Bo Underwood is a Partner based in Fort Worth, Texas. After a highly successful career working for others, Bo joined B2B CFO and is a Certified B2B EXIT® Advisor. His career has been as an engineer and corporate leader, with years of operational and financial responsibilities as a CFO, culminating in his leadership of a manufacturer as President and CEO. He is currently advising firms on growth strategies including M&A, corporate operations, working capital management, and human capital management. He has created and delivered acclaimed workshops on corporate finance and leadership within the context of privately-held companies. .. SEE MORE
Mr. Underwood grew up in Fort Worth. He went on to graduate from West Point with a Bachelor of Science degree, and later attended the University of Pennsylvania where he earned a Master of Science in Engineering and an MBA from the Wharton School.
Prior to joining B2B CFO, Bo served as President and CEO of a Fort Worth, Texas, AS9100-qualified firm that manufactures gas turbine analysis equipment and cockpit instruments for the global aviation market. He led the firm to growth and profitability through the development of highly engineered products for major aerospace manufacturers.
Prior to becoming CEO, Bo was the CFO where he directed accounting, finance, contracting, IT, HR and risk management. Bo maintained enduring relationships with the firm’s capital and risk management providers including banks, independent auditors, insurance providers, investment managers, third party administrators and outside counsel. He was the trustee for the profit-sharing plan and 401k plan.
Bo also was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial and Administrative Officer of a defense engineering firm that he helped grow from 110 people to 1100 people and $170 million revenue. A part of this growth came through acquisitions where he was the point man, not only for identifying and evaluating opportunities, but also for closing the deals and then, most importantly, guiding the integration. The acquired companies, in businesses ranging from transportation engineering to robotics, to cognitive science and intelligence analysis: all provided strategic fit and lasting value to stakeholders.
Bo’s engineering experience has been wide-ranging, including research and development, security engineering, software development, pavement engineering, and master planning. Bo is among the pioneers who exploited digital mapping for combat engineering, anti-terrorism planning and aviation applications. As part of a team he helped develop the initial federal security risk management process for the Government Services Administration in the wake of the bombing of the Murrah Building in 1995.
Bo’s army engineer experience culminated during Operation Desert Storm, where he was directly responsible for rebuilding Kuwait’s highways, ports, and its international airport. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his accomplishments. In the Army, he was Airborne and Ranger qualified.
Mr. Underwood has over 30 years of U.S. Government contracting experience, on both the government and industry sides. He has had considerable success in developing proposals, and in negotiating contracts, incurred cost submissions, and rate packages with U.S. Government contracting entities.
Bo is a member of the Association of the United States Army, and the American Society of Civil Engineers. He has served as an officer of the West Point Society of North Texas and on the advisory board of a Houston-based engineering firm. Bo stays involved in the local community as the owner of Suburban Newspapers, Inc., where he publishes the White Settlement News, The River Oaks News, and The Benbrook News.
