After the Turnaround:
How to generate Growth

by Antho­ny Baum­ruk | Part­ner, Valdivia Inter­im Associates

“The CFO has been respon­si­ble for EBITDA for the past two to three years.”

I hear this phrase time and again in conver­sa­tions with manag­ing direc­tors and investors from the prop­er­ty sector and private markets. I have already described the poten­tial impact of the absence of a key finance exec­u­tive and how compa­nies deal with it in the arti­cle “When the CFO is absent: How compa­nies ensure their abil­i­ty to act and future security”.

Whilst trans­ac­tion volumes and manage­ment fees have declined, many compa­nies have managed to stabilise their prof­itabil­i­ty through consis­tent cost-cutting. Yet this strat­e­gy has its limits: sustain­able growth does not come about through effi­cien­cy alone, but through new busi­ness opportunities.

New strate­gies require new skills

In my discus­sions with private markets managers, I am increas­ing­ly observ­ing a strate­gic realign­ment. Value-add invest­ments, new asset class­es and the tapping of inter­na­tion­al capi­tal sources are once again taking centre stage. This requires addi­tion­al exper­tise and robust networks.

For exam­ple, a firm wish­ing to build an inter­na­tion­al network of investors does not neces­sar­i­ly need anoth­er manag­ing direc­tor. An expe­ri­enced capi­tal-rais­ing special­ist with strong rela­tion­ships with insti­tu­tion­al investors in North Amer­i­ca, the Middle East or Asia can often tap into new busi­ness oppor­tu­ni­ties in a more target­ed manner.

The same applies to corpo­rate finance, debt advi­so­ry or the devel­op­ment of new invest­ment strategies.

The gap between exter­nal advis­ers and perma­nent management

From our consul­tan­cy expe­ri­ence at Valdivia, we know that a gap often aris­es between tradi­tion­al exter­nal service providers, such as place­ment agents or debt advis­ers, and the long-term devel­op­ment of addi­tion­al manage­ment capacity.

Inter­im managers and senior advis­ers can bridge this gap with oper­a­tional exper­tise, entre­pre­neur­ial expe­ri­ence and rele­vant networks – even beyond tradi­tion­al CEO and CFO roles. In my arti­cle ‘Tempo­rary Lead­er­ship: When Inter­im Manage­ment Will Become a Strate­gic Option in 2026’, I explain how compa­nies can strate­gi­cal­ly utilise inter­im manage­ment to bridge lead­er­ship vacan­cies and safe­guard change processes.

I see consid­er­able poten­tial for fixed-term appoint­ments, partic­u­lar­ly in areas such as capi­tal rais­ing, investor rela­tions, corpo­rate finance and busi­ness development.

Three bene­fits for compa­nies and investors

• First­ly: finan­cial and time-relat­ed predictabil­i­ty. Addi­tion­al manage­ment exper­tise can be deployed in a target­ed and time-limit­ed manner. Instead of long-term fixed costs, there are project-relat­ed expens­es with clear­ly defined objec­tives and durations.
• Second­ly: speed and discre­tion. Expe­ri­enced special­ists can be brought on board at short notice and discreet­ly, with­out imme­di­ate­ly creat­ing a new manage­ment posi­tion. With­in a few months, it is possi­ble to assess whether their exper­tise, network and strate­gic approach deliv­er the desired added value.
• Third­ly: Well-found­ed long-term lead­er­ship deci­sions. One advan­tage we partic­u­lar­ly value at Valdivia is the combi­na­tion of inter­im manage­ment and exec­u­tive search. Through their oper­a­tional involve­ment, inter­im managers and senior advis­ers can support the manage­ment team in select­ing long-term exec­u­tives. Their insights into the organ­i­sa­tion, strat­e­gy and required compe­ten­cies feed direct­ly into an accom­pa­ny­ing exec­u­tive search process conduct­ed by Valdivia Consulting.

In this way, a tempo­rary manage­ment solu­tion simul­ta­ne­ous­ly becomes a key build­ing block for the long-term devel­op­ment of the lead­er­ship structure.

From cost manage­ment back to growth

I am convinced that the next chal­lenge for many private markets managers is not to cut further costs, but to tap into new revenue poten­tial once again with limit­ed resources.

This is precise­ly where Valdivia Inter­im Asso­ciates (VIA) comes in: We combine manage­ment exper­tise avail­able at short notice with our exec­u­tive search network and support compa­nies in imple­ment­ing new strate­gies with­out neces­sar­i­ly incur­ring long-term fixed costs.

After all, the crucial ques­tion is no longer simply where costs can be reduced, but where target­ed invest­ment in manage­ment exper­tise can once again enable growth.

(Image source: Valdivia Consult­ing GmbH in coop­er­a­tion with new office GmbH)