Notch provided me invaluable guidance and counsel as I considered many options both in and outside of private equity. Though Notch is compensated by their private equity clients, I always felt that their advice and assistance were unbiased and had my best interests in mind. I view Notch as an important resource in my career decision-making and would recommend Notch to any CEO considering a role in private equity.
Rich Conti
CEO, ICU Eyewear, Inc.

CFO Practice

For any buyout investment to succeed, strong CFO leadership is undoubtedly required. Buyout scenarios amplify the need for a CFO who can provide astute financial, strategic, and operational leadership. Unlike traditional “generalist” search firms with dedicated CFO practices, all of Notch’s CFO placements are into private equity buyout situations. As such, we have developed a nuanced understanding of the demands of buyout investors and the unique requirements of private, leveraged buyout situations.

Notch qualifies and cultivates relationships with industry proven CFO leaders utilizing a rigorous assessment methodology developed over years of search execution experience. Specifically, there are numerous functional, personal and leadership competencies that we carefully evaluate in order to optimize fit for a specific portfolio company situation. For example:

Functional:

  • Technical depth, breadth and expertise to provide the necessary financial leadership and analytical rigor required within buyout scenarios
  • Broad operational acumen across administrative and critical business infrastructure functions
  • “Battle-tested” M&A expertise
  • Restructuring or strategic platform acquisition expertise
  • “Wall Street” exposure, including Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, IPO experience, investor/analyst interaction
  • Proven equity and debt financing experience within complex capital structures
  • Micro and macro understanding of the company and the industry at large to anticipate changing financial impact

Personal:

  • Ability to serve demanding constituents including bankers, owners and management team
  • Energy, resolve, instincts, and resourcefulness to handle ambiguity and shifting needs often associated with buyout companies

Leadership:

  • High integrity, valued, trusted strategic and operational partner to the CEO
  • Ability to lead and manage in a highly leveraged environment
  • Excellent communication and presentation skills
  • “Roll-up-the-sleeves”/Hands-on approach

Our mid-market focus, combined with our reach and access to world-class global institutions and executives, provide our clients the ability to address the broadest possible range of portfolio companies in terms of size, scale, industry, and specific domain challenges. We welcome an opportunity to discuss how Notch can offer an appropriate and timely solution to improve your portfolio company’s financial leadership and optimize your investments.