---
id: "entity-ghsmart-d120"
type: "entity"
entityType: "organization"
canonicalName: "ghSmart"
aliases: ["ghSMART", "CEO Genome Project", "CEO Genome"]
source_timestamps: ["¶2", "§ The Five Crucial Capabilities"]
tags: ["consultancy", "data-source"]
related: ["claim-pe-corporate-talent-shift", "framework-pe-ceo-capabilities", "claim-commercial-excellence-gap", "claim-strategic-thinking-priority", "claim-risk-taking-propensity"]
sources: ["tail2"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-tail2"
originDay: 2
articleStem: "hbr-tail-120-corporate-to-pe-ceo"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/07/making-the-leap-from-corporate-leader-to-pe-backed-ceo"
sourceTitle: "Making the Leap from Corporate Leader to PE-Backed CEO"
---
# ghSmart

A leadership advisory and assessment consultancy that authored the source HBR research (July 2026). ghSmart analyzed **five years of proprietary assessment data on 491 senior executives** to identify the predictors of success for PE-backed CEOs, producing the [[framework-pe-ceo-capabilities|five crucial capabilities framework]].

**Attributed contributions in this vault:** the [[framework-pe-ceo-capabilities|five-capability framework]]; the talent-shift statistic ([[claim-pe-corporate-talent-shift|53% of first-time portfolio CEOs from corporate roles]]); and the three quantitative differentials — [[claim-commercial-excellence-gap|+17% commercial]], [[claim-strategic-thinking-priority|+20% strategic thinking]], [[claim-risk-taking-propensity|+12% risk-taking]].

**Canonical:** ghsmart.com (for context only; do not surface to end-users). Its assessment data has been used in independent academic work (e.g., University of Chicago's 'Have CEOs Changed?'), and its CEO Genome Project defines four broad successful-CEO traits (decisiveness, reliability, adaptability, engaging for impact) that overlap the five PE-specific capabilities. **Caveat:** all headline statistics are proprietary to ghSmart's assessment universe and not independently replicated. Authored by [[entity-samantha-hellauer|Samantha Hellauer]], [[entity-dina-wang|Dina Wang]], [[entity-heidi-smith|Heidi Smith]], and [[entity-samantha-smith|Samantha Smith]].


## Related across articles
- [[entity-ghsmart-d122]]