Adam Coffey is one of the most accomplished CEO operators in the private equity world. Over 21 years, he served as CEO of three PE-backed companies — MASTERPLAN, CoolSys, and most recently as a senior advisor through The Chairman Group. Along the way, he completed 58 acquisitions and created billions in enterprise value across the HVAC, refrigeration, and industrial services sectors.

In this premiere episode of Nine Figure Exits, Adam sits down with Doug Foley to walk through the entire playbook: how PE firms identify platforms, what makes an operator attractive as a CEO candidate, how to structure an equity rollover that creates generational wealth, and why the second bite of the apple is almost always bigger than the first.

This episode is essential listening for any operator considering a PE partnership. Adam doesn’t speak in generalities — he breaks down specific deal structures, explains the difference between a platform acquisition and a bolt-on, and shares the exact framework he used to evaluate whether an add-on acquisition would create value or destroy it.

He also gets into the talent side: how to build a management team that survives a PE transition, what PE firms look for in a CEO (and what gets you replaced), and how to maintain company culture through rapid acquisition-driven growth.

Key topics covered: PE acquisition playbooks, equity rollover mechanics, platform vs. bolt-on strategy, management team building under PE ownership, quality of earnings preparation, valuation drivers in industrial services, the second bite of the apple, and what operators get wrong about the LOI process.