Practice Leader & Client CFO, Growth

Practice Leader & Client CFO, Growth

Department: Growth Stage

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Remote - US

Description

Build the Practice. Scale the Teams. Partner with Growth-Stage Operators. 

In 2008, Propeller reinvented the way venture-stage companies build finance teams, and in the process we defined the category the market now calls fractional. Three years ago, we quietly began building what comes next, expanding to serve our breakout clients as they scaled past venture and brought leadership in-house. That became our Growth practice: today it serves our largest clients and generates a third of Propeller's revenue. Now, with the practice staged to break out, we're hiring the leader who will professionalize and scale it. 

You'll own the practice end to end: its commercial engine, its embedded delivery teams, and the strategic relationships that anchor it, bringing the horsepower Growth-stage Consumer companies need as they scale from $30M to $300M and beyond. 

Growth-stage companies operate differently than venture-stage startups. The financial infrastructure is more complex. The operational stakes are higher. The boards are more demanding. The margin for error is smaller as companies approach exit velocity. And turnover in the finance seat stays high, because these companies accelerate faster than even exceptional talent can adapt. These clients need a CFO partner who has lived the $30M-to-$300M journey; someone who knows where the landmines are, how to build the systems that scale, and who has the career experience and confidence to make the case for uncomfortable truths when a situation requires it. 

This is an equity-track leadership role for someone ready to build a practice, not just a portfolio.

Who We ARE
Today, Propeller's 250+ professionals serve as the embedded finance and accounting partner to some of the most iconic emerging companies in Consumer, Technology, Blockchain, and Business Services. All are full-time employees, across three continents; none are contractors or freelancers. Behind us: 1,500+ companies served, $105B+ in enterprise value created, 26 unicorn alumni, and $29B+ raised. Ahead of us: the transformation of professional services through AI-enabled intelligence. 

Our embedded teams integrate seamlessly into client operations in multi-year partnerships. We attend weekly leadership meetings, participate in board prep, collaborate on strategic decisions, and have direct access to client CEOs and CFOs. This embedded positioning creates trust, access, and influence that traditional providers never achieve. 

PropellerOS, our financial operating platform, combines human judgment, precision accounting, data infrastructure, and AI-enabled insight to transform finance from a back-office function into the central nervous system of growth. The system enables finance-grade standards of lineage, reconciliation, auditability, and explainability, with a named human accountable for every number we ship. 

Key Responsibilities

Most leadership roles emphasize one dimension. This role requires three. 

At $30M to $300M there is no bench to delegate to, so the finance leader architects the data systems, engineers the process change, and directs the AI that now carries the mechanical work, all at once. The market treats each of those as its own job. We built the infrastructure that makes them one: embedded access, AI fluency training, and dedicated change-management capacity behind every engagement. 

Commercial Leader 

You own the Growth practice's expansion: pipeline, bookings, retention, and P&L. You think like a business owner. You build relationships before you need them, identify opportunities others miss, and close deals that grow the practice. You develop go-to-market strategy for Growth-stage Consumer companies and build the private equity, investor and advisor relationships that generate referrals. Sixty-seven percent of our closed-won new business comes from referrals, so the network already produces; your job is to point it at Growth and extend it. If you wait for business development to hand you leads, this isn't your role. 

Service Leader 

You build the teams that carry our Growth portfolios: Controllers who each run their own client book. Controller and CFO are parallel tracks here, not rungs on one ladder, and part of your job is placement, putting people in the seat where their strengths compound. A brilliant controller running five clients flawlessly outranks a miscast CFO in every way that matters to a client. You set service standards and hold people accountable for client satisfaction, deliverable quality, and engagement profitability. You know that excellence at scale requires systems, not heroics. You conduct regular portfolio reviews, build capacity through hiring and development, and step in when engagements need senior attention. If you need to do everything yourself or avoid difficult management conversations, this isn't your role. 

Strategic Partner 

You serve as CFO-level advisor to Growth-stage Consumer operators, bringing the pattern recognition that only someone who has scaled companies from $30M to $300M can offer. You maintain strategic relationships with the most complex clients in the segment. You walk into boardrooms and command respect, translate financial data into strategic insight, and deliver difficult messages with clarity. You know where companies break as they grow: the systems that stop working, the hires that become urgent, the board dynamics that shift. The exposure compounds, too: across the portfolio you'll sit in more boardrooms in a quarter than most operating CFOs see in a year. And when an AI-produced analysis goes to a board, you are the one who certifies it and stands behind it in the room. If your experience is primarily early-stage or primarily enterprise, this isn't your role. 

• Drive business development through networking, referrals, strategic partnerships, and direct outreach. 
• Own financial performance of the Growth practice: revenue, margins, utilization, and profitability. 
• Lead and develop the practice's embedded teams, placing people in the seats where their strengths compound. 
• Serve as executive sponsor and escalation point for key accounts. 
• Participate in board meetings and investor conversations for strategic clients. 
• Make informed decisions about pricing, resource allocation, and engagement scope. 
• Use PropellerOS to deliver the cross-client insight no single-company CFO can access, and codify what works at Growth stage back into it so your judgment compounds for every client in the practice. 
• Continuously improve service delivery quality, efficiency, and client impact across the practice. 

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Demonstrated business development success: ability to identify, cultivate, and close client relationships in coordination with our GoToMarket team. 
• 15+ years in finance/accounting with at least 7 years in CFO or senior financial leadership roles. 
• Direct experience scaling companies from $30M to $300M+ in revenue, ideally as CFO or VP Finance. 
• Demonstrated AI fluency: you work with AI in your own finance workflow today, and you can walk us through how it changes what you produce. 
• Track record leading and developing teams: managing managers, not just individual contributors. 
• Multi-client or consulting background strongly preferred (Big 4, boutique advisory, PE portfolio, or similar). 
• Strong executive presence; comfortable presenting to boards, private equity sponsors, and sophisticated stakeholders. 
• Experience building financial infrastructure that scales: ERP transitions, reporting systems, planning processes. 

Industry Expertise 

You understand how Consumer businesses work: the economics, the channels, the metrics, the seasonal rhythms, the retail relationships, the brand dynamics. Deep expertise in at least one of: DTC/e-commerce (CAC, LTV, channel economics, fulfillment optimization, Shopify/Amazon ecosystem); CPG (trade spend, retailer margins, inventory turns, COGS optimization, promotional ROI); or omnichannel retail (wholesale vs. DTC mix, sell-through rates, gross margin management, supply chain finance) along with experience in core processes and systems, such as inventory, trade spend, Quickbooks, Netsuite, etc. Business Services depth alongside Consumer is a plus. 

Job Benefits

Job Title: Practice Leader & Client CFO, Growth 
Location: Remote-flexible with occasional travel

DEI Statement: At Propeller Industries, we encourage our employees and our clients to bring their true selves to the organization. We believe that a diverse team enables us to cultivate and improve upon our culture of inclusion and collaboration. As an equal opportunity employer, we welcome the contributions that you can bring in terms of your education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs. So however you identify and whatever your background, we encourage you to apply for this role if you share our passion for helping great entrepreneurs build great companies. We look forward to meeting you!

Compensation

• Base salary range $250,000 - $300,000 + significant variable compensation tied to practice performance and new business. 
• Equity participation. 
• Investment in your development: AI/automation training, executive coaching, and access to Propeller's network. 
• Remote-flexible with travel for client meetings, team leadership, and conferences

Current Benefits Offered: Generous Paid Time Off and Holiday pay, Comprehensive health benefits plus dental, vision, short and long-term disability, and life insurance. HSA contribution, Paid Family Leave, 401k match and Remote Work.  We also help you grow in your professional life.