Insuring Growth: Financial Leadership in Claims Management Solutions

Client Overview

Our client is a leading tech-enabled provider of outsourced claims solutions for insurance carriers, offering services across property, flood, commercial, and auto claims. With a centralized headquarters and multiple functional offices across the U.S., the company supports insurers with a combination of skilled personnel, efficient processes, and proprietary technology. The business operates several brands that help insurance carriers manage peak claims demand with speed, quality, and precision.

Backed by a prominent private equity sponsor, the company has acquired five adjacent businesses to expand its reach and service offerings. These acquisitions are in various stages of integration. The ownership group consists of a lead financial sponsor, a secondary sponsor, and several founders transitioning out of daily management roles as the company scales toward its next phase of growth.

The Challenge / Mandate

The client sought a hands-on, operationally focused CFO to lead its finance and accounting functions during a critical growth stage. The business was preparing for significant scaling, including continued M&A activity and integration work, while maintaining operational excellence and preparing for a future upper-middle market exit.

The CFO needed to act as a strategic thought partner to both the CEO and private equity sponsors. In addition to the standard finance leadership responsibilities, the role demanded comfort operating within a leveraged environment, including direct management of lender relationships. The CFO would also collaborate closely with IT and HR, improve financial reporting, implement operational best practices, and support M&A diligence and post-merger integration. This role required a leader capable of balancing strategic foresight with day-to-day operational rigor.

Search Strategy

The search focused on candidates with CFO-level experience or those serving as VP of Finance at comparable companies. Ideal candidates brought a background in Business Process Outsourcing, insurance services, staffing, or other complex people-centric operational businesses. The role required someone with both strategic and operational acumen—a leader equally comfortable in the boardroom and working hands-on with the accounting team.

Candidates needed strong FP&A and accounting foundations, experience in sponsor-backed companies, and the ability to navigate leveraged environments. A successful track record managing lender relationships, overseeing ERP or financial system implementations, and driving integration during periods of rapid M&A was highly valued. Equally important were soft skills: strong emotional intelligence, collaborative communication, and the ability to drive alignment across executive teams, sponsors, and operational leadership.

The Placement

The successful candidate was a finance leader with more than 15 years of experience driving growth, productivity, and operational alignment at both Fortune 100 companies and middle-market businesses. His background includes extensive work with C-level executives on corporate finance, M&A, FP&A, budgeting, and line-of-business profitability. He brought a demonstrated ability to navigate complex operating environments and provide actionable financial insights that inform high-stakes decision-making.

Prior to this role, he served as a trusted business partner across industries, with deep expertise in both upstream and downstream impacts of financial decisions. His experience made him uniquely qualified to lead not only core finance operations but also support the broader transformation and integration efforts critical to the company’s growth.

The Outcome

The CFO quickly stabilized the finance function, building credibility with the PE sponsors and the executive team. He led the implementation of standardized financial reporting across all five acquired entities, providing real-time visibility into operational and financial performance for the first time.

He streamlined lender reporting processes, improved forecasting accuracy, and introduced KPIs aligned with both operational efficiency and growth goals. Additionally, he partnered closely with the CEO and private equity firm to support the ongoing M&A pipeline, leading financial diligence and driving smoother post-merger integrations.

His leadership has been instrumental in preparing the company for its next phase of growth and a successful exit, ensuring that financial operations are scalable, transparent, and aligned with the strategic vision of the ownership group.