“The depth of your self-awareness shapes how you lead and relate to others.”

Areas of Practice

Behavioral Due Diligence

A psychological layer in your diligence process. We assess leadership decision styles, stress behaviors, adaptability, and fit—using structured interviews and proprietary frameworks.

Post-Placement Performance Acceleration

Reduce early-stage attrition and ramp time. We support newly placed executives in high-stakes environments to build trust quickly, align behaviors with mandates, and gain operational traction.

GP / IC Dynamics Advisory

Diagnostic reviews and behavioral alignment support for internal fund structures. Improve investment committee cohesion, streamline decision-making, and de-risk internal friction.

CEO, Succession & Transition Advisory

Navigate leadership transitions without disrupting momentum. We work alongside funds and operators to ensure behavior, communication, and strategy stay aligned through critical change.

Operator Fit Assessments

Ensure operators are behaviorally aligned with the capital strategy. We help investment teams assess alignment beyond charisma—into cognitive style, motivational fit, and execution capacity.

Case Study 1: Behavioral Diligence + Post-Close Advisory

Fund Type: Mid-market Private Equity
Use Case: Founder transition in a founder-led industrial services business

Context
A PE firm was acquiring a majority stake in a third-generation family-owned business poised for aggressive regional expansion. The founder-CEO was emotionally invested but resistant to operational change. The fund needed to assess leadership risk before finalizing the deal—and plan for a smooth leadership evolution post-close.

Engagement
Capital Behavior Group was brought in to run behavioral diligence alongside legal and financial work. Through structured interviews and psychological modeling, we identified a gap between the founder’s decision-making style and the operational rigor required for scale.

Post-close, we supported the founder-CEO’s shift to Chair and helped onboard a seasoned operator—building trust between founder, new CEO, and the fund.

Outcome

  • Behavioral risk flagged pre-close; deal terms were adjusted to stagger the founder’s transition.

  • A 90-day onboarding protocol helped the new CEO gain trust and authority.

  • Cultural tension was defused, accelerating integration.

  • The business exceeded first-year EBITDA targets and achieved cross-functional alignment within six months.

"Silvia’s input changed how we structured the leadership handover—she turned a soft risk into a strategy."

Case Study 2: GP-IC Dynamics Audit in a Multi-Family Office

Fund Type: Family Office (Direct Investment Arm)
Use Case: Investment committee misalignment affecting deal velocity and decision quality

Context
A multi-family office managing over €1B in direct investments was experiencing friction between operating partners and next-gen principals. Despite aligned strategy on paper, investment decisions were slow, founder relationships were fraying, and internal meetings often became combative or indecisive.

Engagement
Capital Behavior Group was retained to run a diagnostic audit of GP/IC dynamics. Through observation, behavioral mapping, and strategic interviews, we surfaced three core issues:

  1. Hidden status hierarchies across generations

  2. Differing risk profiles based on identity, not mandate

  3. Communication breakdowns under time pressure

We facilitated a recalibration process—including behavioral realignment sessions and a new decision protocol tailored to both generations' styles.

Outcome

  • Deal review cycles accelerated by 3 weeks on average

  • Two previously stalled deals moved forward with unanimous IC approval

  • Founder satisfaction scores improved significantly (informal NPS data)

  • The office now applies behavioral mapping in pre-IC assessments

“It wasn’t the strategy—it was behavioral friction. This work restored speed and trust in how we deploy capital.”

Case Study 3:Operator misalignment

Fund Type: Late-stage Venture / Growth Equity
Use Case: Operator misalignment in Series B healthtech deal

Context
A growth-stage venture fund was facing recurring missed targets in a high-profile Series B portfolio company. The founder had strong product vision but was struggling with team trust and execution consistency. The board was considering a leadership change but lacked internal alignment on the risk profile.

Engagement
We assessed founder behavioral tendencies, team dynamics, and execution capacity under pressure. The issue wasn’t vision—but communication under stress and lack of decision ownership downstream.

Outcome

  • Avoided premature leadership change

  • Re-scoped founder role with explicit decision zones

  • Interim COO added for execution lift

  • Board alignment restored; subsequent round closed without friction

“We didn’t need to replace the founder—we needed to rewire the system around her.”

Case Study 4: IC Behavior Analysis + Team Scorecard for a First-Time Fund

FCase Study 4: IC Behavior Analysis + Investment Team Scorecard

Fund Type: First-Time Private Equity Fund (Buyout Strategy)
Use Case: LP decision support through behavioral assessment of GP team and IC dynamics

Context
An institutional LP was conducting diligence on a first-time fund launched by former senior professionals from a global buyout firm. While the investment thesis was compelling, the LP had concerns about the behavioral integrity of the team: there were early signs of misalignment around decision-making, risk posture, and operating cadence—especially in high-conviction scenarios.

Engagement
We were brought in to assess the behavioral dynamics of the GP team and investment committee. This included 1:1 diagnostics, IC simulation observation, and a strategy-behavior audit to identify gaps between stated thesis and actual decision behavior. We also developed a customized diligence scorecard to guide LP confidence and future monitoring.

Outcome

  • Surfaced cognitive and cultural mismatches within the IC

  • Identified decision bottlenecks masked by overly polite group dynamics

  • Created a shared investment language across partners tied to fund thesis

  • Delivered a behavioral risk profile and scorecard adopted by the LP’s internal review team

  • Allocation was approved with staged governance rights and behavioral review checkpoints

“This gave us a clear view of how the team thinks, decides, and operates—beyond what the pitch deck could ever show.”