Strategic CFO for PE-Backed Growth & M&A

Location: San Diego, California Metro Area (Primarily On-Site)

Compensation: $275,000 – $325,000 Base Salary + Performance Bonus + Meaningful Equity Participation

Company Overview

Our client is a San Diego-based private equity-backed platform company entering an accelerated growth phase driven by an aggressive acquisition strategy. Backed by an experienced sponsor with committed capital, the organization has completed initial platform investments and is actively pursuing multiple add‑on acquisitions across fragmented markets.

The company is founder‑informed but transitioning toward institutional‑grade infrastructure to support scale, integration discipline, and long‑term exit readiness.

The incoming CFO will play a critical leadership role in building the financial engine necessary to support high‑velocity M&A activity, operational optimization, and enterprise value creation.

Position Summary

The Chief Financial Officer will serve as a strategic partner to the CEO and private equity sponsor, responsible for leading financial strategy, capital management, acquisition execution, integration oversight, and scalable infrastructure development.

This executive must be comfortable operating in a high‑growth, multi‑entity environment where acquisition cadence, integration rigor, and financial visibility are mission‑critical.

The ideal candidate has prior experience as a CFO (or senior finance leader) within a private equity‑backed platform and has successfully led multiple add‑on acquisitions in a buy‑and‑build environment.

Core Responsibilities

1. Strategic Leadership & Enterprise Value Creation

• Partner with the CEO and sponsor to drive EBITDA growth and margin expansion
• Develop and execute a multi‑year financial strategy aligned with acquisition roadmap
• Lead annual budgeting and rolling forecasting processes
• Establish KPI dashboards across business units and acquired entities
• Identify operational efficiency and cost optimization opportunities
• Drive pricing discipline, margin management, and performance accountability
• Lead financial due diligence for add‑on acquisitions
• Coordinate with investment bankers, quality of earnings providers, and legal counsel
• Build acquisition models and evaluate return thresholds
• Oversee capital structure impact and debt capacity analysis
• Ensure rapid reporting alignment and financial controls across acquired entities
• Monitor synergy realization and integration performance metrics

3. Finance Infrastructure & Institutionalization

• Build and scale a multi‑entity finance organization
• Oversee accounting, FP&A, treasury, tax, and compliance functions
• Improve month‑end close speed and reporting accuracy
• Strengthen internal controls and financial policies
• Establish audit readiness and standardized financial reporting processes
• Evaluate and implement scalable ERP and reporting systems

4. Capital Structure & Liquidity Management

• Manage lender relationships and debt covenant compliance
• Oversee cash flow forecasting and working capital optimization
• Develop rolling liquidity models to support acquisition activity
• Lead refinancing or recapitalization processes as required
• Provide disciplined capital allocation recommendations

5. Board & Sponsor Partnership

• Prepare and present monthly and quarterly board packages
• Deliver performance reporting and variance analysis to sponsor
• Provide data‑driven insights into growth initiatives
• Support exit readiness planning, including QoE preparation and data room readiness
• Act as trusted advisor to sponsor and executive leadership team

Organizational Leadership

• Recruit, mentor, and develop a high‑performing finance organization
• Establish accountability frameworks and performance metrics
• Partner cross‑functionally with operations, sales, and HR leadership
• Transition founder‑led processes into institutional‑grade systems
• Foster a culture of financial discipline and operational transparency

Ideal Background

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance (CPA strongly preferred)
• 12–20+ years of progressive finance leadership experience
• Prior CFO experience in a private equity‑backed, multi‑entity platform strongly preferred
• Demonstrated success executing and integrating multiple add‑on acquisitions
• Strong financial modeling and capital structure expertise
• Experience managing lender relationships and sponsor reporting
• Big 4 Audit and/or Transaction Advisory background preferred

Critical Success Factors

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Executive presence with board‑level credibility
• Ability to operate strategically while remaining hands‑on
• Deep experience in buy‑and‑build environments
• Strong integration leadership and post‑acquisition discipline
• Comfort in high‑growth, high‑accountability settings

Why This Opportunity Is Compelling

• Meaningful equity participation aligned with value creation
• Aggressive acquisition pipeline with immediate M&A exposure
• Direct partnership with private equity sponsor
• Opportunity to build scalable infrastructure from platform stage
• San Diego‑based leadership role within a high‑growth organization