Contingent Executive Search
Private Credit and ABL Executive Search
Leadership search for private credit funds and asset-based lenders — contingent-first, twelve-month guarantee.
- Senior Practice Director, Blue Signal Search
- Contingent-first · No up-front retainer
- Twelve-month guarantee on every placement
I recruit executive and VP-level leadership for private credit funds and asset-based lending platforms — VP of Underwriting, VP of Portfolio Management, Managing Director of Originations, and VP of Risk for direct lending, ABL, and specialty finance platforms. Contingent-first. No up-front retainer. Every placement carries a twelve-month guarantee.
Why private credit and ABL search is its own market
Private credit and asset-based lending leadership hiring depends on structuring expertise, not just general finance or banking background. A VP of Underwriting who has only underwritten traditional cash-flow loans is a real risk stepping into a receivables- or inventory-based ABL structure, where collateral monitoring and borrowing-base mechanics work very differently.
The buyers on this hub talk in borrowing base calculations, asset-based structuring (receivables, inventory, equipment), direct lending underwriting, and portfolio monitoring and covenant compliance — vocabulary a generalist banking search does not carry.
Company types I recruit for
Private credit funds — direct lending platforms deploying capital into middle-market companies, needing underwriting and portfolio management leadership.
Asset-based lending platforms — specialty finance companies lending against receivables, inventory, and equipment collateral.
Specialty finance and factoring companies — platforms needing origination and risk leadership as they scale deal volume.
Blue Signal Search vertical: as Senior Practice Director, my desk runs underwriting, portfolio management, and origination leadership searches for private credit and ABL platforms — the specific search history behind this page, not a generic recruiter claim.
Featured roles
- VP of Underwriting — credit and structuring leadership matched to a specific collateral type and deal size range.
- VP of Portfolio Management — ongoing monitoring, covenant compliance, and borrowing-base leadership across an active portfolio.
- Managing Director of Originations — deal-sourcing and relationship leadership for platforms scaling origination volume.
- VP of Risk — portfolio-level risk management leadership as loan books scale.
Pain patterns I see every quarter
Structuring-expertise mismatches sink placements. A leader experienced only in traditional cash-flow lending is a real risk stepping into asset-based structuring, and this has to be screened explicitly, not assumed from a resume.
Rapid portfolio growth outpaces underwriting capacity. Platforms that scale origination volume faster than they build out underwriting leadership often see turnaround times slip, costing them deals to faster-moving competitors.
Portfolio monitoring gaps surface during market stress. Without a VP of Portfolio Management who understands borrowing-base mechanics deeply, platforms often discover covenant and collateral monitoring gaps only when a borrower starts underperforming.
Origination leadership needs real relationship networks, not just titles. A Managing Director of Originations without an existing sponsor or intermediary network often takes far longer than expected to build a real deal pipeline.
How I run the search
I start with the decision, not a job description template: whether the constraint is underwriting capacity, portfolio management, or origination growth, and what specific collateral type and deal-size range the role involves.
Then I map the private credit and ABL market — leaders with real structuring and underwriting experience at comparable scale. I do not run a generic banking search that ignores structuring nuance.
Engagements are contingent-first. No up-front retainer required to start. Retained is available when board-level risk justifies it. Every placement carries a twelve-month guarantee — the only quantified claim on this site.
This search runs under Blue Signal Search, a national contingent and retained executive search firm — the affiliation gives this desk firm-level sourcing infrastructure and reference-checkable delivery history, not just an independent recruiter's word.
Competitive positioning (respectful)
Large finance-focused retained firms — built for large-cap private credit fund C-suite searches at Fortune-scale fee bands and multi-month timelines. That is not the right lane for a growth-stage private credit fund or ABL platform that needs a contingent-first search moving in weeks.
Cross-hub and next steps
For private equity operating and investment leadership, see Private Equity Executive Search. For boutique positioning across verticals, see the executive search agency anchor.
Schedule a 30-Minute Call with Dan — Calendly, dpoore@bluesignal.com, or 669-900-4504. That is the only conversion path.
How a search works
- 01 Lock the decision
VP-level vs Managing Director hire, and whether the constraint is underwriting capacity, portfolio management, or origination growth.
- 02 Map the private credit and ABL market
Source leaders with real asset-based structuring and direct lending underwriting experience at comparable scale — not a generalist banking database pull.
- 03 Close with guarantee
Contingent-first engagement, clear structuring and portfolio-scale context, twelve-month guarantee on the placement.
Case study
A recent placement
An ABL platform needed a VP of Underwriting after rapid portfolio growth outpaced its existing credit team's capacity, creating turnaround-time pressure on new originations. The board wanted someone who had actually underwritten comparable asset-based structures (receivables, inventory, equipment) at scale, not a generalist commercial banker learning ABL structuring on the job. We closed the search within 65 days.
The commitment
Twelve-month guarantee
Every placement carries a twelve-month guarantee. That is the only quantified claim on this site — no fee percentages, no invented placement counts.
Get in touch
Schedule a 30-Minute Call with Dan
Contingent-first. No up-front retainer. One conversion path — book the call.
Frequently asked questions
What roles do you cover in Private Credit and ABL Executive Search?
VP of Underwriting, VP of Portfolio Management, Managing Director of Originations, VP of Risk, and executive leadership for private credit funds and asset-based lending platforms.
Do you work contingent or retained?
Contingent-first is the default for most VP-level searches under my fee floor. Retained is available for board-critical C-suite and Managing Director mandates. There is no up-front retainer required to start a contingent search.
What is the twelve-month guarantee?
Every placement carries a twelve-month guarantee. That is the only quantified claim I publish — no fee percentages and no invented placement counts.
How is this different from a generalist finance recruiter?
A generalist finance recruiter pulls resumes matching banking or lending job titles broadly. I screen specifically for asset-based structuring experience — receivables, inventory, and equipment lending — and direct lending underwriting depth, which is a distinct skill set from traditional commercial banking.
How long does a private credit or ABL executive search take?
VP-level underwriting and portfolio management searches typically run 65-95 days. Managing Director and C-suite searches often run 100-140 days given how narrow the pool of leaders with comparable structuring experience is.
Who typically signs the search?
Private credit fund CEOs and CIOs, ABL platform Managing Directors, and PE sponsors with specialty finance portfolio companies.