Private equity / Carve-outs
Leaders for carve-outs and integrations.
Pulling a business out of a parent, or putting two companies together, creates a seat that didn't exist last quarter.
Carve-out and integration leadership means the CFOs, controllers and operators who stand up a business after it leaves a parent company, or who join two companies after a deal. Steward Well finds these leaders for companies from $50M to $500M, partner-led, with a calibrated shortlist in 21 days.
What does a carve-out CFO have to build?
In a carve-out, the business leaves a parent that ran its finance, payroll, IT and legal. Most of that support ends on a set date under a transition services agreement. The new CFO has to replace it before the date arrives.
- A standalone general ledger and close process
- Payroll, banking, treasury and insurance
- Audited standalone financials, often for the first time
- A finance team, hired fast, often from scratch
- Reporting to a new sponsor and new lenders
What does an integration leader do?
After a merger or an add-on, two companies have two systems, two charts of accounts and two cultures. Someone has to pick one way of working and move everyone to it without losing customers or people.
That leader is often the CFO or a VP Finance. In plant-heavy businesses, it can be a VP Operations. The skill is the same: steady change, on a deadline, with the business still running.
Why is this search different?
Few people have done a carve-out. Fewer have done one well. They're hard to find because the work happens quietly inside larger companies.
We map the people who sat inside past carve-outs and integrations, at the parent, the buyer and the advisors. Then we test for what they built, not what they watched. For complex reporting, a chief accounting officer can carry part of the load.
How does a Steward Well search run?
- Discovery. A partner meets the owner, the board or sponsor, and the team the leader will inherit.
- A written success profile. What this person must have done by month twelve, agreed before we call anyone.
- An original market map. Built for your seat, not pulled from a stack of resumes.
- A calibrated shortlist in 21 days. Qualified, interested and assessed against the profile.
- Scored interviews, deep references and offer support. The search closes in 45 to 90 days.
- Twelve months of check-ins, backed by a written 12-month guarantee.
A partner runs every step. You never get handed to a junior team after the pitch. See the full approach.
Questions buyers ask first
When should a carve-out CFO start?
As early as you can, ideally before the deal closes. Every week of overlap with the transition services period is a week the CFO can use to build.
Can a carve-out CFO stay on after the build?
Often yes. Some builders prefer to move on once the business runs. We ask that question early so the board can plan.
Do you search for integration leads below the CFO?
Yes. Controllers and finance systems leads often carry the daily work of an integration.
How long does the search take?
We commit in writing to a calibrated shortlist in 21 days and a finished search in 45 to 90 days.
See where your search stands before it starts.
The readiness diagnostic takes two minutes. It shows the gaps that slow a search down. When you're ready, a partner takes the first call.