Signals & Scale: Finance Leadership for a Salesforce Solutions Pioneer

The Client

Our client is a full-service digital marketing agency and award-winning Salesforce services partner with over 20 years of experience. They provide innovative multi-channel solutions across the Marketing, Sales, Service & Community Clouds, and Pardot for clients of all sizes and industries.

The firm supports SaaS companies and other enterprises through analytically targeted email, social, and mobile marketing campaigns. As a PE-backed business, they are focused on doubling their $15M top line while scaling their 90-employee workforce. Their platform integrates marketing expertise with a deep technical understanding of Salesforce, allowing for strong client outcomes and measurable ROI.

The Challenge

To support the company’s next stage of growth, the leadership team sought a Head of Finance who could take ownership of all finance and accounting functions while acting as a hands-on partner to the CEO and COO. The mandate was to lead the company through a period of rapid expansion, optimizing performance, systems, and reporting along the way.

The ideal candidate would be a strategic and operational finance leader—comfortable evaluating contracts, managing day-to-day financials, building scalable systems, and working across functions including IT and HR.

Key priorities included:

• Building and leading the FP&A function with clear budgeting, forecasting, and scenario modeling
• Evaluating and optimizing contract terms with financial implications in mind
• Implementing KPIs and dashboards to support growth and profitability
• Leading all accounting operations, tax, payroll, and monthly/quarterly closings
• Partnering with internal teams to ensure efficient systems and cost control
• Communicating financial performance clearly to the CEO, board, and investors

The role demanded someone who was comfortable operating in a high-growth, PE-backed environment—capable of getting into the weeds while also serving as a strategic thought partner.

Our Approach

We targeted finance professionals with strong analytical and FP&A capabilities, a high degree of EQ, and experience in high-growth, tech-enabled service businesses—ideally with exposure to SaaS, martech, or professional services.

Key qualifications we screened for included:

• Experience projecting the financial impact of contracts, KPIs, and systems
• Comfort working closely with founders and leadership teams
• Hands-on execution ability in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment
• Prior experience in PE-backed or investor-supported businesses
• Strong communication skills with the ability to influence cross-functionally
• Backgrounds in digital marketing, Salesforce services, or related industries

We prioritized candidates who could lead through complexity while bringing both structure and strategic clarity to the finance function.

The Placement

We placed a financial executive with extensive experience across public and private accounting environments. He had:

• Led finance teams across several high-growth businesses
• Assisted clients in raising over $75M in venture and asset-based financing
• Designed executive compensation and profit-sharing structures
• Implemented dashboards and KPIs to bring clarity to financial performance
• Managed M&A transactions and led negotiations around asset purchase agreements

His blend of tactical execution and strategic insight made him well-suited to guide the company through its next phase of operational and revenue growth.

The Outcome

The Head of Finance quickly established regular financial reporting and streamlined communications with the board and investors. As the company’s first full-time CFO-level hire, he assumed leadership over accounting, HR, and IT.

He introduced efficient monthly/quarterly closings, launched utilization and payroll analysis, and led budgeting, forecasting, and contract negotiation initiatives. Operating within a private equity environment, he brought needed discipline and financial oversight to a rapidly evolving digital marketing and Salesforce solutions company—ensuring the business was ready for scalable growth.