Acertitude Recruits CFO for Momentum Manufacturing Group

January 31, 2025 – Acertitude has assisted in the recruitment of Sven Doerge as the new CFO of Momentum Manufacturing Group, a One Equity Partners portfolio company. The search was led by co-founder and managing partner, Kevin O’Neill, and principal, Dan Staats.

Mr. Doerge is an experienced CFO and business leader with over 20 years of achievement driving growth, efficiency, and profitability on an international scale for industrial manufacturing companies. His background includes financial leadership roles for private equity owned companies as well as Privately-owned companies ranging from $100 million to $800 million in sales. Mr. Doerge formerly served as CFO at Hyperion Solutions, a private equity-owned manufacturer of elevator components. He also served as CFO at Innovative Chemical Products, a private equity-owned manufacturer of coatings and adhesives. Before that, Mr. Doerge was CFO at Goss International, a private equity-owned manufacturer of printing presses.

Momentum Manufacturing Group is a Georgetown, MA-based strategic metal components manufacturing partner to OEMs and product manufacturers across various industries, including robotics, electronics, fitness, medical, defense, transportation, and food service. The company provides design for manufacturing support, metal fabrication, precision machining, aluminum extrusion, powder coating, and assembly services, and maintains an extensive manufacturing infrastructure in 14 facilities across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine.

Founded in 2015, Acertitude specializes in recruiting CEO, C-suite, and executive talent in the consumer, financial, healthcare and life sciences, industrial, private equity, professional services, and technology sectors. Its consultants work from offices in Boston; Dallas; Miami; London; New York; Philadelphia; Providence, RI; Raleigh, NC; Shanghai; and Washington, D.C. Acertitude’s global professional services practice recruits leadership talent for technology services, strategy and management consulting, turnaround and restructuring, M&A and deal advisory, business process outsourcing, and human capital advisory firms.

With more than 25 years’ experience in global talent consulting, Mr. O’Neill has conducted over 2,000 searches for notable companies and private equity firms globally. He leads the firm’s global consumer and industrial practices, and co-leads the firm’s global private equity practice. Acertitude’s growth builds on Mr. O’Neill’s leadership of O’Neill Consulting, an Acertitude company specialized in management search, which he founded in 1996.

Related: As CFOs Gain in Stature, Succession Plans to Replace Them Falter

Mr. Staats has nearly 10 years of experience recruiting board members and executives for private equity-backed companies and investors. Before joining Acertitude, he spent over three years in Korn Ferry’s private equity and healthcare practices. There, he conducted similar searches for BODs, CEOs, and C-level executives, investment professionals, and operating partners.

The Evolving CFO Role in Private Equity

Navigating a tapestry of challenges, private equity CFOs have undergone a transformative evolution, shifting from being financial overseers to becoming strategic pilots. Their role surpasses the scope of accounting and reporting monthly numbers; they now own and harness data, providing invaluable insights that improve fact-based decision making for the organization at large, according to a recent report from Acertitude’s Scott Carberry. “The emerging PE CFO is a vital linchpin, balancing the financial acumen, operational resilience, and strategic foresight poised to unlock new dimensions of success in an ever-changing landscape,” he said. “Adapting to these evolving circumstances, the responsibilities shouldered by PE CFOs have experienced a notable metamorphosis in contrast to previous years.”


A Look at the High Demand for Top CFOs for Private Equity Firms
In times of volatility, financial stability becomes an understated hallmark of business success. Private equity firms have, appropriately, responded to the severe macroeconomic challenges of recent years with caution, making unprecedented pullbacks in investment and reaching record levels of dry powder, according to a new report from Slayton Search Partners’ Dan Dunn.

“Today’s firms are steadying their balance sheets and preparing for long-term growth by building quality over quantity—a process that will increasingly require proactive CFOs,” he said. “CFOs are key drivers of sustainable value creation for PE firms and their portfolio companies. As portfolio sizes remain limited and the need for exceptionally successful exits grows, the role of the chief financial officer will expand in the coming years. Subsequently, demand for experienced private equity CFOs is certain to rise.”


“Today’s CFO is an adept communicator and collaborator, transcending silos to engage operational leaders, investors, and portfolio company executives to navigate fluid market dynamics, conserve cash, and drive transformation,” Mr. Carberry said. “Most importantly, they enable the ability to drive better and faster decision making, aiding in the execution of the value creation plan.”

In the current landscape, there are heightened market challenges confronting PE CFOs compared to previous years, according to Mr. Carberry. He says that executives grapple not just with survival, but proactively rising from economic inflation to maintain the original investment thesis. “These times demand meticulous attention to minute details and a strategic pivot around new pain points – namely inflation, rising interest rates, and supply chain disruptions,” he said. “Each of these challenges bears its own set of sub-challenges leading to after-effects, and the key areas to focus on during these times include balancing cash management and revenue growth, evaluating headcount, benefits, procurement, and facilities, while also investing in automation.”

Mr. Carberry explains that amidst these dynamics, pace is still paramount. “Even in the face of impending challenges, the deal team continues to expect prompt execution within the business, tasking PE CFOs to augment their strategic maneuvering while managing rapid timelines,” he said.

Related: Financial Services is Booming, CFO Role Continues to Evolve

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor  – Hunt Scanlon Media

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