Frequently Asked Questions: Operator-First Private Equity and the CEO-in-Residence Programme

What WAD Capital is, where it invests and how it works.

  • WAD Capital is an operator-first private equity firm investing in the succession of European SMEs. We back experienced operators, our CEOs-in-Residence, to find, buy and run a profitable, founder-led company whose owner is ready to hand over and has no successor.

    WAD funds the search and up to 100% of the acquisition equity, and supports each CEO from the first outreach to the exit. We are the first institutionally backed search fund: one sponsor funds the whole search, so there is no investor round to assemble and no equity gap at closing. WAD is based in Brussels and registered with the FSMA.

  • We are sector-agnostic. Each CEO-in-Residence builds a thesis in a niche they can win in, and the partners approve it. Our companies and searches sit mostly in B2B services and industrials, from technical trades to distribution, healthcare, logistics and the energy transition.

    We look for profitable, founder-led businesses with steady cash flow, in fragmented markets where no player dominates. We do not buy start-ups, loss-making companies, turnarounds, software-as-a-service businesses or real estate.

  • Across Europe. We buy companies headquartered in Europe, wherever one of our CEOs has the network, the language and a thesis to win in that market. Our CEOs search today mainly in Belgium, the Netherlands and France, and each works locally: owners sell to someone who speaks their language and knows their market.

  • Our investors commit capital to the fund. The fund buys each company with its own equity, bank debt and, often, a reinvestment by the seller, and holds it for five to seven years.

    Returns come from what the CEO builds in that time: organic growth, add-on acquisitions, better margins and a company that no longer depends on its founder. At exit we sell to a larger fund or a strategic buyer. WAD and the CEO share in the gain that creates, alongside our investors.

  • You talk to the person who would run your company: one of our CEOs-in-Residence, backed by WAD. An NDA is signed before any terms are discussed. If you both want to go further, they make an offer approved by WAD, our team works the diligence and financing with them, and after closing they become your company's CEO. Sellers often reinvest part of the proceeds alongside us and stay involved during the handover.

  • The new CEO's first months are about continuity: meeting every employee, the main customers and the key suppliers, and making no restructuring or system changes. The plan builds on what the company already does well. Our CEOs commit to run the company for the long term, typically five to seven years.

How the CEO-in-Residence Programme works, who it is for and what it offers.

Programme Basics

  • It is our version of the search fund. You join a cohort, build a thesis in a sector you can win in, find a profitable SME whose owner is ready to hand over, negotiate the deal and, once it closes, become its CEO.

    WAD pays you a monthly fee during the search, funds the costs of the search and the diligence, and provides up to 100% of the acquisition equity. Your main upside sits in the value you create. The search runs for up to 24 months; plan on nine to twelve months to a signed letter of intent.

  • No. WAD funds the search and up to 100% of the acquisition equity, so your savings do not limit the company you can buy. Many of our CEOs still choose to invest alongside the fund, which we welcome. Your main upside sits in the value you create.

  • Selection: your application, a screening call, an intake investment memo and a presentation to the partners.

    Investment memo: your thesis for the niche you will search, tested with people who know the sector and approved by the partners.

    Market map: a list of qualified targets in your niche, built with Generative DealFlow™, our sourcing engine.

    Outreach and owner meetings: warm introductions first, then direct approaches to owners.

    Letter of intent: an exclusive offer to the owner, agreed with WAD.

    Diligence, financing and Investment Committee: WAD funds the diligence, you lead the bank discussions, and the Investment Committee approves the deal.

    Closing and the first 100 days: you take over as CEO, stabilise first and build from there.

  • It is a safety net, not a salary: enough to cover your fixed costs so you can search full-time without financial stress. You invoice it monthly from your own management company. The fee steps down after the first year to keep the search on pace. Travel, data, tools and the diligence budget are funded separately.

  • The search can run for up to 24 months. Plan on nine to twelve months to a signed letter of intent and a few months more to closing. If the search runs past the first year, we review together whether it should continue.

  • Apply online with your CV through our Cohort 2026 application page. We screen every application against our intake criteria and invite the strongest profiles to a screening call. After the call you receive our investment memo pack and draft your intake investment memo, which you present to the partners. The partners then decide on your place in the cohort, and you sign the CEO-in-Residence agreement.

  • A Managing Partner as your mentor, a weekly cohort meeting and regular one-to-ones with the partners. Our sourcing engine, Generative DealFlow™, legal and financial templates, our deal team on every transaction, and introductions to banks.

    A skills programme runs alongside your live search, from M&A and diligence to leading an SME after the deal. You do the outreach, build the relationships and lead the negotiation.

Candidate Requirements

  • You have run a P&L or led a business, and you would rather own and build a company than advise one. You want to run an established SME, not a start-up. You are ready to learn a sector in depth, to commit full-time to the search, and then to lead the company you buy for five to seven years.

  • Not necessarily, but you need a credible right to win in the niche you choose: operating experience in the sector, functional expertise that matters there, or a network that gives you credibility with owners. Owners sell to someone they trust to carry the business forward. Your ability to lead and grow an SME matters more than a sector CV.

  • No. Our skills programme teaches deal anatomy, SME acquisition modelling and diligence on real, anonymised WAD cases, alongside your live search, and your own Investment Committee deck is the exam. The partners and our deal team work every transaction with you, from letter of intent to closing. Your operating judgement matters more than M&A technique.

  • Yes. The programme is full-time and exclusive from the day you sign, and every opportunity you find during the programme comes to WAD. A part-time search does not build the pace needed to reach a letter of intent within the year.

  • English is our working language. You also need the language of the market you search in: owners sell to someone they can talk to, so French, Dutch or German is often decisive. Non-EU candidates need the right to work in the country where they will search and operate. Expect to spend part of each week with the cohort at our Brussels office.

Compensation & Structure

  • As CEO you draw a fixed remuneration from the company, set by its size, under a management agreement with the company.

    Your main upside sits in the value you create, earned over the holding period and at exit. You can also invest alongside the fund.

  • No. You contract through your own management company under a CEO-in-Residence agreement with WAD Capital Partners, and invoice your monthly fee during the search. After closing, your management company contracts with the company you run. You keep an entrepreneur's independence, inside a clear framework.

  • We build every company to be sold, typically after five to seven years, to a larger fund or a strategic buyer. At exit you realise your share of the value created and any co-investment. A buyer will often want you to stay and reinvest part of your proceeds; that is agreed at the time of the sale. The surest route to a strong exit is a company that no longer needs you in every decision.

Deals & Operations

  • Profitable, founder-led SMEs with EBITDA of €1m to €5m and an EBITDA margin of at least 10%. Look for steady cash flow, recurring or repeat revenue, low capital needs and a fragmented market with no dominant player. The owner should be ready to hand over. We do not buy start-ups, loss-making companies or turnarounds.

  • Yes. Once your first company is stable, we fund add-on acquisitions that fit its strategy, each approved by the Investment Committee. Your search pays off twice here: you already know the competitors in your niche and who to call. Some of our companies are already building platforms this way; see our portfolio.

  • Stabilise first, transform later. In the first 30 days, meet every employee, your main customers and your key suppliers, and make no restructuring or system changes. The value of the company lives in relationships and in what the founder and a few key people know, so handle the handover with care, on the terms agreed in the purchase agreement. Promote from within wherever you can. WAD supports you on people decisions; the decisions are yours as CEO.

Community & Edge Cases

  • Yes. You search alongside the other CEOs-in-Residence, and the cohort meets every week to work through progress and blockers. A Managing Partner is your mentor throughout. Once you own a company, the group keeps meeting to share problems and solve them together.

  • Because we remove the three reasons searches fail. The equity gap: one sponsor funds the search and up to 100% of the acquisition equity. Time: a structured programme, a sourcing engine and a deal team that has done this many times shorten the search. Isolation: you search inside a cohort, not alone. You lead the deal; we bring the capital, the platform and the people.

  • The programme is built to reach a letter of intent within the first year, and the fee steps down after that to keep the pace. If the search runs on, we review together whether to continue, up to 24 months in total. Our goal is the right deal, not a forced one.

Roles for experienced professionals who support our CEOs and their companies.

  • Beyond our CEOs-in-Residence, we work with experienced professionals who support our CEOs and their companies:

    • Fractional CFOs, who build the finance function, the reporting, the cash forecast and the bank relationship.

    • Fractional CTOs, who bring AI and digital tools into our companies.

    • CxOs, who support a CEO on a defined project such as an integration, part-time and for a fixed term.

    • Independent board members, who bring sector and operating experience to a company's board.

    Whatever the role, you support the CEO and never lead in the CEO's place. We also hire for our own investment and operations team; see our open positions.

  • It depends on the role. Fractional roles and CxO projects are paid as a day rate or a retainer, for a defined scope and term. Independent board members receive a board fee. Terms are agreed before you start.

  • No. You need to be where the work is: on site for diligence visits, board meetings and integration work, with remote work in between. Most of our work today is in Belgium, the Netherlands and France, so French or Dutch is a real advantage.

  • We match the person to the need and the stage. Some professionals join before closing, on diligence and the first 100-day plan. Most join after closing, to build the finance function, deploy new tools, support an integration or sit on the board. Whatever the role, you work to the CEO's plan, not around it.

  • Yes. Every applicant starts with an online application and a screening call. Finance roles then include a technical discussion and a case or a walk-through of a past deal. Board and advisory roles start with a call to agree the scope. Roles inside a company include meeting its CEO and visiting the site. We fit the process to the role and to how urgently it is needed.

  • Four steps: an online application with your CV, a screening call, an alignment meeting on scope, terms and timing, and an engagement offer. Expect two to four weeks for an urgent deal-related role and two to three months for a long-term placement. Current openings are on our open positions page.