A leading global investment firm, managing over $10bn of equity capital, required an established and highly experienced CFO for one of their portfolio companies. Reporting directly to the board, the individual would be mandated to restructure the business and prepare it for sale over the next 12 months.
Knowing that a retained search could take up a large amount of that time, they needed a solution that would accommodate their timescales. After taking the time to understand their strategy, which would inevitably lead to organisational and cultural challenges, we advised that an interim CFO with a track record of working with established private equity firms and selling investments would be the most suitable option. They can be objective in their approach and focus on delivering. In addition, we suggested a 3 to 6 month interim to permanent solution should be considered if they wished for that individual to be permanently in place in preparation of the sale.
Within 48 hours, a shortlist of three highly experienced candidates was presented to the firm, all ex-investment bankers with the specific industry background and experience needed for this assignment. Interviews were conducted with five of the firm’s Partners, contracts were negotiated, and the successful candidate started as the interim CFO within 5 weeks of our briefing.
Less than two months into the role, a permanent contract was negotiated with the candidate and the Partners had their permanent CFO appointed. They are currently on track to sell their asset within the projected time frame.