Value creation and direction for funds and portfolio companies
Executive direction and operational value creation on the portfolio companies of funds and investors. We step in after the closing, where the return is actually made: 100-day plan, governance and control redesign, commercial and operational levers, AI on margin, turnaround where needed. We protect and multiply value, and we prove it with numbers from entry to exit, rather than claim it.
The challenge
For a decade private equity made its return on leverage and the entry multiple. That season is over: in 2026 the return is made after the closing, in execution on the portfolio company. Yet the engine room is exactly where funds have the least grip. Management is good at running the existing business, not at leading a transformation in a narrow window. The 100-day plan risks becoming a filed-away ritual, the operating partner a title without real grip, AI an announcement for the fundraising slide. With LP patience now finite, only one thing counts at exit: value proven by the numbers, not a narrative.
Our approach
We step in with executive direction on the portfolio company, inside a perimeter defined from day one. First, the 100-day plan: a fast, honest diagnosis of the real company, the redesign of governance and control so there is a cockpit that sees the right numbers, and the investment thesis turned into a plan with owners and milestones. Second, the operational and commercial levers: pricing, go-to-market, supply chain, cost-to-serve, where they actually move margin. Third, AI applied where it moves the P and L, not as a showcase. Fourth, the discipline of results: a value bridge measured from entry to exit. Where needed, we take an operating-partner, fractional or interim role and lead from within.
Why Krymax
We are a Swiss boutique of executive and operational direction: direction, not theory. We do not send a junior team with a slide-deck method; we bring senior leadership that enters the operation and answers for the numbers, with Swiss rigour and confidentiality. We work to verifiable KPIs and milestones, with a value bridge legible in the boardroom and output an investor can read. The principle is firm: value must stay in the company. When the mandate ends, what remains is consolidated margin, governance that holds and a management team able to keep the course, not a dependency on the adviser. And every result is demonstrated, never merely asserted.
100-day plan: diagnosis of the real company, value agenda with owners, milestones and metrics, and an operating cockpit
Governance and control redesign: board, delegations, management reporting and a dashboard that shows the right numbers at the right time
Activation of margin and growth levers: pricing, go-to-market, supply chain and cost-to-serve, with impact estimate and prioritisation
AI applied to margin: identifying the lines of the P and L where it produces measurable effect, then implementation, not showcase projects
Value bridge from entry to exit: every point of margin and growth attributed to the lever that produced it, legible to board and investor
Hands-on operational direction: operating-partner, fractional or interim role to execute from within; turnaround and stabilisation where needed
- — You have closed an acquisition and the 100-day window is open: the investment thesis must be turned into execution at once
- — A portfolio company is underperforming against plan and management lacks the capacity or the time to lead the transformation
- — You are approaching exit and must turn a value story into value proven by the numbers, legible to a buyer or an LP
- — A portfolio company is in difficulty or discontinuity (margin decline, leadership crisis, stalled integration) and needs operational direction now
What is the 100-day plan and why is it so decisive?
It is the window right after acquisition in which the value agenda is set: an honest diagnosis of the real company, the redesign of governance and control, and the investment thesis turned into an operating plan with owners, milestones and metrics. It is where the value culture is established before the window closes. If it becomes a deck that is filed and never tracked, the best time to act is already lost.
What is the difference between your operating partner and an advisor?
An advisor recommends from the outside; the operating partner enters the operation of the portfolio company, works alongside management to make the plan happen, and answers for the numbers. Where needed we take an operating-partner, fractional or interim role to lead execution from within, always inside a defined perimeter and with clear accountability for what must exist at exit.
How do you demonstrate value creation rather than claim it?
With KPIs defined from day one and a value bridge measured from entry to exit, where every point of margin and growth is attributed to the lever that produced it. The output is legible in the boardroom and readable by an investor. We do not promise numbers before we know the company: we define how value will be measured, then we prove it.