Advice for CEOs

Middle market private equity firms take different approaches to building financial management capability at their portfolio companies. After closing the deal for investment in a company, they often choose to keep the financial manager in place, whether he or she is titled CFO, controller or something else.

A significant challenge most growth companies face in trying to get out of No Man’s Land is upgrading the talent in the organization to propel such key drivers as product/service innovation and process improvement. In an escalating way, customers are demanding more from their suppliers; technological advances are presenting opportunities to you, and your competitors, to perform tasks more efficiently and effectively. To the frustration of many entrepreneurs, it sometimes seems that people with the necessary skills and experience just aren’t available in the market place—at least not at a price you can afford.