Article

216 partners in 40 states
6,474 years experience

Fill out the form and receive for FREE The Discovery Analysis (a $1600 value)

Why I Became a B2B CFO - May 4, 2010

Posted by: Rick Ubinger in

Throughout my career, I have been honored to work with many great leaders at both Price Waterhouse and at Universal Stainless & Alloy Products. Each had a significant impact on the development of my business values and my attitude toward serving customers. While each influenced me in their own unique way, they shared one value that has provided the most personal satisfaction during my career. Do the right thing and make a difference.

At Price Waterhouse, I was exposed to many clients within the financial institution, public utility, manufacturing, high-tech and not-for-profit industries. Then in 1994, I was introduced to the founders of Universal Stainless, Mac McAninch and Dan DeCola. At the time, they were unable to secure the necessary bank financing to purchase a dormant specialty steel manufacturing facility located in Bridgeville, PA and they ask me to make a difference.

We worked on developing financial projections that supported the strategic plan and that could be validated through comparisons to historical financial data. Finally, we were able to secure the bank financing to complete the transaction. Then we turned our attention to developing accounting and manufacturing systems from a “blank sheet of paper” to support the start-up. Systems were operational by the 30^th day, the day Universal Stainless melted its first heat of steel. Every employee of the Company made a difference in those first 30 days and many days thereafter as the Company continued to defy the odds and grow its customer base, revenues and profits.

Other companies have also provided me personal satisfaction throughout my career. Within the past 18 months, I dealt with several privately-held customers of Universal Stainless unable to pay outstanding invoices on a timely basis due to the impact of the economic conditions of 2008-09. Following my guiding value of “do the right thing and make a difference”, I worked with each affected customer and developed payment plans to work down their debt satisfactorily. The gratitude expressed upon the successful completion of each plan was rewarding to me because I believed that “I made a difference.”

These experiences made me realize that helping small privately-held businesses address their financial challenges excited me. Therefore, I started to research available opportunities to make this a full-time commitment and I found B2B CFO. Reviewing the website and the materials provided by the firm, discussing the value proposition with the founder Jerry Mills, and interviewing several partners to understand the firm’s support in their efforts to serve clients allowed me to conclude that after 16 years as the CFO of Universal Stainless, it was time for a new challenge; the challenge to become a B2B CFO partner and make a difference with the small business community that I will have the privilege to serve.