Chief Financial Officer
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
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