Operating Partner - The Brydon Group

About The Brydon Group

The Brydon Group is a talent-first private equity firm based in Washington, DC. We partner with exceptional mid-career executives to acquire and build B2B, B2G, and healthcare software and tech-enabled services businesses.

Brydon combines deep investing experience with a hands-on approach to value creation. We work closely with portfolio company leadership teams to translate investment theses into practical operating plans, build durable growth systems, and prepare businesses for successful exits. Brydon is currently investing out of its $300 million Fund III and has completed more than 40 acquisitions.

Role Overview

We are seeking an Operating Partner to serve as the primary value creation partner and Board Chair to a defined group of Brydon portfolio companies, typically four to five businesses with similar sector or business-model profiles.

The Operating Partner will serve as Board Chair and as Brydon’s day-to-day operating partner to each assigned company. This person will work closely with CEOs and leadership teams to drive execution against the investment thesis, operating plan, budget, and value creation agenda. The role combines governance, coaching, and hands-on execution support, with a particular focus on profitable growth, go-to-market effectiveness, pricing and packaging, product strategy, AI enablement, and add-on M&A.

Beyond direct company work, the Operating Partner will help institutionalize repeatable excellence across the portfolio by codifying playbooks, strengthening the Brydon Operating System, and scaling best practices across management teams.

This role is ideal for a seasoned consultant turned operator who thrives in fast-moving, ambiguous environments and has repeatedly helped leadership teams deliver measurable change and results in small- to mid-sized, PE-backed businesses.

Key Responsibilities

Board Leadership & Governance

• Serve as Board Chair for each assigned portfolio company
• Partner closely with CEOs to set board agendas, lead effective board discussions, and maintain strong alignment between management teams and Brydon
• Synthesize company performance, emerging risks, and key decisions for the investment team on a regular cadence

Value Creation & Performance Management

• Serve as the primary accountability partner to CEOs and senior leadership teams across four to five portfolio companies
• Partner with management teams to develop and execute each company’s value creation plan, with particular emphasis on profitable top-line growth
• Help companies improve go-to-market effectiveness, pricing and packaging, commercial infrastructure, product strategy, and AI enablement
• Monitor financial performance, KPIs, and overall operating health; proactively identify risks and opportunities and drive management action
• Support inorganic growth initiatives, including add-on opportunity evaluation, integration planning, and post-close execution
• Maintain a strong external orientation within relevant industries, including competitive dynamics, strategic relationships, and key market trends

CEO & Leadership Coaching

• Build trusted, candid relationships with portfolio company CEOs and provide practical operating support, pattern recognition, and real-time counsel
• Coach leadership teams on organizational effectiveness, execution discipline, and scaling through growth
• Help identify, recruit, and onboard key executives where leadership gaps exist
• Act as a steadying presence during leadership transitions, periods of underperformance, or major inflection points

CEO-in-Residence Partnership

• Support one to two CEOs-in-Residence (CIR) as they refine investment theses and evaluate acquisition opportunities in the sourcing phase
• Partner with CIRs and the investment team during diligence to test key hypotheses, assess fit, and shape the early value creation agenda
• Serve as a trusted thought partner through diligence, acquisition planning, and early transition

Market Presence & Exit Readiness

• Represent Brydon and its portfolio companies within the B2B, B2G, and healthcare software and tech-enabled services ecosystem
• Build and maintain relationships with strategic acquirers, larger private equity firms, and other potential buyers well in advance of any exit process
• Help portfolio companies remain consistently exit-ready, including strong financial discipline, documented processes, management bench development, and a compelling growth narrative
• Support the investment team and portfolio company leadership in preparing for exit processes, including management presentations, positioning materials, and buyer diligence

Portfolio-Wide Playbooks

• Codify repeatable playbooks, tools, dashboards, and templates across key value creation levers
• Create practical examples of what good looks like at different stages of company scale and maturity
• Partner with the Portfolio Operations team to continuously improve the Brydon Operating System and increase consistency across the portfolio
• Contribute insights to portfolio reviews and help drive follow-through against priority opportunities

Qualifications

• 15+ years of leadership experience, preferably with senior consulting and P&L leadership (President, CEO, COO, or GM) experience within B2B or B2G software and services businesses
• Demonstrated track record of driving profitable growth in lower middle market businesses
• Experience working in or with private equity-backed companies strongly preferred; board leadership experience is a plus
• Ability to support multiple companies simultaneously while maintaining strong judgment, responsiveness, and follow-through
• Broad fluency across strategy, go-to-market, pricing, product, finance, talent, and execution
• Comfortable moving between board-level discussion and hands-on problem solving
• Strong executive presence and the ability to influence
• High emotional intelligence and credibility with both operators and investors
• Entrepreneurial, self-directed, and comfortable in lean, high-accountability environments
• Willingness to travel regularly to portfolio companies (20% to 35% travel)
• Compensation will be commensurate with experience and is expected to range between 250,000 and 400,000 OTE plus equity participation
• This role is located in person, on site - based out of our Washington, D.C. office