What did the company need from its new CFO?
The company needed a CFO who could work bank lines of credit, report to investors and build the finance function as it went. It was a $30M private equity-owned energy company growing fast, and growth was outpacing receivables, so the business ran on short-term capital.
What made this CFO search difficult?
4 things made this search difficult: cash pressure from day 1, 2 audiences to report to, a finance function to build and no time to wait.
- Cash from day 1. With receivables lagging growth, the CFO would negotiate and work the bank lines of credit immediately.
- 2 audiences. A PE-owned company answers to its investors and its lenders. The CFO owns the reporting to both.
- A function to build. Systems and processes hadn't kept pace with the company.
- No time to wait. A company short on cash can't leave the CFO seat open through a long search.
What did Lyneer bring to this search?
- 20 years in executive search. Sandra Burreci led the search and already knew qualified CFO candidates before the job opened.
- A CPA on the search team. Scott Noga, CPA and our Managing Partner, screened every candidate's finance and accounting depth.
- Trust earned before the search. 2+ years of conversations and in-person meetings with the client came first.
- The Lyneer Executive Search Strategy™. We evaluated every candidate on 4 dimensions: technical skill, leadership capability, cultural alignment and long-term growth potential.
How did Lyneer fill the CFO seat in 12 days?
We filled the seat in 12 days by starting referrals and our own search on the day the job opened, then screening for the capital side of the role first.
- Referrals and search, side by side. Both started the day the job opened.
- The capital side first. We screened every candidate on investor reporting and short-term capital: bank lines of credit and funding decisions.
- 29 engaged, 4 presented. The client interviewed all 4.
Who did the client hire, and when did he start?
The client hired a CFO from energy and private equity, so he knew both the sector and the ownership model. He came out of the 4 interviews we arranged.
He started 12 days after the job opened on an interim basis, which put him on the cash problem right away. He has since signed his direct-hire offer.
Ready to start a search?
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This placement began as an interim engagement. Interim placements are measured separately from our 100% placement rate on retained searches since 1993. Published . Lyneer Search Group, 101 Crawfords Corner Road, Suite 4116, Holmdel, NJ 07733.
