Chief Financial Officer (CPG Contract Manufacturing)

HUNT EXECUTIVE SEARCH ANNOUNCEMENT

Our client is an extremely successful and rapidly growing platform organization for a privately equity portfolio consumer products company located in New York. This is an opportunity for a business savvy CFO to actively connect and engage in the overall operations of the company and to make a significant contribution to the betterment of the organization.

We seek a strategic CFO who is growth-oriented and looks at the business “through the windshield vs. the rearview mirror” while running the financial playbook, helping drive operating excellence and supporting strategic decisions as the company scales. Must be both strategic and operational, serving as a thought partner across various functional aspects of the business, while implementing the systems and processes to help a company get to the next level in execution of the value creation plan.

Title: Chief Financial Officer (JH20631)

Reports to: President & CEO

Location: New York

Position

The Chief Financial Officer will report to the President and CEO and will be a key member of the executive team. On a functional basis, he/she will oversee all aspects of financial reporting and control, treasury operations, banking relations, tax, audit, risk management, mergers & acquisitions, and the financial planning processes of the company. The individual selected will play an integral role in advising the CEO and other key line executives on corporate financial and business strategies.

The CFO will examine ways to enhance growth and value creation by evaluating internal operations, acquisitions, cash management strategies, including international, and the effective use of corporate assets by understanding the financial and operational risks of doing business on a global basis. As a member of senior management, the CFO works closely with the leadership team in setting financial strategy. In addition, the CFO will have accountability for managing the Information Technology and lead a skilled finance staff, assuring that the function remains fundamentally excellent and attracts/retains top professional talent.

The position requires an executive with broad business understanding capable of providing insights, recommendations, and assistance in driving successful operational performance. The successful candidate will:

Oversee all financial management issues, including: Accounting, Budgets, Forecasting, Financial Planning, Reporting and Analysis, Internal Controls, Financial Policy Development and Deployment, Tax, Banking, Treasury, Audit, Insurance, Employee Benefits (in partnership with Human Resources), M&A (in collaboration with CEO), and Financial Systems.
Communicate all financial matters and issues with senior management and the Board.
Ensure credibility with the investment and lender community.
Deliver results meeting financial and strategic objectives of the business.
Drive business performance, and a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
Develop a high-performance Finance and Accounting team.
Collaborating with other functional leaders to establish and effectively deploy strategic plans for the entire global business.
Develop an annual operating plan and related budgets, forecasting and analysis.
Lead and direct involvement with the business and functional leaders in this critical process is expected. Should culminate in a blueprint for achieving overall strategic and operational objectives of the company.
Ensure leaders have timely data and reporting needed to measure performance and the effectiveness and impact of improvement initiatives, and the analysis needed to understand and address gaps.
Ensure a culture of integrity, transparency, and compliance with all relevant financial and accounting standards as well as all applicable laws, codes, and regulatory requirements.
Develop and maintain relationships with outside tax and audit firms.
Provide oversight of the IT organization.
Serve as a strong, collaborative member of the leadership team, and as a thought partner to the CEO. Help lead the organization through a cultural transformation and a step change in performance.
Provide sound leadership to the finance function.
Outstanding understanding of and ensuring diligent adherence to GAAP .

Serving as the company’s Chief Financial Officer requires expertise in overall corporate finance policies and guidelines, as well as regulatory requirements. (privately held company-No SOX nonsense) The incumbent must have a capacity for rendering mature business decisions and judgments and must possess in-depth knowledge of accounting principles and practices.

The position requires broad decision-making capability. The CFO analyzes and recommends investment, merger/acquisition and financing opportunities consistent with overall corporate objectives. Through internal capital management and/or external financing, this individual will be accountable to improve the company’s balance sheet.

Qualifications

We seek a highly regarded senior financial executive with extensive experience in a complex environment. More specifically, the successful candidate is expected to meet the following criteria:

Must have 10+ years finance experience, with at least 4 years as the senior leader of a medium-size or larger business.
Proven and successful CFO experience in a private equity portfolio company would be ideal, but candidates that have led finance at a strategic business unit or divisional level at a well-respected enterprise known for developing strong financial talent will also be considered.
Familiarity with capabilities of contemporary tools and innovative approaches to provide managers with a breadth of data, reporting, and analytical support strongly preferred.
Finance experience in operations, including cost accounting, inventory control, and productivity measurement expected. Experience as a factory controller a plus.
Pricing experience in a manufacturing business with a complex, high mix product and channel environment preferred.
Merger and acquisition experience preferred.
Treasury management, tax, and audit experience preferred.

· Experience working with information technology staff to manage/upgrade finance/accounting, ERP and enterprise systems.

· Experience working with the commercial banks and shareholders with highly effective communication skills.

· Proven record in developing an operational and effective financial organization.

· Prefer experience integrating new or existing divisions or acquired companies from a financial and systems point of view.

· Collaborative team player and consensus builder with a distinct "hands-on-mentality" being able to successfully solve operational as well as strategic challenges.

· Demonstrated competence and experience in implementing and managing rigorous, disciplined financial controls, financial management systems, and enterprise performance measures.

· Strong personal leadership qualities; a track record of recruiting, motivating and developing a capable finance team.

· Strong negotiating skills; experienced with mergers, acquisitions, manufacturing and B2B and B2C professional services is preferred.

· Experience with investments in digital strategy development and project execution a plus.

Demonstrated ability to recruit, motivate, coach, and develop outstanding finance talent a must.
Evident ability to think both strategically and tactically, with a bias for action and results, a must.
Must possess significant experience partnering with business and functional leaders, and the President/CEO, to drive performance and build a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
Possess a mindset of “Faster, Better, Cheaper, Simpler” processes and decision making.

Competencies/Behaviors

The company expects all employees and leaders, regardless of role or function, to embrace specific competencies and behaviors which are viewed critical to the desired culture and the future success of the business. The company believes these competencies and behaviors can and must be continuously improved and are thus an important element of every performance development and evaluation conversation.

Customer Focus – Demonstrates empathy for internal and external customers; Strives to provide great and relevant customer experiences efficiently and effectively; Goes above and beyond to solve problems; Develops rich customer insights and brings those perspectives to business decisions.
Intellectual Curiosity – Asks many mindful questions to continuously better the understanding of the business and identifying areas of opportunity to grow and improve the business. Willingness to educate others in areas of expertise while being educated by others in their areas of expertise.
Money-making DNA – Converts understanding of customer needs to business growth opportunities; Aggressively pursues growth opportunities through world class Sales and Marketing; Courage to act with incomplete information or where outcomes are uncertain; Takes intelligent, measured risk to achieve superior returns; Strong financial acumen.
Strategic Vision – Able to craft a vision, communicate it clearly, and translate into business objectives with accountability; Ability to assimilate various information or opinions into a well-considered decision; Understands implications of a decision on broader systems, markets, processes and functions; Strategy informs priorities.
Makes People, Teams, and Organization Better – Encourages excellence in peers, subordinates, and managers; Focuses time and energy on personnel, staff, and organizational development; Committed to coaching; Hires and develops top talent; Builds succession depth; Drives and supports delegation to the most appropriate level in the organization.
Self-Aware/Learner – Recognizes own behaviors and how they affect others; Understands own strengths and weaknesses; Open to feedback; Takes action to Improve.
Functional/Industry/Technical Excellence – Competence in area of expertise/responsibility; Stays current.
Leadership Impact – Thinks like a leader regardless of role; Accountable; Takes ownership for results; Consistently meets commitments; Able to: 1) Conceptualize an issue, 2) Develop action plan, 3) Communicate, and 4) Execute; Focused on critical few priorities; Passion for work and people; Role model.
Champions Change – Shapes and supports strategic, organization, process, and culture change in the long-term interest of the business; Source of positive attitude and influence; Adapts to change; Makes difficult decisions; Healthy sense of urgency.
Problem Solving – Continuous improvement mindset; Knows how to work productively within a structured business system; Confronts difficult problems; Gets “below the surface”: resourceful and collaborative in seeking facts and input; Decisive; Demonstrated bias for action.
Integrity – Unquestionable and sound moral character. Conducts personal and departmental activities with the utmost probity. Intolerance for negligence.

Personal Traits

· A person of the highest integrity and honesty, who inspires trust and confidence in superiors, peers and subordinates.

· Well-respected, with proven management, business and financial expertise derived from work with successful companies; pragmatic, with commercial instincts.

· A fact-based financial executive who can blend logic with intuition and common sense to arrive at the most appropriate and sensible business decision.

· A team player and team builder; able to work well with a broad group of professionals, unpretentious and comfortable working in collaboration with others, open, honest and straightforward in dealing with people, identifying problems and finding solutions.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Open, respectful, and able to relate with all levels.
Forceful, but collaborative.
Able to constructively challenge long-held assumptions and standards.
Accountable.
Data and fact driven.
Attentive to detail.
“Roll up your sleeves” mindset; Prepared to do real work when circumstances require.
Confronts disagreements openly and professionally. Seeks resolution and moves forward.
Ability to quickly establish credibility and build relationships. Comfortable on the shop floor, with senior leaders, the CEO, and with the Board.
High energy, especially when faced with tough challenges.