the compressed timelines, the operational rigour, the unforgiving focus on exit readiness.
For PE Sponsors and Portfolio Companies
The CFO role has evolved beyond financial stewardship. Today's PE-backed finance leaders navigate extended hold periods, compressed valuations, and stakeholder expectations that shift with market conditions. PE sponsors expect CFOs to operate with constant exit readiness. Only 20% actually do.
We identify leaders with proven value creation mindsets - not just technical competence.
CFOs who can balance cash management and GAAP with strategic planning and growth. Leaders who've delivered exits, not just prepared for them.
‍For CFOs and Finance Leaders
If you're a CFO seeking your next role, we understand what matters: alignment on value creation, cultural fit, transparency on business realities, and equity structures that reflect your impact. The best roles never reach the open market.
We provide discreet counsel and access to opportunities where your value creation expertise will be recognised—and rewarded. Whether you're seeking greater strategic scope, better investor alignment, or a clearer path to exit, we connect you with roles that match your strengths and ambitions.
We are the bridge between the best opportunities and the best people.
This is what we do. And we do it exceptionally well.
Bottom line, top talent.

From idea to sustainable success

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FAQs

Why are you different?

We bring together executive search expertise and direct experience across corporate finance, investment banking,and accountancy. Our team has operated inside the environments our clients navigate. We understand the investment thesis, the value creation levers, andwhat separates capable CFOs from transformational ones.  

Our edge is our network and how we assess.

What is the Esker Ridge™  

Table stakes gets a candidatethrough the door. We developed the Esker Ridge Assessment™ in conjunction with practitioners from global PE firms and high performance elite sports science coaches to determine who is genuinely built for PE. 

The assessment combines deep behavioural data with a specialist index built specifically around CFO talent. It evaluates candidates across four critical dimensions of PE readiness: areas where the difference between a capable operator and a genuine value creator is most exposed.

The Esker Network

The CFOs who define hold periods are rarely looking. They are running businesses, delivering exits, and building reputations quietly.  We are privileged to count some of the brightest minds in PE and people performance as our advisors.

We have spent years building relationships with this cohort: the finance leaders operating at the intersection of PE and performance.

Our network is cultivated through high-value, discreet communities where trust is the currency.  

That access is not something youcan replicate with a database.

So what?

For Sponsors
You're not just hiring a CFO.You're making a value creation bet. We identify leaders who have delivered exits, not just prepared for them, and we give you the evidence base to back the decision. Our process is designed to reduce hold period attrition and increase your confidence in the talent driving your most critical finance function.

For CFOs
We take the time to understand you properly: your motivations, your track record, and where you'll have the greatest impact. We provide discreet access to opportunities where your expertise is recognised and your contribution to value creation is central tothe mandate. There are no shortcuts here. We invest the time because the right opportunity, at the right moment, changes the trajectory of a career.

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