Case Studies: PolyFuel, Inc.

A leader in the development of cutting edge fuel cell components aimed at emerging markets was taken by surprise when the company’s CFO announced that he was moving on.  Facing limited capitalization on an alternative exchange market, and the likelihood that more funding would be needed, the company felt that they would be better off  bringing in an interim CFO quickly and preserving continuity in the short term, while bolstering their hiring position for the long term.  The stated objective was to hire an in interim CFO to assist with immediate challenges and raise a new round of venture capital, then recruit a permanent CFO in six to nine months.

One again, we took the long view.  Analyzing the profile for the interim role, which included both public and private CFO experience, M&A and joint venture negotiations, and a successful fundraising record, we realized that the successful interim candidate could not be a career consultant.  Instead, we needed to find someone with bona fide new venture CFO experience, with demonstrated stability, who was open to an interim arrangement.  This would be tricky, but to top it off, the person had to be signed and preferably able to start in less than two weeks.  We worked furiously, quickly surfacing a candidate who had raised hundreds of millions in capital, overseen a successful IPO and company sale, and even argued a case successfully before the SEC.  Equally important, he saw enough promise in the company to join on an interim basis, with the possibility (but no guarantee) of a permanent position.  Once an offer was extended, we crafted an innovative arrangement that minimized the risk for both the client and the candidate.