North Star:
The People Side of the Deal
North Star leads human capital due diligence, separation and integration for private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies. We run the human capital transformation office on carve-outs, acquisitions and restructurings. Our two partners each bring more than 30 years of C-suite and transformation leadership across global markets.
Senior Leadership for the People Side of the Deal
In a transaction, the people side carries real value and real risk, often on the tightest timeline. We work with sponsors, boards, CEOs and deal teams to identify human capital risk before signing, plan the separation or integration, and deliver a stable organization on Day One.
Sponsors and portfolio leadership teams engage us for:
Buy-side and sell-side human capital due diligence
Carve-outs, spin-offs and divestitures
Acquisitions and post-close integration
Multi-country separations and integrations
Restructuring and IPO readiness
When the margin for error is narrow, sound judgment is essential. We tell leaders what they need to hear and execute plans to mitigate risk.
North Star is rooted in human capital, and our partner network extends across the C-suite, including chief financial, information, technology, revenue and transformation officers. We bring in the right resources as each situation requires.
What Sets Us Apart
Transformation Office Discipline
We run the human capital transformation office with one integrated plan, clear decision rights, and milestones tied to signing, close, Day One and TSA exit. We connect that plan to the deal’s broader transformation office, so people decisions keep pace with the deal timeline and support the investment thesis.
C-Suite Breadth, Human Capital Depth
We advise from lived experience, shaped by having sat in the seat. We know the human resources function, from executive talent and organization design to benefits, payroll, HRIS and workforce data, and we know which pieces come under the most pressure on a deal timeline. While HR is our major, between us, we have also led Legal, Facilities, and Investor Relations & Communications at the C-suite level in public, private equity-backed, large-cap and founder-led organizations.
At the center is discernment: knowing what matters, what can wait, and where decisions carry real consequence.
Global Complexity
Both partners have led work across the globe, including a single carve-out spanning 43 countries and human capital leadership on M&A transformations across more than 40 countries. Our work spans the Americas, Europe and the Nordics, the Middle East, Australasia, and India.
We understand what it takes to separate, integrate and stand up human resources operations across time zones, cultures, and jurisdictions, and to have every country ready on Day One.
A C-Suite Network, Deployed as Needed
Our partner network extends across the C-suite: CFOs, CIOs, CTOs, chief revenue officers and chief transformation officers. When a transaction needs finance, technology, commercial or transformation leadership alongside the people workstream, we bring in experienced executives on an as-needed basis, coordinated through one team.
Direct Counsel
We are invited into situations where clarity is needed and candor is rare. Our role is to surface what is difficult, name trade-offs and help leaders and teams move forward with conviction.
Executive Experience Built in High Pressure, Global Environments
Our approach is built on operational leadership by former C-suite executives:
Leadership of a single carve-out spanning 43 countries
Human capital lead on M&A transformations across more than 40 countries
Extensive C-suite leadership
Significant experience in due diligence, M&A, carve-outs, integrations, IPO readiness, rapid growth, and restructuring
Transformation leadership under compressed deal timelines
HRIS design and implementation, workforce analytics, and AI deployment across the workforce
Public, private, and private equity portfolio leadership
Multi-industry experience including pharmaceutical and life sciences, healthcare, technology, energy including oil and gas, business services, financial services and manufacturing
A partner network across the C-suite, including CFOs, CIOs, CTOs, chief revenue officers and chief transformation officers
Proven ability to stabilize leadership teams during complex, high-pressure moments
We understand the expectations placed on executives and investment teams because we have lived them.
Our Signature Services
Human Capital Due Diligence
Before signing, we assess the target’s human capital risks and the cost and complexity of separating, integrating or standing up the human resources function, so deal teams can price, negotiate and plan around what we find.
Carve-outs and Separations
We lead the human resources workstream from pre-sign diligence through post-close hypercare. That covers separating benefits, payroll and HRIS, providing scoping input to the transition services agreement, and standing up a standalone human resources function, leaving the company able to run independently.
Human Capital Transformation Office
We stand up and run the transformation office for the human capital workstream, with one plan, one view of risks and dependencies, and clear accountability from signing through Day One and hypercare.
Acquisitions and Integration
After close, we integrate leadership teams, organizations, compensation, benefits, payroll and HR operations, ensuring continuity, stability and operational readiness through the transition period.
Restructuring and Value Creation
Advice, guidance, and hands-on support through organizational redesign, workforce transformation and cost-structure shifts that support the value creation plan.
HR Technology, Data and AI
We design and implement HRIS and related human resources solutions, use workforce data to inform strategy and operating decisions, and advise clients deploying AI across their workforce.
Leadership and Organization Assessment
We assess executive teams and the talent operating model before and after a transaction: who can lead the next phase, where the gaps are, and what the organization needs to deliver the investment thesis.
Leading Through a Transaction Requires More Than Experience
It requires judgment.
Clarity in ambiguity.
The ability to anticipate what comes next.
And to act with integrity, putting the needs of the organization first.
North Star exists to support sponsors and leadership teams when the landscape is shifting, offering insight, counsel and candor that enable confident, decisive action. We help leaders move through complexity and come out stronger.
Request a Conversation
If you are evaluating a target, preparing a carve-out, integrating an acquisition or restructuring a portfolio company, North Star provides senior counsel and hands-on support for the human capital side of the deal.