Gary McGaghey is a well-experienced and known CFO. He has worked as CFO for privately owned and listed companies and now works as the CFO of the PE firm, Williams Lea Tag. Gary McGaghey’s experience makes him an ideal candidate to share tips for CFOs who want to excel in the PE space. He shares four strategies that he believes are key to making it as a PE company CFO.
According to Gary, working in private equity is different from working as a CFO in privately owned and listed companies. This is especially when it comes to managing cash flows. A CFO in PE needs to quickly understand and get a grip on the company’s cash flows. This is because PE companies are more demanding when it comes to cash flows.
Gary also recommends new PE CFOs hasten to build their own reliable base of facts. This fact base can then be used in making data-driven decisions. This is important because many PE companies do not have sufficient real-time data that can be used to quickly identify challenge areas and opportunities.
Talent acquisition is one area that Gary McGaghey sees as most challenging for PE CFOs. This is because they do not have large salary packages or long-term job guarantees to offer recruits such as private equity analysts. PE management infrastructure changes ever so often. A CFO, therefore, needs to identify candidates that are attracted to the steep learning curve of PE firms and the working pace of the industry.
Finally, a PE Chief Finance Officer must not lose focus on the overall transformation of the company. After receiving the overarching goals of the company from the CEO or PE sponsor, the CFO needs to look for ways to create value. They have to find methods to secure the necessary funding and allocate resources efficiently to create value. Read more HERE: https://bmmagazine.co.uk/business/gary-mcgaghey-on-the-cfos-role-in-talent-development-and-capability-building/