Private equity-backed cardiology platforms ramp up hiring, spark competition

In the last 18 months, the Charles Aris Corporate Development Practice has seen private equity-backed cardiology platforms increase the number of active searches for corporate development talent, and we predict this trend will continue through the year.

Leading private equity firms have created 19 different cardiology platforms and added 21 corporate development professionals to their businesses since January of 2022. This is a remarkable growth trajectory for the cardiology industry. For reference, only two such platforms existed before 2022, and these platforms employed three corporate development professionals in total.

Here’s a chart showing the influx of hires across 19 different cardiology platforms since January of 2022, organized by position title:

This hiring spree indicates growing competition between middle-market private equity firms seeking to enter the cardiology space. As a niche healthcare industry, cardiology practices represent a smaller number of specialized healthcare businesses when compared to others such as vision or dentistry. This sparse landscape combined with competition between firms has created a fast-growing investment battle, with talent acquisition as a key priority.

As this battle ramps up, we predict continued growth in this niche sector throughout the remainder of 2023. Our practice is currently aware of three more cardiology platforms being created and expects to see more of these businesses looking to hire heads of corporate development to pilot inorganic growth efforts previously led by the private equity sponsor. We also predict an influx of hires for entry-level corporate development positions in smaller private equity-backed cardiology platforms that currently rely on individual contributors to lead growth efforts.

Cardiology has grown tremendously in the last 18 months, and the next year will likely continue that trajectory. Private equity firms looking to acquire businesses in this space must approach their acquisition targets with a talent-first mindset to effectively compete with already-strong competitors quickly filling out their ranks.

To learn more about our recruiting capabilities in corporate development and healthcare, contact Josh Kotelnicki at (336) 217-9159 or josh.kotelnicki@charlesaris.com.