ON Partners Recruits CFO for LeaseCrunch
July 22, 2024 – ON Partners’ Tindall (Sewell) Hein and Jake Espenlaub recently helped recruit Jessica Hamilton as chief financial officer of LeaseCrunch LLC, an accounting software company in Milwaukee, WI. “Hamilton’s vast background and financial acumen are invaluable additions to our leadership team,” said Mark Weidick, CEO of LeaseCrunch. “We look forward to the contributions she will bring in steering our financial strategy.”
Ms. Hamilton brings a strong background in financial strategy and operations. With extensive experience in scaling financial and operational teams for venture and growth equity-backed companies, Ms. Hamilton will play a pivotal role in collaborating with the leadership team to drive LeaseCrunch’s financial health and growth.
Previously, Ms. Hamilton served as chief operating officer and CFO of ActiveProspect, a consent-based marketing platform that helps lead buyers and lead sellers optimize their digital lead processes. Before that, she served as vice president of finance at Edgecase. During her career, Ms. Hamilton she also gained experience in various senior roles with National Instruments, Invodo, J.H. Cohn LLP, and KPMG.
LeaseCrunch offers an automated lease accounting software that significantly reduces the time needed to transition, account for and maintain leases in compliance with new lease accounting standards. More than 625 CPA firms and 25,000 organizations in the United States use the LeaseCrunch platform to manage lease accounting needs.
With a primary focus on technology, consumer, industrial, and the life science sectors, ON Partners recruits C-level and board talent for public and private companies, as well as venture capital and private equity firms. Founded in 2006, the firm’s consultants work from offices in Atlanta; Boston; Chicago; Cleveland; Dallas; Menlo Park, CA; Minneapolis. MN; San Francisco; and New York. ON Partners was named one of the fastest growing search firms this year by Hunt Scanlon Media. The firm is now ranked as one of the 20 largest search firms in the nation.
Ms. Hein builds executive leadership teams at growth equity, private equity, and Fortune 500 companies. She serves a range of positions across CEO, operating partner, and VP-level executive roles with strong focus on diversity placements with a concentration on industrial and technology sectors.
Related: ON Partners Assists Papa John’s with CFO Search
Mr. Espenlaub’s focus is on the software, E-commerce, consumer, digital, and retail industries. Organizations he serves include public, private equity, and growth equity organizations with a focus on digital transformation. The functions he serves include go-to-market, product, technology, digital, and customer experience. Previously, he ran the technology practice at the Benefits Advisory Group.
Increasing Importance
CFOs are being asked to play an ever-broader role. “The tumultuous environment companies are operating within demand a different skill-set in the CFO chair,” said ON Partners co-president Tim Conti. “CFOs are playing a critical strategic role in companies, not only to pull levers necessary to secure a company’s financial platform, but also to position the company to emerge in a strong competitive positioning in a marketplace where not all will survive. This requires the CFO to lead from the front, be strategic and savvy, to navigate a company through choppy waters. When boards and CEOs do not have confidence that they have this strategic CFO, then they have no choice but to seek out an alternative.”
Financial Services is Booming, CFO Role Continues to Evolve
Despite economic uncertainty and the challenges of finding top talent, the financial sector continues to change and grow. Interviewed by Hunt Scanlon Media, search leaders who specialize in the sector offer their insights on the path forward, the CFO’s responsibilities, and more.
“In times like these, where businesses demand hyper-agility, being a functional specialist isn’t good enough,” said Bryan Buck, partner at ON Partners. “It’s required now that CFOs can see around corners and understand the physical (and digital) trends that are reshaping their world – and then act quickly. They need to think like P&L owners – not like accountants. Regardless of the product or service their company offers, customer expectations have changed. And the CFOs in highest demand right now are the ones who have proven to be nimble and business-focused enough to drive organization’s to where the puck is moving (both organically and inorganically).”
This business environment is also putting more pressure on CFOs. “There’s definitely more need for CFOs to operate with transparency around the realities of the market conditions, how those conditions are impacting the business in the short and long term, and what strategic steps are being taken to address the challenges faced,” said Mr. Conti. “Shareholders understand that market conditions are challenging, and they’ll be more patient in these unique times, but only if they have confidence in the CFO’s leadership and strategy.”
“Yes – and it’s industry-agnostic,” Mr. Buck added. “For public companies specifically, those in negatively impacted sectors are trying to survive the rapid slow down, and maintain various levels of ongoing business operations, while planning and positioning for a potential recovery that could happen within the next few quarters…or the next few years,” he said. “Public finance leaders on the other end of that spectrum are seeing tremendous growth and demand, but they’re also cognizant that current share price reflects Wall Street’s expectation of perfection – leaving no room for quarterly missteps.”
Related: ON Partners Recruits CFO for Bushel
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
