Call or text 262-893-1523 or email marc@mdmrecruitingllc.com.
I place CFOs and VPs of Finance at growing companies across Wisconsin and northern Illinois. When you are hiring the person who will own your company’s financial direction, the search is different from filling any other seat. This is what I do.
A CFO or VP of Finance is not just a senior accountant. This is the person who sits next to the owner or the board, tells them the truth about the numbers, and helps decide where the company goes next. Get this hire right and you gain a real partner. Get it wrong and you lose time you cannot get back.
What a CFO or VP of Finance actually owns
At a 50 to 200 person company, this person owns the financial strategy, not just the reporting. Cash flow and forecasting, budgeting, banking and lending relationships, board and investor communication, and the finance and accounting team all report up through them. They are the ones translating the operating plan into numbers the leadership team can act on.
The difference between a CFO and a VP of Finance is often about scope and stage. A VP of Finance may run the function day to day and grow into the strategic seat. A CFO usually carries the full weight of capital, risk, and long term planning. I help you figure out which one your company actually needs right now, because paying for a title you do not need is as costly as under hiring.
Why this hire is different
The best finance leaders are rarely looking. They are heads down running someone else’s finance function, and they only move for the right company and the right problem. You will not find them through a job posting. They come out for a real conversation about what you are building, and that conversation is the part I handle.
Fit at this level is also about trust and chemistry with the owner or CEO. A brilliant CFO who cannot work with your leadership style is not the right hire. I spend time understanding how your leadership team operates before I bring anyone forward, so the people you meet fit the room, not just the org chart.
What I look for in a finance leader
I look for someone who can zoom out to strategy and zoom back into the details when it counts. Can they build a forecast the bank believes. Have they sat across from a board and held their ground with real numbers. Do they raise problems early instead of hiding them until quarter end. Can they build a finance team and keep good people. Those are the questions I am working through before you spend your time interviewing.
I also watch for the honest broker quality. A good finance leader tells the owner what they need to hear, not what they want to hear, and does it in a way people can actually use. That trait is hard to screen for on paper and it is exactly the kind of thing I am listening for in every conversation.
The kind of hire this matters for
This search matters most when the stakes are real. You are preparing for growth, a sale, a raise, or a banking relationship that needs a stronger financial voice at the table. Or your current finance leadership has outgrown the company, or the company has outgrown them. When the next few years depend on getting the money right, this is the search I am built for.
Hiring a CFO or VP of Finance? Let’s talk about it.
Tell me about the company, where it is headed, and the kind of financial leadership you need next. I will be straight with you about whether I can help and what the search realistically involves. No pressure and no obligation.
Call or text 262-893-1523 or email marc@mdmrecruitingllc.com.