Interim Director of IT

About the Role: Interim Director of IT at East 57th Street Partners

Our client, a private equity firm focused on lower middle market investments, recently acquired a platform company and has signed Letters of Intent for two founder-led add-on acquisitions. As the organization enters a critical phase of integration and scale, they are seeking an Interim Director of IT to lead enterprise-wide technology strategy, systems transformation, and M&A integration efforts.

This leader will play a hands-on, execution-focused role in building a scalable IT foundation across the platform and newly acquired businesses. The ideal candidate brings deep experience in systems transformation, IT infrastructure modernization, and post-acquisition integration within fast-paced, high-growth environments.

This is a highly visible role working closely with executive leadership, operating partners, and private equity stakeholders to ensure technology becomes a value-creation lever—not a bottleneck.

Key Responsibilities

IT Strategy & Transformation

• Assess current-state IT environments across the platform and add-on businesses, identifying risks, gaps, and scalability constraints.
• Develop and execute a technology roadmap aligned with growth strategy, operational efficiency, and integration priorities.
• Lead modernization of core systems including ERP, financial systems, business applications, and infrastructure.
• Standardize tools, platforms, and IT governance across multiple entities.

M&A Integration

• Lead IT diligence and integration planning for pending and future acquisitions.
• Develop integration playbooks covering systems, infrastructure, cybersecurity, data migration, and vendor consolidation.
• Oversee post-close IT integration efforts to ensure business continuity and rapid synergy realization.
• Align disparate systems and processes into a unified, scalable architecture.

Infrastructure & Security

• Evaluate and strengthen IT infrastructure, including cloud strategy, network architecture, and endpoint management.
• Implement cybersecurity best practices, policies, and controls to protect a growing multi-entity environment.
• Ensure disaster recovery, data backup, and business continuity planning are in place and tested.

Vendor & Budget Management

• Rationalize and manage third-party IT vendors, MSPs, and software providers.
• Negotiate contracts, reduce redundancies, and improve service levels.
• Establish IT budgeting, forecasting, and cost controls aligned with PE value creation goals.

Team & Function Build-Out

• Evaluate current internal IT capabilities and organizational structure.
• Build and/or restructure the IT function to support a multi-entity, growth-oriented organization.
• Define roles, responsibilities, and service delivery models (in-house vs outsourced).
• Establish IT processes, documentation, and performance metrics.

Executive & Stakeholder Partnership

• Serve as the primary IT leader interfacing with executive leadership and private equity operating partners.
• Translate technical initiatives into business outcomes and value creation impact.
• Provide regular updates on integration progress, risks, and milestones.

Qualifications

We are looking for a candidate with:

• 10+ years of progressive IT leadership experience, including senior-level responsibility across infrastructure, applications, and systems.
• Proven experience leading enterprise systems transformation initiatives (ERP, cloud migration, systems consolidation, etc.).
• Strong track record of M&A IT integration, including diligence, Day 1 readiness, and post-close systems alignment.
• Experience building or scaling IT functions in multi-entity or high-growth environments.
• Comfortable operating in hands-on, resource-constrained environments typical of lower middle market businesses.
• Experience in private equity–backed companies strongly preferred.
• Ability to travel up to 50% to support on-site assessments, integrations, and leadership collaboration.

Leadership Profile

The ideal Interim Director of IT will demonstrate:

• Execution-oriented with a “roll up your sleeves” mentality.
• Strong communicator who can bridge technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Calm under pressure and effective in fast-moving, evolving environments.
• Builder mindset — able to create structure, process, and scalability where little may exist today.

Impact of the Role

This Interim Director of IT will be instrumental in transforming technology into a scalable platform for growth, enabling successful integrations, reducing risk, and supporting long-term value creation across the portfolio.

Key skills/competency

• IT Leadership
• M&A Integration
• Systems Transformation
• Cloud Strategy
• Cybersecurity Management
• ERP Implementation
• Vendor Management
• IT Governance
• Stakeholder Management
• Private Equity Operations