Chief Executive Officer

Chief Executive Officer

Flying Horse Capital Portfolio Company | Tampa, FL Metro (On-site)

Flying Horse Capital is hiring a CEO for a recently acquired family-owned business in the Tampa metro. The family CEO will transition out over 12 months, and a new CEO and CFO will take the lead.

Reports to: Flying Horse Capital

Direct reports: Chief Financial Officer and senior leadership team

Compensation: Base + annual bonus + equity + co-invest rights

About Flying Horse Capital

Flying Horse Capital is a Dallas-based permanent capital firm that acquires and holds founder- and family-owned businesses in the lower middle market. We buy to own — there is no exit timeline. We invest in the people who run our companies, support them with operating resources across the portfolio, and build for the next generation, not the next sale.

Our philosophy traces to two family businesses: a Connecticut auto repair garage and a Rhode Island donut shop that grew into a regional chain. Both were built by veterans who believed in hard work, community, and doing right by their people. We hold our companies to that standard.

About the Company

The company is a family-owned business headquartered in the Tampa metro and recently acquired by Flying Horse Capital. Under long-term ownership, we are investing in the people, systems, and infrastructure to support its next stage of growth.

The Opportunity

This is a leadership transition from the family to a new generation of operators — a role for a CEO who can honor what was built and take it further. Over the next 12 months, the family CEO will hand over the business in stages, giving the new CEO time to earn the trust of employees, customers, and vendors.

The new CEO will lead alongside a new CFO, and the two will set the company's direction together. With a permanent owner behind the business, this is a seat to build and hold for the long term.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership Transition

• Partner with the family CEO on a structured 12-month handoff of customers, vendors, employees, and day-to-day decisions
• Preserve the culture, relationships, and reputation the family built
• Build trust with employees early through visibility, consistency, and clear communication
• Take full ownership of company leadership by the end of the transition

Strategy & Growth

• Set the company's long-term strategy and annual operating plan with Flying Horse Capital
• Drive organic growth through customer retention, new business, pricing, and market expansion
• Evaluate and lead add-on acquisitions as opportunities arise
• Position the business to compound over decades, not to prepare for a sale

Operations & Performance

• Own full P&L responsibility, including revenue, margin, cash flow, and EBITDA
• Set KPIs and a consistent operating cadence across the business
• Identify what is working, fix what is not, and professionalize processes without losing what makes the company special
• Invest in systems and infrastructure that support scale

Team & Culture

• Partner with the new CFO on finance, reporting, capital allocation, and organizational priorities
• Assess the leadership team; develop existing talent and add new talent where needed
• Build a high-accountability culture rooted in the company's values
• Develop the next generation of leaders inside the business

Ownership & Stakeholders

• Deliver clear, candid reporting to Flying Horse Capital on performance, risks, and priorities
• Represent the company with customers, vendors, lenders, and the community
• Use Flying Horse Capital's operating resources and portfolio network

First 12 Months

• Days 1–90: Learn the business alongside the family CEO; meet employees, key customers, and vendors; assess people, processes, and performance; deliver a transition plan to Flying Horse Capital
• Months 4–6: Take on growing day-to-day leadership; finalize the operating plan and KPIs with the CFO; address priority talent and operational gaps
• Months 7–12: Complete the handoff from the family CEO; lead the annual budget; have the leadership team and operating cadence in place; begin executing the long-term strategy

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive leadership experience, including 5+ years as a CEO, President, or General Manager with full P&L responsibility in a lower-middle-market company
• Proven record of growing revenue and profitability
• Experience leading a founder- or family-owned business through a leadership transition or ownership change
• Private equity or sponsor-backed experience preferred; add-on acquisition and integration experience a plus
• Track record of building and developing leadership teams
• Hands-on operator who leads from the front, earns trust quickly, and works comfortably in the details
• Humility and judgment to respect a company's history while leading it forward
• Based in, or willing to relocate to, the Tampa metro