Chief Financial Officer
PE-Backed Food Manufacturing Business
Yoakum, Texas / Remote with regular travel
THE OPPORTUNITY
An opportunity to lead the finance function of a private equity-backed food manufacturing business through its next phase of performance improvement and sale preparation.
The mandate is focused on the core blocking and tackling of a strong CFO role: financial reporting, accounting discipline, lender communication, covenant awareness, board-level visibility, cash management, and practical commercial support to the CEO.
The portfolio company has an interim finance leader in place, but the business now needs a permanent CFO who can step in quickly, bring structure, and help prepare the company for a successful transaction. The Private Equity firm remains focused on an eventual exit and sees a clear path to a strong outcome as performance stabilises.
This is not a passive reporting role. It is a hands-on CFO seat in a lean, fast-moving environment where the right person can directly influence performance, lender confidence, margin quality, and transaction readiness.
THE COMPANY
The portfolio company is a private equity-backed food manufacturing and protein processing business serving a diversified customer base across retail, foodservice, and broader commercial channels.
The business produces a range of prepared protein products and operates across multiple sites, including a primary facility in Texas and another facility in South Carolina.
The company has completed a prior acquisition and has also taken steps to move away from lower-margin work. The current focus is on strengthening financial discipline, improving the quality of revenue, onboarding new business at the right margins, and building a finance function capable of supporting the next stage of ownership.
The Private Equity firm is a control investor focused on middle-market, asset-intensive companies, including businesses with growth potential, operational complexity, or challenging situations where speed, execution, and hands-on support are important.
WHY THIS ROLE STANDS OUT
This role offers a CFO the opportunity to make an immediate and visible impact in a private equity-backed environment.
- The business is in an attractive category with strong strategic demand drivers. Protein and broader food manufacturing remain highly relevant markets, and the portfolio company has a differentiated position within its niche.
- For the right person, the opportunity includes:
- Leading the finance and accounting function of a sizeable private equity-backed portfolio company
- Working directly with a seasoned CEO and an engaged board
- Owning monthly financial reporting and board-level financial updates
- Improving lender communication, covenant visibility, and cash discipline
- Helping prepare the business for a future sale process
- Supporting margin improvement and more disciplined onboarding of new business
- Building and strengthening a finance team across multiple sites
- Participating in a long-term incentive structure with a clear path to value creation
WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
Success in this role means bringing clarity, control, and confidence to the finance function.
Over the first 12–24 months, success will look like:
- Establishing strong monthly reporting, forecasting, and board communication
- Maintaining a clear understanding of accounting policies, practices, procedures, and systems
- Strengthening lender reporting, covenant tracking, and audit readiness
- Improving visibility into cash, working capital, margins, and operational performance
- Partnering with the CEO to support commercial decision-making and margin discipline
- Helping the business onboard new work at appropriate margin levels
- Building a more resilient finance team and adding the right support where needed
- Creating a stronger foundation for a future sale process
Longer term, success means helping the portfolio company become a cleaner, more predictable, better-run asset that is ready for a successful transaction.
IDEAL BACKGROUND
Your background will include:
- A minimum of 10 years in progressively more responsible finance roles
- Recent experience as CFO of a $100M+ revenue organisation, or as a direct report to the CFO / senior finance leader in a $500M+ revenue organisation
- Experience operating in a leveraged environment, ideally within a private equity-backed or publicly traded company
- A strong understanding of financial reporting, accounting controls, lender communication, bank covenants, and audit processes
- Experience building and leading finance teams
- M&A and acquisition integration experience would be highly valuable
- Prior food, protein, commodity-driven, consumer products, or manufacturing experience would be strongly preferred
- Experience preparing a business for sale would be valuable, but is not essential
The successful candidate will be hands-on, entrepreneurial, commercially practical, and comfortable operating in a lean environment. They will be able to work closely with a demanding, performance-driven CEO while bringing calm, discipline, and credibility to the finance function.
LOCATION
Texas, USA
The portfolio company has operations in Texas and South Carolina. Being on-site is a plus, but the business is open to remote candidates who are willing to travel regularly to the facilities.
Relocation support may be considered where reasonable.
COMPENSATION
Base salary: $220,000
Bonus: Flexible
Equity / long-term incentive: Yes
401(k): Yes
Healthcare: Yes
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