Chief Financial Officer
PE-Backed Manufacturing Platform Company
Houston, Texas

THE OPPORTUNITY

This is a career-defining opportunity to join a newly acquired manufacturing platform at an inflection point and build the finance function for its next phase of growth.

The mandate is far bigger than keeping the numbers in order. It is about partnering closely with the CEO, the board, and The Private Equity firm to create the financial infrastructure, reporting discipline, and decision support required to scale the business materially over the coming years. The company has strong commercial momentum, a respected operating team, and interim finance leadership in place today. What it now needs is a permanent CFO who can professionalise the function, improve visibility, strengthen controls, support acquisition activity, and help turn a successful single-site business into a broader multi-site platform.

This is not a maintenance role. It is an opportunity to shape a business with a clear ambition to build toward $250M revenue and $30M EBITDA by 2030 through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions.

THE COMPANY
The portfolio company is a private equity-backed manufacturing business in Houston, Texas, operating from a large, modern production facility with a diversified customer base across industrial end markets.
The business combines strong operational capability with a high-quality production environment and an established reputation for quality, service, and responsiveness.

180+ employees, 80 active customers, and 300+ active SKUs
2025 revenue of $34M
ISO 9001:2015 certified, operating multiple shifts with utilisation at approximately 78%

WHY THIS ROLE STANDS OUT
This role offers what strong finance leaders often struggle to find in one seat: real platform potential, strategic influence, acquisition exposure, and a visible route to value creation. There is already a meaningful business here. This is not an early-stage concept or a turnaround with no foundation. It is a profitable manufacturing platform with a strong operations team, attractive end markets, and a clear plan to scale both organically and through M&A.

For the right person, the opportunity includes:

• Building the finance function, controls, and reporting cadence expected in a PE-backed environment
• Driving both organic growth support and operational improvement
• Playing a central role in future acquisitions and integrations
• Helping build toward a $250M revenue platform
• Partnering closely with an ambitious CEO and board to improve decision-making, visibility, and accountability
• Joining a group that wants to professionalise, grow, and scale properly

In plain terms, this is a chance to move beyond stewardship and help build a much larger platform over time.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

Success in this role is not just about producing accurate numbers. It is about helping the business mature, scale, and create enterprise value.
Over the first 12–24 months, success will look like:

• Establishing a best-in-class finance function with stronger controls, reporting, and forecasting
• Improving the quality and speed of insight used to run the business and protect margins
• Building a clearer and more effective finance organisation
• Increasing accountability, KPI discipline, and operating visibility
• Supporting a sharper go-to-market strategy and more data-driven commercial decisions
• Creating integration readiness for future acquisitions and multi-site growth
• Developing high-potential finance talent and strengthening succession depth
• Improving cash flow management, covenant visibility, and board-level reporting
• Helping the company scale into new geographies and attractive end markets
• Establishing the business as the foundation for a broader manufacturing platform

Longer term, success means helping deliver the growth plan, integrate multiple acquisitions, and position the company for exit at materially higher scale and value.

IDEAL BACKGROUND

This role is best suited to a proven finance leader who has already operated in ambitious, growth-oriented manufacturing businesses and wants a platform-building opportunity.

The ideal candidate will likely have:

• Experience as a CFO or a strong number two ready for a CFO seat
• Full P&L partnership and board-level reporting capability
• Manufacturing experience, ideally in technical, process-driven, or engineered products environments
• Experience in a PE-backed or similarly high-accountability corporate environment
• Leadership experience in a business scaling toward $200M+ revenue
• Strong financial reporting discipline, forecasting capability, and control orientation
• A track record of growth support, execution, integration, and organisational improvement
• The ability to lead both people and performance while remaining hands-on when needed
• A strong reputation for doing what they say they will do

Experience with multi-site growth, add-on acquisitions, pricing, systems build-out, and founder-led business professionalisation would all be highly valuable. Lean manufacturing exposure is also beneficial.

LOCATION
Houston, Texas
This is an on-site leadership role. Remote working is not being considered.

COMPENSATION

Base salary: $250,000 – $300,000
Bonus: 50%
Equity / Carry: 1.5% of common shares
401(k): Yes
Healthcare: Yes

Raw Selection is an executive search firm working exclusively with Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies across Europe & North America.

Serious about progressing your executive career in Private Equity-backed businesses?

See Alex Rawlings’s advice that helps leaders understand what great looks like, how top firms hire, and how to stand out in a competitive market. (Free)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0_Wj_ni8VvTOXtehwMznqA

Surround yourself with other PE-backed CEOs navigating the same leadership and growth challenges.

Join the Private Equity Executive Community. (Free)
https://www.raw-selection.com/communities