The First 100 Days After a PE Transaction

In Flemish professional services firms, the first 100 days after a PE transaction are usually framed as an integration phase. Operationally, progress is visible. That is not where the real shift happens.

The real shift concerns mandate.

Under Code Buysse IV, directors of non-listed Belgian firms carry explicit duties of care and diligence. Board oversight becomes more formal. Expectations are documented more precisely. Performance is monitored more closely.

Governance tightens. Executive clarity does not always follow at the same pace.

In newly consolidated groups, legacy dynamics remain influential. Former partners continue to exercise local authority. Decision rights are assumed rather than explicitly defined. Group priorities compete with offices that have long operated autonomously.

In a Buy-and-Build structure, that reflex can start to fragment mandate if boundaries are clarified too late or remain implicit.

By Day 100, the decisive question is not whether integration milestones were achieved.

The decisive question is whether the organisation can clearly explain:

— Which decisions remain local

— Which decisions sit at group level

— Which decisions belong exclusively to the CEO

— How disagreement between board and CEO is addressed before it becomes political

If those boundaries remain unclear, execution does not simply slow. Authority begins to move informally.

Parallel conversations emerge.

Board members engage management directly.

Local power centres regain influence.

The CEO remains accountable, but no longer fully in control of the decisions for which that accountability exists.

That imbalance rarely appears in reporting. It becomes visible later — through strategic drift, internal misalignment or growing tension between board and executive.

A 100-day plan structures activity.

It does not establish mandate.

Mandate requires explicit agreement between board and CEO, defined early and revisited as the ownership structure evolves.

When that clarification does not take place, the first 100 days do not create alignment. They set the tone for an ongoing negotiation.

In work with CEOs after Private Equity entry, that negotiation is rarely about personalities. It is about structure, decision rights and explicit agreement.

When mandate and authority no longer fully align, early intervention is more effective than late correction.

If this is your situation, a confidential conversation will confirm whether action is warranted and what it would involve.

A confidential conversation is available.