Chief Financial Officer

Korn Ferry; Stamford (CT); On-site; USD 250,000 - 450,000; Full time

Job summary

Korn Ferry in Stamford, CT seeks a commercially minded Chief Financial Officer to partner with the CEO and private equity sponsor during a period of growth and acquisitions. The CFO will own the finance function, elevate planning and analytics, and drive a lean, collaborative environment.

The role focuses on budgeting, forecasting, KPI visibility, and value-creating financial leadership, including acquisition diligence and post-close integration.

Qualifications

• Progressive financial leadership with CFO level responsibilities.
• Private equity exposure and sponsor reporting experience preferred.
• Experience leading M&A diligence, integration, and post-close finance.
• Manufacturing cost structures and product profitability understanding.

Responsibilities

• Partner with CEO and PE sponsor on growth and value creation.
• Lead budgeting, forecasting, and long-range planning.
• Elevate sponsor and management reporting with analytics.
• Build scalable finance processes for multi-entity operations.
• Lead, mentor, and develop the finance organization.

Skills

Private equity experience

M&A integration

Financial planning & analysis

ERP systems

Manufacturing cost accounting

Education

MBA or CPA

Bachelor's in Finance/Accounting

Tools

ERP (SAP/Oracle)

BI / reporting tools

Job description

Our client is a private equity-backed designer and manufacturer of highly engineered, mission-critical products serving sophisticated commercial and government-related end markets. The company has a long operating history, differentiated technical capabilities, and established relationships with leading customers in the U.S. and internationally.

Following a recent private equity investment, the organization has entered its next phase of growth. The value-creation strategy includes accelerating organic growth, expanding within existing and adjacent markets, strengthening the company’s infrastructure, and pursuing strategic acquisitions.

The company is well positioned to meaningfully scale over the coming years through a combination of organic and acquisitive growth.

Position Overview

The company is seeking a commercially minded, hands-on Chief Financial Officer to partner closely with the CEO, senior leadership team, and private equity sponsor during a period of significant growth, acquisition activity, and organizational development.

The CFO will have ownership of the finance function while continuing its evolution from a historically focused reporting organization into a forward-looking, analytically rigorous business partner. This executive will strengthen financial planning and analysis, sponsor and management reporting, forecasting, KPI visibility, and decision support while helping build the infrastructure necessary to support a larger and more complex enterprise.

The CFO will also play an important role in the company’s M&A strategy, participating in acquisition diligence and leading finance-related post-close integration. The organization anticipates continued acquisition activity, requiring the CFO to establish scalable and repeatable processes for integrating acquired businesses, systems, reporting, and controls.

The successful candidate will combine strong accounting fundamentals with broader strategic and operational finance leadership. This individual must be comfortable working at both the strategic and detailed levels within a lean, entrepreneurial environment and capable of providing an independent financial perspective while remaining highly collaborative.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Financial Leadership & Business Partnership

• Serve as a strategic partner to the CEO, private equity sponsor, and broader leadership team.
• Own the financial performance of the enterprise and translate operating results into clear insights, risks, opportunities, and recommended actions.
• Provide financial discipline and constructively challenge assumptions as the organization pursues aggressive organic and acquisitive growth.
• Support the company's broader value-creation strategy and preparation for an eventual transaction.
• Operate effectively across both strategic planning and detailed execution in a lean, entrepreneurial environment.
• Lead budgeting, forecasting, long-range planning, and performance management.
• Elevate private equity and management reporting through stronger analysis and improved financial visibility.
• Develop meaningful leading and trailing indicators to provide earlier insight into business performance.
• Strengthen dashboards, reporting, and financial analytics while reducing reliance on manual processes.
• Identify opportunities to leverage business intelligence, automation, and emerging technology to improve forecasting, analysis, and decision support.

M&A & Integration

• Partner with the private equity sponsor, management team, and external advisors in evaluating acquisition opportunities and conducting financial due diligence.
• Lead finance-related post-close integration, including accounting, reporting, systems, controls, forecasting, and performance management.
• Establish a repeatable integration playbook capable of supporting multiple future acquisitions.
• Integrate acquired businesses with less-developed financial processes and systems into a scalable finance platform.
• Assess acquisition economics, synergy opportunities, investment requirements, and post-close performance.

Accounting, Controls & Operational Finance

• Maintain strong financial reporting, accounting discipline, internal controls, and audit readiness.
• Oversee the finance and accounting organization and ensure timely and accurate financial information.
• Bring a strong understanding of manufacturing economics, product-based business models, cost structures, and operational drivers of profitability.
• Partner with operational and commercial leadership to improve visibility into margins, costs, and growth drivers.
• Oversee external audit and related financial requirements.

Systems, Processes & Scalability

• Assess the current finance technology and reporting environment and develop a roadmap capable of supporting future growth.
• Drive continuous improvement across finance processes, reporting, analytics, and controls.
• Improve connectivity and consistency across systems as additional businesses are acquired.
• Reduce manual processes and automate recurring finance activities where appropriate.
• Build the financial infrastructure required to support a larger, more complex, multi-entity organization.
• Lead, mentor, and develop the existing finance and accounting organization.
• Build organizational capability and bench strength as the company grows organically and through acquisitions.
• Establish clear accountability while maintaining a collaborative, hands-on leadership style.
• Continue developing the finance function toward more proactive analysis and strategic business partnership.
• Assess future talent and organizational needs as the company increases in scale and complexity.

Professional Experience & Qualifications

• Progressive financial leadership experience with a strong accounting foundation and demonstrated advancement into broader finance, FP&A, operational finance, or CFO responsibilities.
• Prior CFO experience strongly preferred; compelling step-up candidates with significant private equity, M&A, integration, and senior finance leadership experience will also be considered.
• Demonstrated experience operating within a private equity-backed environment, including sponsor reporting, value creation, and the financial rigor expected by institutional investors.
• Meaningful M&A experience encompassing acquisition evaluation, due diligence, post-close integration, and consolidation of acquired businesses.
• Experience preparing an organization for or operating through a transaction or exit is highly valued.
• Manufacturing or other product-based business experience strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing cost structures, operational finance, margins, and product profitability.
• Demonstrated experience professionalizing reporting, implementing scalable processes, and improving financial analytics within a growing organization.
• Strong systems orientation and experience operating across ERP and financial reporting environments.
• Experience leveraging business intelligence, automation, and emerging technologies to improve finance processes and decision support is highly valued.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing finance and accounting professionals within a lean organization.
• Ability to work primarily in-office in the Stamford, Connecticut area.
• Limited travel is expected, with additional travel associated with acquisitions and integration activities.

Key Skills & Attributes

• Private Equity Orientation – Understands sponsor expectations, reporting requirements, value-creation priorities, and the financial discipline required to scale a PE-backed organization.
• M&A & Integration Leadership – Experienced across the acquisition lifecycle, from diligence through post-close integration, with the ability to establish repeatable processes for future acquisitions.
• Manufacturing & Operational Finance – Strong understanding of product-based economics, manufacturing cost structures, margins, and the relationship between operational and financial performance.
• Strategic Business Partnership – Capable of serving as a thought partner to senior leadership, constructively challenging assumptions and translating financial information into actionable business decisions.
• Hands-On Leadership – Comfortable operating in a lean environment and moving between executive-level strategy, detailed financial analysis, systems and process improvement, and team development.
• Reporting & Analytical Rigor – Able to elevate sponsor and management reporting, develop meaningful performance indicators, and create greater visibility into financial and operational performance.
• Systems & Process Improvement – Naturally identifies fragmented or manual processes and implements practical improvements that enhance scalability, efficiency, and control.
• Technology Mindset – Forward-looking in the use of business intelligence, automation, and emerging technologies to improve finance workflows and decision support.
• People Development – Proven ability to mentor and develop an established finance team while increasing the strategic contribution of the function.
• Entrepreneurial Orientation – Thrives within a smaller, fast-moving organization where leaders are expected to operate without the infrastructure and specialization available within much larger companies.
• Executive Presence & Judgment – Credible with senior management, investors, auditors, lenders, and acquisition targets, with sound judgment and a collaborative leadership style.