But one thing matters more than title: mindset. The leaders who get the most out of Ascend are intrinsically motivated, willing to stretch, and ready to invest in their own growth. If you’re only interested because your boss is telling you to do this, this probably isn’t the right fit.
The executive accelerator for PE operators ready to level up.
Build the mindset, skills, and network to lead at the level your role demands.
LEADERS FROM ACROSS THE PE ECOSYSTEM GROWING TOGETHER
The challenge.
Leading in a PE-backed company isn't easy. If you know, you know.
The bar’s higher. The runway’s shorter. And the clock never stops ticking.
High expectations.
Your investors want a 3x return. You're the one who has to deliver it.
Compressed timelines.
You’ve got 3–5 years to get it done. The clock’s ticking, and every quarter counts.
Constant pressure.
The pressure never really lifts. You feel it in your mind, your shoulders, and your sleep.
The struggle.
You’re not the only one carrying around this pressure, even if it feels that way.
Most PE leaders feel it, but few have a place to talk about it or work through it. I understand how it feels because I’ve lived it.
Walk out of board meetings unsure if you said too much… or not nearly enough?
Worried it’s only a matter of time before people see you’re in over your head?
Want to lead at a higher level, but keep getting sucked back into the weeds?
Know you should ‘lead more and do less,’ but can’t seem to break the cycle?
Know your decisions would be better if you had peers to pressure-test with?
Wondering if you’re growing fast enough to keep pace with the role?
The opportunity.
So we built Ascend.
By PE operators. For PE operators.
A program and community that helps you grow into a more complete port-co leader.
Lead yourself.
Lasting leadership growth starts from within. Ascend helps you strengthen the inner game that drives everything else.
✓ See your leadership impact more clearly through a 360 review
✓ Decode what drives you - your purpose, values, and hot buttons
✓ Master the self-management habits that keep you steady under pressure
"Ascend gave me a chance to take a hard look at myself, and develop strategies to maximize my strengths." ~Sean
Lead Yourself.
In this part of the program, we begin from the premise that leading others starts with leading yourself. Most PE executives are moving so fast that they rarely slow down long enough to understand their own patterns, triggers, motivations, and habits. This part of Ascend changes that. You’ll step back, take stock, and build a clearer picture of who you are as a leader—your strengths, blind spots, values, purpose, and the ways your team actually experiences you.
From there, we help you build the inner tools required to thrive in this high-pressure, high-stakes environment. You’ll learn how to stay steady under stress, make sharper decisions, manage emotional triggers, and show up with the presence and purpose your team needs. The benefit is simple and profound: you become a more grounded, self-aware, confident, and intentional leader—someone who can navigate tough situations with clarity and purpose, rather than reactivity.
Lead your team.
Great PE leaders build teams that thrive through change. We help you become a stronger, more adaptive team leader.
✓ Set a clear and compelling vision that inspires belief among your team
✓ Coach your team to build their capability and elevate performance
✓ Challenge your team to raise the bar, aim high, and do their best work
"It gave me an incredible framework for thinking about how to be a better leader in different situations." ~David
Lead Your Team.
This part of the program is about becoming a more situationally intelligent, adaptive leader. In private equity, things change fast—priorities change, macro factors shift, and what your team needs from you one moment may look totally different than the next. That’s why the core idea if this part of the program is situational adaptive leadership.
First, we help you build situational intelligence—the ability to read what’s really happening on your team and in your org. Then we help you grow your team leadership toolkit so you can meet the moment. The aim is simple: expand your leadership range so you can bring out better performance in a range of situations.
We use a framework called the Four Hats of Leadership to guide the work. Each hat represents a different way of leading, and you’ll sharpen the skills needed to wear the right one at the right time.
The outcome: a more adaptive, intentional leader equipped for the dynamic world of PE leadership.
Lead your company.
In PE, you’re measured by the value you create. We help you master the tools and skills to make value creation happen.
✓ Embrace the value creator mindset needed to thrive in PE
✓ Draw on the insights and experience of leaders facing the same challenges
✓ Identify and focus on the moves that matter most to value creation
"Tapping into other leaders who have been in similar situations has been an absolute game-changer." ~Andrew
Lead Your Company.
In this part of the program, we focus on the reality that defines life in a PE-backed company: your success is measured by your ability to create equity value.
This section helps equip leaders with the mindset, skill-set, and tool-set needed to drive value creation more predictably and confidently. You’ll learn how to zero in on the highest-impact, most value generative opportunities in your business, prioritize the right moves, and build the conviction to pursue them.
The outcome: a leader who understands what truly drives enterprise value, and knows how to make it happen in the real world.
The impact.
"Does this program work... and for people like me?
Don’t take our word for it. Here’s what other PE executives say after going through Ascend.
David | CFO
"This program has been incredibly impactful as a leader. I highly recommend it to anyone who is thinking about it."
Andrew | Regional President
"This has been one of the coolest experiences. If you're serious about growing as a PE leader, this is hands-down one of the best investments you can make."
Jamar | CTO
"If you're a serious PE leader who wants to get better for yourself and your team, this program is an outstanding opportunity to do that."
Luke | General Manager
"One of the most impactful leadership experiences of my life. The biggest benefit: learning to be a more situationally-aware leader."
Sean | President
"Having a community of people who have been in the same world as you are has been absolutely awesome."
Ryan | Head of Value Creation
"This was deeply impactful for me as a person, and a 'crossing the chasm' moment as a leader. You knocked it out of the park."
Anil | CTrO
"This was not a surface level learning experience. It was a deep learning experience. It stretched me past my comfort zone."
Tom | CFO
"I underestimated what level of personal impact this program would have. It was different than anything I've ever experienced.”
Lou | Partner
"You’ve created a space filled with extraordinary leaders. I deeply appreciate the way this program drew out the best in each of us."
Boomer | CEO
"Not a day has gone by that I haven’t practiced, discussed, or quoted something I’ve learned.”
Derek | General Manager
"I have way more confidence now. And the cool thing is I'm starting to transfer that to my team now."
Steve | COO
"The 2 days we spent on Leading Yourself were among the most impactful experiences of my career."
The program.
What you'll actually experience when you join Ascend.
A six-month journey that blends deep reflection, practical skill-building, and peer connection for PE-backed leaders who want to go farther faster.
In-Person Intensives
Two offsites that get you out of the weeds and into the work that really matters: connecting, reflecting, and leveling-up alongside other PE-backed leaders.
Virtual Learning Labs
Fast-paced, highly experiential monthly sessions where you’ll workshop real challenges, share insights, and walk away with tools you’ll actually use on Monday.
Intimate Peer Groups
Small groups (4 - 5), big value. Honest conversations with other operators who get it. It's like your built-in board of advisors for the 6-month journey.
One-on-One Coaching
Personalized feedback and coaching from guides who understand leading in a PE environment. They'll help you see blind spots and sharpen your edge.
On the Job Application
Every week, you’ll apply new leadership tools and ideas in real situations, testing them in live conversations, decisions, and challenges. You'll start to get real results in real-time.
Ongoing Community
After the program, the growth doesn’t stop. Stay connected to a growing network of sharp, grounded leaders who are committed to sharing, supporting, and winning together.
Who we are.
Meet your guides.
One’s a PE veteran. The other has trained 1,000+ leaders. Together, they bring the powerful blend of PE know-how and leadership science to this program.
Dan Cremons
Former PE Investor, Board Member, and PE-Backed CEO
Dan has spent nearly two decades in private equity, playing just about every role in the game: investor, board member, CEO, operator, and advisor.
At Alpine Investors, he helped launch the firm’s popular CEO-in-Training Program, now widely seen as the gold standard for leadership development in middle-market PE.
Over his career, Dan has assessed, hired, and worked with hundreds of portfolio leaders, and has long been a student of what makes great leadership in the PE arena.
The mission that fuels his work is simple: helping PE-backed leaders go farther, faster—and not lose themselves along the way.
MORE ON DAN
Grift Krehnbrink
Partner, Thoughtium
Grift is an expert in building high impact executive development experiences that actually work. He brings to Ascend a deep understanding of how to design programs that create lasting growth and real behavior change.
Known for blending head and heart, Grift combines sharp strategic instincts with a genuine understanding of what motivates leaders at their core. It’s a mix that makes his approach both practical and deeply human.
Alongside his work with Ascend, Grift leads Thoughtium, a growing 25-person leadership development firm that’s partnered with organizations of every shape and size—from high-growth startups to Fortune 100 companies and everything in between.
MORE ON GRIFTWho you are.
The kind of leaders who join Ascend.
This program isn’t for everyone, and that’s the point. We keep cohorts tight and selective so every participant raises the bar. Here’s what we look for in the leaders we invite.
You currently hold a VP- or C-level leadership role.
You're currently sitting in a PE-backed company.
You want to elevate how you lead, not just manage.
You crave connection with other PE-backed leaders.
You're ready to be pushed, stretched, and challenged.
You commit to showing up and putting in the work.
Our manifesto.
Leading in a PE-backed company is a different beast. You’re balancing pressure from every direction—your board, your team, your family—and don't have anywhere to talk about what that really feels like. I know because I've lived it.
Most leadership programs don’t get it. They weren’t built for leaders with investors to answer to and value to create on a ticking shot clock. If you want generic, there’s plenty of leadership programming out there. If you want something built for this unique private equity world, you’re looking at it.
The idea for Ascend sprouted from calls from PE clients asking, “Do you know of any programs out there like what you built at Alpine?” Turns out, nothing existed. And once we started exploring this idea, it became obvious: PE leaders were hungry for something like this.
So we took the hint. If no one else was going to build it, we would: a leadership accelerator designed for PE leaders, by people who understand that world deeply.
As we developed the program, we aimed to build the opposite of the leadership programs that sound impressive but don’t actually change how you lead. Where others zig, we zag. Instead of death by powerpoint, Ascend is deeply experiential. Instead of stiff and corporate, we try to be human and connective. Instead of safe, we push you, challenge you, and make it a little uncomfortable at times. That’s where real growth happens.
And while most programs pick one lane (coaching, workshops, or peer learning), Ascend integrates all of them into one cohesive journey: in-person intensives, small peer groups, one-on-one coaching, weekly challenges, and on-the-job application.
We know what you’re thinking: “Sounds great—but I don’t have time.”
You do. We all get the same 168 hours a week. The best leaders just use them differently.
Many executives tell themselves they’ll invest in their own growth "when things calm down." Maybe next quarter. After the board meeting. Or post-reorg.
Newsflash: things never really calm down in this world. The leaders who rise fastest are the ones who grow while they’re leading.
Ascend is built for leaders who are serious about growing, ready to lean in, and committed to doing the work. If that’s you, you’ll fit right in.
Apply now. Cohorts fill up quickly, and once a cohort is full, seats are gone until the next one.
Dan Cremons
Co-Founder of Ascend
Former PE Investor and CEO
Grift Krehnbrink
Co-Founder of Ascend
Partner at Thoughtium
Are you ready to join us?
We only run four cohorts per year, and they fill fast. Most go waitlist months in advance. If you want in, don’t wait. Apply now to lock your seat in the next cohort.
The process.
How does the process work?
If you're interested, here's how to get things rolling:
Frequently asked questions.
You've got questions? We've got answers.
Everything you need to know before applying: