How We Did it: Private Equity Associate Case Study
With our extensive private equity knowledge, we use time-tested frameworks to assess PE-grade investment professionals for interim work opportunities with our clients. This means when clients have a need, we can move swiftly to connect them with viable, third-party resources. When a private equity fund in our network unexpectedly lost two mid-level investment team members within a few […]
REDIRECTED Part Two: How To Avoid Hiring the Wrong Person When You are Growing Fast
Last week, I wrote about the fact that when you’re poised for growth and moving fast, putting the right people in place is just as important as developing a business strategy. However, you’d be surprised how many leaders underestimate the importance of finding the right fit. In addition the first common mistake I see— treating talent acquisition as tactical […]
REDIRECTED Part One: How To Avoid Hiring the Wrong Person When You are Growing Fast
When you’re poised for growth and moving fast, putting the right people in place is just as important as developing a business strategy. But hiring the wrong person or third-party resource can be more detrimental than leaving the seat open. HR agencies estimate the cost of a bad hire can range from 40% of salary for entry level […]
BluWave Insights: How the Agile Workforce is Impacting the Economy
Many hiring managers report that they face a talent shortage, which is why the agile workforce – independent professionals hired on a project-by-project basis – is only going to become more critical in the coming years. In my first article for Toolbox HR, a new platform for executives to learn about everything from cybersecurity trends to […]
PE funds across a broad spectrum of industries often approach us with specific, episodic needs. Our first step for matching them with best-in-class, third party resources is to understand the nuances and unique challenges they face. When a private equity firm acquired a leading plastics company that designed and manufactured innovative plastic-injection-molded products, the firm believed […]
State of PE: An Interview with Huron Capital’s Gretchen Perkins
Private equity is a widely misunderstood industry – from the common belief that Private Equity firms snatch up companies just to strip them down and sell them to the lack of awareness about the pivotal role PE plays in the modern economy. Gretchen Perkins is a partner who focuses on business development at Huron Capital, and there’s […]
BluWave Forms Fundraising Consortium to Fight Hunger in Nashville
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for food in the Nashville area has jumped from 600,000 pounds a week to a million pounds a week — a 40 percent increase over this time last year, according to Second Harvest Food Bank. Between unemployment rates skyrocketing and schools (a source of free or reduced […]
Finding specialized executive search firms is an area PE funds often seek our assistance, because instead of spending countless hours trying to find the right fit we can quickly match the funds with a series of vetted candidates. So, when our PE fund client acquired a founder-owned business that provides services to the niche power […]
Industry Insights: An Interview with ParkerGale’s Devin Mathews
This is an unprecedented time for private equity firms and their portfolio companies. As the economy begins to show signs of a tenuous post-COVID-19 recovery, there is no telling how the business landscape will be impacted. But one thing is clear: PE will be a major factor in the recovery. Devin Mathews is a partner at ParkerGale, and […]
The COVID-19 pandemic won’t last forever, and companies need to be thinking about how to best position themselves to not only maintain their operations, but also seize upon opportunities and prepare for an uncertain future. This means they’ll have to be agile, getting the right people with the right skills at the right time. Our […]
OODA Loop Offers a Solid Framework for Agile, Fast-Moving Companies
When I left my partner position at a PE fund to start BluWave, I sought an operating framework to help us build the company in an agile and customer-centric way. I embraced a model conceived by Air Force Colonel John Boyd called the OODA Loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act). This framework has been extremely helpful as we’ve grown to serving more than 350 PE funds in a short period […]
Research Finds PE-backed Companies More Resilient Than Others During Economic Contractions
Although states and businesses are beginning to reopen amid progress in the fight against COVID-19, the economic fallout has been devastating. Over the past nine weeks, almost 40 million Americans have filed for unemployment while the unemployment rate reached almost 15 percent in April – a number that has steadily increased since then. The private […]
Interim CEO services are highly coveted in transitionary economies, such as those experienced during the 2008 housing crisis, the COVID-19 recession and the 2023 bank failures. What works for a chief executive officer under normal circumstances doesn’t cut it when times are especially tough. That’s why private equity firms, their portcos, and private and public […]
Fractional CFOs: What They Do, Why You Might Need an Interim CFO Instead
The chief financial officer is crucial role. But not all businesses can afford – or are ready – for one. One alternative to committing to a full-time (and expensive) C-suite financial executive is a fractional CFO. “The biggest role of a fractional CFO is going to be high-level overview. The business is typically not going […]
Identifying an interim chief financial officer can be tedious, if not expensive. Companies that don’t know what they’re looking for when they begin their search could spend large sums of money on headhunters and recruiting firms. They can also lose valuable time interviewing unqualified candidates. When hiring an interim CFO instead of a permanent replacement, […]
