Polished in the boardroom tells you nothing about the next three years.
Our researcher-led advisory practice runs custom engagements built around diligence of executive teams. The practice stands on three pillars — and they compound.
Engagements are led by former investigative journalists — researchers trained to source the people who know a team firsthand, get past rehearsed answers, and surface the leadership and operating dynamics that shape outcomes before they reach the financials. Since 2005 they have run thousands of structured, compliantly sourced interviews a year, from a business presence in 20+ countries.
Every engagement starts ahead: 80,000+ interviews completed across 5,000+ companies mean your researchers begin with the sourcing map and the institutional record — not a blank page.
AI is transforming how interview content is created and analyzed — the biggest shift in investment research. Heron is backed by an in-house engineering capability that few diligence partners can match.
Looking for standing coverage rather than a custom engagement? Explore ManagementTrack
Typical engagements run 2–6 weeks, scoped to your decision timeline.
Every engagement is a custom solution. We define the leadership team in question and the decisions the work must inform — from management and business diligence to fully bespoke research programs.
Researchers build the pool of most relevant potential sources — the former colleagues, operators, customers, and executives with direct exposure to the team.
Senior researchers lead complex, high-impact conversations: structured, ethically sourced, executive-level diligence interviews.
Findings are synthesized into structured reporting built on the new interviews and Heron's accumulated coverage of the company. We do not optimize for volume. We optimize for source quality and decision-grade clarity.
A private equity firm in exclusivity on a founder-led services business needs conviction on the CEO — and on the bench beneath him. The data room does not answer either question.
Heron researchers map the executive's career and build the panel: former direct reports, board members who watched him under pressure, customers who negotiated against him.
The interviews surface what the documents couldn't: the COO, not the founder, holds the key customer relationships. The firm re-evaluates and factors retention into the deal — before signing, not after.
Illustrative engagement - composite reflects typical scope, not a specific client.
Every engagement ends in an IC-ready deliverable — synthesized findings and structured reporting built on the interview record, designed to stand up to investment-committee and compliance scrutiny.
Management diligence is strongest in combination. Pair it with business diligence — customers, competitors, and operators around the same company — for one engagement that covers the leadership team and the business it runs.
Sector-experienced researchers across technology & software, healthcare, financial services, industrials, energy, consumer, and business services. See full sector coverage
A rapid read on the management team before you commit real resources to a target.
Full researcher-led diligence on the executives who will carry the plan — run inside your deal window.
Validate the organization you bought, pressure-test key hires, and monitor leadership through the hold.
Refresh the management read ahead of a sale or IPO — know what a buyer's diligence will find before they do.
Engagements are scoped to your process — most run 2–6 weeks at any stage.
“The gold standard in public company research.”
“Your work has added some plot twists that are definitely interesting and worth having unearthed.”
Compliance is not a buzzword at Heron. It is our single highest priority — engineered into every stage of the research process, from MNPI protocols on public-market work to the confidentiality, FCRA, privacy (GDPR), and sourcing standards that private transactions demand.
A former SEC regulator is involved in our compliance processes.
Every interview is reviewed before it reaches you — AI-assisted screening for MNPI, anonymization and defamation, followed by a read by the compliance team and a formal escalation path for anything sensitive. Nothing is delivered until that review is satisfied. On an expert-network call the client hears the content live; here the review sits between the interview and the client. Researchers are also trained on MNPI protocols before their first interview, and compliance is built into scoping, sourcing and interview design.
Every interview is recorded, transcribed, archived, and tagged. Our methodology is transparent and fully documented, ready for review by compliance teams and investment committees.
Engagements are confidential. Work is structured so your interest is never signaled to the target or the market.
Custom, researcher-led management diligence for institutional investors.
Prefer email? sales@heron-intelligence.com