Tom Barrett, Partner and Coach at CEO Coaching International.
CEO Coaching International has added private equity operating executive and multi-time CEO Tom Barrett as a partner and coach, bringing a veteran growth strategist to the firm as demand rises for leadership guidance among founder-led and private equity-backed companies navigating expansion, acquisitions, and exit planning.
Barrett joins the coaching firm after a career spent scaling businesses, executing turnarounds, and driving value creation across software, technology, business services, and multi-site organizations. His background aligns with a growing segment of CEOs seeking advisors with firsthand experience building companies under the performance expectations of private equity investors.
The appointment reflects a broader shift in executive coaching, where founders and growth-stage leaders increasingly look beyond traditional leadership development toward advisors with operational and transaction experience. Firms serving entrepreneurs are placing greater emphasis on coaches who have managed acquisitions, capital raises, scaling challenges, and successful exits.
“Tom is an outstanding addition to the CEO Coaching International team because he brings a rare combination of private equity rigor, operating leadership, and hands-on growth experience,” said CEO Coaching International CEO Randy Dewey. “Tom has spent decades helping companies scale, improve profitability, execute acquisitions, and create meaningful enterprise value across a wide range of industries.”
Barrett currently serves as an operating partner at private equity firm The Riverside Company, where he works with lower middle-market portfolio companies on growth strategy, operational improvement, organizational development, and EBITDA expansion. His experience includes involvement in more than 10 acquisitions and multiple exits that generated returns ranging from five to 21 times EBITDA.
Among his most notable operating roles, Barrett served as CEO of SaaS company 7SIGNAL, where he grew the business to $15 million in annual recurring revenue, expanded the workforce, deployed more than 500,000 software agents, and raised $30 million in growth capital. He also led a turnaround at White Hat Management, helping move the company from a $12 million loss to $10 million in annual profit before a successful private equity sale.
His addition strengthens CEO Coaching International’s bench of former operators at a time when many entrepreneurs are preparing businesses for investment, acquisition, or accelerated scaling. Increasingly, founders are seeking advisors who understand not only leadership and culture, but also enterprise value creation, operational efficiency, and investor expectations.
“I love winning, and throughout my career I’ve learned as much from the setbacks and battle wounds as the successes,” Barrett said. “I’m excited to join CEO Coaching International and help growth-focused CEOs apply those lessons to scale faster, build stronger organizations, and win at a higher level.”
Beyond his operating and private equity experience, Barrett serves as chairman of several Riverside portfolio companies and remains active as an investor in private equity, venture capital, and early-stage businesses.
For CEO Coaching International, which has coached more than 2,000 CEOs and entrepreneurs across 90 countries, the addition reinforces its strategy of recruiting former executives with direct experience building, scaling, and exiting businesses. As private equity influence continues to expand across the middle market, expertise in value creation and operational execution is becoming an increasingly sought-after credential among executive advisors.