I get asked a lot of questions about how to build a business, and how to do it with as few headaches as possible. Not that I’ve totally figured it out, but I’ve certainly made my fair share of missteps and gratefully have learned something along the way. From investing, to hiring, to reducing headcount, to managing the ups and downs of an economic recovery period—one thing remains unchanged: leadership matters. And if you’re talking about key leadership positions, the one that companies most often get wrong is the CFO.
Why? Well, the answers are as varied as the reasons they fail, but it generally has to do with asking the right questions from the beginning. In other words, the interview process is often to blame.
I wrote an article for CFO Magazine about “hiring the right interim CFO” and how to ensure you set your company up for success when it comes to hiring one of the most important positions. Whether you are looking for an interim CFO (who can move into a full-time position) or looking for a full-time financial executive, here are some things you should know before you greenlight your new hire:
8 Things To Know Before Hiring An Interim CFO
- If you are a PE-owned company and need to bring in a short-term finance chief, find someone who has worked for a PE-backed company before.
- The interim executive needs to have a track record of wins. That generally means a significant tenure at multiple companies.
- Find someone with industry experience, because it’s much easier to stand at the finance helm of a manufacturing, healthcare, IT, or services company if you’ve done it before.
- Similarly, the interim CFO should have experience working for a company of similar size and scale.
- It’s not enough to understand the numbers (sales, revenue, overhead) — you need someone who understands what the numbers mean.
- For the best results, find a pro who has a high IQ and a high EQ (emotional intelligence), because the interim CFO needs to quickly gain favor from others in the organization to gather information and build a story around the numbers.
- Be sure to have conversations with key stakeholders in a candidate’s prior roles. Choose the references; do not use the references the candidate gives.
- While enthusiasm is a wonderful aspect of a new leader, a short-term executive should have a stabilizing effect, not a disruptive one.
For more details and to read the full article in CFO Magazine, click here.
Interested in connecting with a CFO or interim CFO in our network? Contact our head of sales, Scott Bellinger, here.
PE firm urgently needs to assess effectiveness of sales team at healthcare portco
A middle-market PE firm Partner came to us with a prompt need to assess the existing sales team and go-to-market strategy at one of their portfolio companies that provides medical equipment and asset management services to the healthcare industry. The founder-owned portco was struggling with a high turnover rate and urgently needed to examine how to get the right sales team members in place. They were also in need of a new GTM strategy that they could execute once they had the right team in place. Having previously completed Voice of Customer (VoC) work, portco leadership was ready to take the next step.
BluWave identifies PE-grade consulting firms specific to the firm’s needs
Leveraging our founder’s 20 years in private equity, we have extensive frameworks for assessing PE-grade sales effectiveness and GTM strategy needs. BluWave utilizes technology, data, and human ingenuity to pre-map, assess, monitor, and maintain deep pools of sales and GTM strategists that uniquely meet the private equity standard. We interviewed the PE firm to understand their specific key criteria, and then connected the client with the select pre-vetted consulting firms from our invitation-only Business Builder’s Network that fit their exacting needs.
Firm engages with presented provider and moves forward to improve portco strategy
Within the same day of reaching out, the PE firm was introduced to a specialized sales effectiveness & training firm with additional experience developing GTM strategies for PE-backed companies. The client immediately engaged with this group and was able to start the project within 24 hours. The service provider we connected them with began by assessing the current sales processes and team members within the portco’s two verticals and then worked with them on developing an improved strategy.
IT due diligence needed for business analytics company
A LMM Founding and Managing Partner came to us with a pressing need to perform IT Due Diligence on a company they were evaluating. The target was a business analytics company that ingests POS data from retailers, analyzes it, and then shares actionable insights with their clients. Given that the crux of the company was being able to ingest and then transform data, the managing partner was urgently looking to understand the tech stack and the internal-facing software. They needed a due diligence provider that could scrutinize data architecture, identify areas for improvement in the tech stack, and had experience evaluating inward-facing software.
BluWave connects client to pre-vetted technology advisory firms
Leveraging our founder’s 20 years in private equity, we have extensive frameworks for assessing PE-grade IT due diligence needs. BluWave utilizes technology, data, and human ingenuity to pre-map, assess, monitor, and maintain deep pools of diligence consultancies that uniquely meet the private equity standard. We interviewed the PE firm to understand their specific key criteria, and then connected the client with the select pre-vetted technology advisory firms from our invitation-only Business Builders’ Network that fit their exact needs.
Client moves forward with top choice and gains needed IT insight
Within the same day, the PE firm was introduced to two select best-in-class technology advisory firms that specialized in IT due diligence for PE-backed companies. The client selected their preferred choice and started the project the next day. The PE firm was able to successfully engage the advisory firm and gain the IT information they needed in order to make an informed decision.
