Who we place
Why boards and PE partners choose us
- We reach the leaders who aren't looking. The best executive for your seat is running someone else's right now. We bring them to you, confidentially.
- A senior specialist runs your search. Your seat is handled by a senior consultant who focuses on exactly this specialty, under our US healthcare Sector Head. Not a junior associate and a database.
- Healthcare is all we do. We know the difference between a clinician with a title and a leader who can run a P&L and a medical staff.
- Retained means all-in. We commit the full team to one search and stay until the right person signs. Most of ours close in 30 to 90 days.
- A global bench behind a local search. ISG runs in 50-plus countries with 1,200-plus partners, so no leader is out of reach.
What a behavioral health CEO search actually demands
- Founder succession handled with care for the founder's legacy and the board's timeline
- The leadership a private-equity recapitalization needs in the seat from day one
- Operators who can scale a platform from roughly $20M to $500M-plus in revenue without breaking the clinical model
- Clinical credibility paired with real commercial and P&L acumen, the rare combination that actually moves the business
- Multi-state regulatory fluency across managed Medicaid, licensure, and payer rules
- Value-based-care strategy and M&A integration as the platform grows
Representative engagements
Representative, anonymized examples. Details and locations changed to protect client and candidate confidentiality.
- A distressed, multi-site behavioral health operator was losing money and leaders. We placed a turnaround CEO in the Southeast who had the programs profitable ahead of plan.
- A growth-stage behavioral health group needed an operator who could scale it. We placed a COO who did exactly that, and who stepped up to interim CEO when the moment came.
- A new psychiatric and addiction-treatment program had a building and a plan but no clinical leadership. We placed the founding team, and it opened on schedule.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a behavioral health CEO search take?
A retained behavioral health CEO search typically runs 30 to 90 days from launch to signed offer, and faster for interim placements. Confidential successions can take longer, depending on board timing.
What does a retained CEO search cost?
Retained executive search is engaged on a fee tied to the role's total compensation, paid in stages across the search. We agree the scope and fee before the search begins.
Can you run a confidential CEO succession?
Yes. Many behavioral health CEO searches are confidential, including successions where the incumbent is still in seat. We run these blind so no candidate or client is exposed before the right time.
Do you work with PE-backed behavioral health platforms?
Yes. We partner with private-equity operating partners and platform boards to build and strengthen C-suites across behavioral health and substance-use portfolios, including turnaround and de novo situations.
Do you handle founder-succession CEO transitions?
Yes, and they are among the most delicate searches we run. We help boards and founders bring in a successor who can scale the organization while honoring what the founder built, on a timeline that protects the business.
Can you place a CEO through a PE recapitalization?
Yes. We regularly place CEOs and operators for private-equity-backed behavioral health platforms at recapitalization, when a new sponsor needs proven leadership to execute the value-creation plan from day one.
Meet your search partner
Lee Fossey leads the US Healthcare Executive Search practice for ISG Americas, with a team of senior consultants each focused on a specialty, so your search is run by someone who lives in that corner of the market. Across nearly three decades in search, the practice has helped hospitals, health systems, and private-equity-backed platforms place the leaders who change their trajectory, and on the global ISG platform that reach extends to more than 50 countries. Lee would rather have one honest conversation about your search than send you a proposal.
Book a confidential call with Lee →Have a seat open?
Every week a leadership seat sits empty, it costs you momentum, money, and the board's confidence. One confidential call, and you will know quickly whether we are the firm for your search.
Book a confidential call