Sector of demonstrated depth
PE Portfolio Companies
Sponsor playbooks demand financial discipline, integration capacity, and quarterly board reporting that doesn't break under audit. Catalyst plugs in as interim CFO during a transition or as the embedded operator on an add-on integration.
Where it usually hurts
You’re probably here because…
The portfolio CFO just left and the search is going to take 4-6 months.
An add-on closed and the integration is stalling because there's no senior finance leader inside the platform.
Quarterly board reporting is a fire drill instead of a discipline — sponsor partners are losing patience.
How we engage inside this sector
The Catalyst playbook for PE Portfolio Companies
Interim CFO coverage during a transition
Full-time CFO presence for 3-9 months: monthly close, sponsor reporting, audit prep, lender management, and a clean handoff to the permanent hire.
Add-on integration finance lead
Chart of accounts mapping, multi-entity consolidation, ERP migration, and integration close-cycle stand-up. Brian has run multi-entity consolidations across acquisitions.
Sponsor / board reporting discipline
Standardized board pack, KPI walk, covenant tracker, and 13-week cash. Built once, run every quarter without panic.
Outcomes you can expect
- Sponsor reporting on the same calendar every quarter
- Add-on integrations closed inside the planned window
- Audit and covenant compliance held without scrambling
Anti-commoditization
How to vet anyone you talk to in this sector
| Metric | Industry Red Flag | Catalyst CFO Advisors |
|---|---|---|
| Years in Finance Leadership | 5 - 10 years; often an ex junior or non-exec finance FTE | 25+ years across Wall Street, asset management, and CFO/COO seats since 1999 |
| AI & Automation Depth | "We use ChatGPT" — no track record building or running AI in production | ~10 years embedding AI in finance ops; venture work spans AI compliance, healthcare/telehealth, AI scheduling, and the AI/automation practice inside Catalyst |
| Founder-Operator Experience | Zero — first-time fractional, never sat in the exec seat | 12+ years running Catalyst plus CFO/finance leadership at venture-backed, PE-sponsored, and privately funded companies across multiple industries |
| Capital Raised & Deployed | Has only modeled or advised — never closed a round | >$25M secured for SMB clients; institutional Series A and strategic capital across multiple ventures |
| Wall Street Pedigree | No institutional or capital markets experience | Partner at a boutique institutional equity asset manager; helped grow firm AUM from $3B to $15B; sell-side equity research at global bank franchises |
| CFO + COO Scope | Lacks senior finance experience, little or no operational experience | Both functions; packaged as Fractional CFO, Fractional COO, Interim CFO, and Interim COO |
| Crisis Leadership | Has not led through a market collapse, bank failure, or cyber attack | Macro (since 1999): recessions, the GFC, COVID-era disruption, inflation/rate cycles, banking-system stress. Company-specific: cyber attacks, liquidity strain, and national payments-infrastructure outages |
| Time-to-Value | Weeks of "discovery" before producing anything useful | Two-week onramp; first operating model in days; close cycle reduced from 15 to <3 days at clients |
| One-Sided Commitment | Tries to lock into 6–12 month engagements | All CCA contracts are month-to-month — if we don't produce ROI, we don't get paid. |
Other sectors of demonstrated depth
VC-Backed Startups
Seed-to-Series-C teams that need investor-grade reporting without a $400K full-time CFO.
Explore the sectorFounder-Led Lower Middle Market
$10M-$100M owner-operated companies bridging from gut-feel to systems-driven decisions.
Explore the sectorProfessional Services Firms
Agencies, consultancies, MSOs, and design firms where utilization and realization decide profit.
Explore the sectorReady to put a real CFO at the table for your pe portfolio companies engagement?
Schedule a 30-minute discovery call. We'll walk through your situation and tell you straight whether fractional, interim, or something else is the right next move.