Ormsby Park Names Head of Financial Services/East Coast Region
February 13, 2024 – The financial services industry is in a near-constant state of change. From embracing digital banking in the 2000s, to the rise of fintech, banking-as-a-service, and all of the new options available to consumers today, institutions have almost always been facing an ever growing need to evolve. Today is no different. Financial services firms must strategically differentiate themselves from the rest of the industry, whether that’s through new products, more competitive pricing, or by adopting tech-enabled services.
Financial services focused Ormsby Park recently appointed Graham Michener as regional managing partner and head of financial services. He will be working out of the New York office, leading Ormsby Park’s East Coast region. “We are very excited that Graham has decided to join Ormsby Park,” said Paula Park, the firm’s managing partner. “His relationships and expertise will add to our focused financial officer coverage while also expanding further into financial services markets.”
Mr. Michener has over 20 years of executive search experience in the investment banking and financial services industry. He joins Ormsby Park from Ridgeway Partners where he focused on financial services, board, private equity, and CFO roles. Prior to that, Mr. Michener led the global banking and CFO practices for North America for Dore Partnership. He has worked at RSR Partners as a managing director, head of financial services practice, and co-head of the CFO practice. His earlier experiences include Russell Reynolds Associates as an executive director in both their global banking and CFO practices.
Related: The Evolving Role of the CFO
“I am thrilled to join Paula, Larry Ormsby and the entire Ormsby Park team,” said Mr. Michener. “They have built an impressive search platform with a very talented group of people. Ormsby Park’s reputation and customized, client-first approach is truly best-in-class.”
The Chief Financial Officer for Growth
The CFO role can be thought of in three different typologies – accounting, operating, and strategic, according to Russell Reynolds Associates. The search firm says that some CFOs may be a blend across the three typologies, though typically most will align with a certain profile.
1. An accounting CFO brings a traditional finance perspective on budgeting, reporting, risk mitigation, and compliance, working to manage business complexity while minimizing risk as the organization executes on its strategies.
2. An operating CFO has a holistic understanding of how the organization is run and can offer a more grounded business perspective, enhancing long-term growth strategies. In addition to bringing financial expertise, the operating CFO drives efficiency and effectiveness and transforms the finance function as the organization’s business model changes.
3. A strategic CFO not only understands the business’ financial operations and analyses, but also brings a forward-thinking perspective, providing insights around financial levers to influence long-term growth strategies. The strategic CFO may also offer the investors’ perspectives around value creation to help maximize shareholder value.
Ormsby Park is a national retained executive search firm focused on the financial officer market—CFOs, treasurers, CAOs, heads of tax, IR, FP&A, and financial operations. The firm was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in San Francisco.
Founding Partners
Ms. Park’s has 25+ years working with clients spanning the Fortune 1000, private equity backed and privately owned companies. Prior to Ormsby Park, she was a senior client partner with Korn Ferry. There she partnered with clients in recruiting market-recognized CFOs, chief tax officers, treasurers, controllers, chief audit executives and divisional CFOs.
Over the course of 20+ years and more than 200 successful CFO searches, Larry Ormsby has built expertise in the financial officer market. Based in the Bay Area, he has had the opportunity to partner with companies, ranging from startups to multi-billion dollar global enterprises. Before Ormsby Park, Mr. Ormsby was a partner at ON Partners, where he built a dedicated financial officer practice and was a major contributor to the firm’s growth over his four years there.
Related: How the CFO Position Continues to Evolve
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor; Lily Fauver, Senior Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
