Bringing in a co-CEO or senior operator after finding a target

Everyone, Curious to hear from searchers who started the journey solo, found a target company, and then brought in a co-CEO, operating partner, or senior hire to help lead the acquisition and post-close transition. At what point did you bring that person in? Before signing, between LOI and closing, or only after the acquisition? And how did you think about role definition, investor alignment, and economics? I’m particularly interested in whether their compensation or equity-like economics were included directly in the closing terms / investor documents, or whether this was handled separately after close. Would be very helpful to hear real experiences, lessons learned, and things you would do differently.