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Industry:
Consumer Products & Services, Private Equity, Small Medium Enterprise
Function:
Finance & Accounting
Positions:
CFO
Location:
Newark, New Jersey
Situation:
Our client is a private equity fund manager based in Toronto focused on mid-market buy-out opportunities in Canada and the US. They purchased a US company that develops, markets and distributes pet treat products and were looking to assemble a new executive team to bring the business to the next level. They recognized that the company had tremendous potential to further penetrate the market and anticipated at least a doubling of sales within five years via both organic growth and acquisitions. In order to meet this goal, they needed to hire an executive team consisting of a CFO, VP Sales and VP Supply Chain who had specific industry knowledge as well as experience working with private equity firms. The CFO would manage the financial an accounting functions of the company and work closely with stakeholders including the executive team, bankers and shareholders to evolve the strategic plan and guide the company's growth objectives. The ideal candidate would have signifiant experience in finance and operations including foreign sourcing and M&A integration. Furthermore, they would be well versed in the consumer products industry an have prior involvement with small to mid-market private equity owned companies.
Approach:
We met with the incumbent leadership team including the President and the Board to gain a thorough understanding of our mandate. We developed a company profile and reviewed the organizational structure to understand how the CFO role fit within the company. Together, we drafted a position profile as well as a go-to-market strategy to identify top candidates. Prospective candidates were personally researched, recruited, interviewed and assessed. Short-listed candidates were presented and recommendations made based on their qualifications and fit. We sequenced the hiring plan to first target the sales role, followed by the supply chain role and then this finance role.
Result:
We undertook an exhaustive search of the marketplace until we found individuals that fit the criteria of having relevant industry, private equity and functional area experience. The new CFO was a senior financial executive in the food processing industry with a proven track record of cross-functional team leadership in driving growth objectives. This individual also had strategic planning expertise in the reorganization and recapitalization of business. Having previously managed ownership transitions via private equity firms, they also had the experience with investor groups that our client was looking for. Overall, we assembled a highly competent leadership team and together with the VP Sales and Supply Chain, the new CFO was well-positioned to contribute to the company's growth objectives.
Testimonial:
Bill has a creative and strategic approach to executive search. His efforts resulted in the hiring of key members of the Executive Team for one of our portfolio companies. Bill not only finds outstanding talent, but talent that fits into a uniquely entrepreneurial business. There is no shortage of executive search consultants in the marketplace, but there are very few that truly understand Private Equity – I highly recommend Bill. ?
- Company Chairman
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