Strategic Finance Leadership to Drive Operational Excellence in Private Equity Portfolio

The Client

Our client is a Dallas-based private equity firm with a diverse portfolio spanning multiple industries, including defense technology, healthcare, energy services, automotive, and industrial sectors. With over $8 billion in assets under management and a strong track record of transactions, the firm focuses on operational improvements, value creation, and strategic growth through acquisitions. The firm maintains a global footprint through its subsidiaries and portfolio companies. Known for its expertise in operational turnarounds, the client seeks long-term partnerships with a focus on scaling businesses across economic cycles.

The Challenge

As the private equity firm continued to expand and improve its portfolio companies, it faced the challenge of enhancing the operational efficiency and financial performance of its holdings. With a need to ensure ongoing value creation, the firm required a Vice President of Portfolio Operations – Finance who could lead initiatives to improve financial processes and systems across its investments.

The key responsibilities of the role included:

• Leading portfolio-level finance engagements, scoped by the firm’s deal team.
• Collaborating with portfolio management to track progress and drive success.
• Improving financial processes to ensure sustainable change within portfolio companies.
• Implementing finance best practices, enhancing reporting standards, and aligning operations with strategy.
• Demonstrating leadership with humility, servant leadership, and an entrepreneurial focus, requiring significant travel.

The ideal candidate needed to bring deep expertise in private equity investing, operational finance, and transaction advisory, with a focus on process improvement and financial acumen.

Our Approach

We undertook a targeted search for a candidate with the right combination of investment banking, consulting, or private equity experience, combined with a strong background in finance, accounting, and operational leadership. We focused on candidates who had a proven ability to navigate complex financial environments and were comfortable working directly with portfolio companies to improve financial processes.

Candidates were evaluated on their ability to build processes, improve operational efficiency, and execute strategic financial improvements in portfolio companies.

The Placement

The selected candidate was an experienced finance leader with a background in transaction advisory services and a deep understanding of operational finance. He brought over a decade of experience in transaction advisory, including advising on over 150 deals in various industries. His notable engagements included:

• Buy-side advisory for a vertically integrated manufacturer: Assessed profitability,
• Interim strategy and corporate development for a building materials distributor: Led due diligence, buy-side negotiations, and integration of acquisitions.

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Additionally, the candidate’s experience in creating dynamic financial models, improving financial due diligence processes, and providing strategic guidance to portfolio companies made him well-suited to lead the client’s portfolio finance initiatives. His technical acumen in accounting and financial reporting systems, coupled with his entrepreneurial mindset, allowed him to effectively improve financial operations and build strong relationships across portfolio companies.

The Outcome

Since joining, he has had a direct impact on the financial operations of multiple portfolio companies by implementing process improvements and financial best practices. The placement of this highly skilled finance leader allowed the client to move forward with greater confidence in the operational success and value creation potential of their portfolio. The ongoing improvements to financial processes and reporting systems have positioned the portfolio companies for sustainable growth and long-term success.