Steve Messner has over 30 years of experience in finance, general management, operations, and strategy. He works with the top management of small and medium-sized companies to help them define their goals; develop and implement plans to achieve them; and improve profitability and cash flow, typically as a part-time CFO.

His current work includes serving as:

• The corporate development and strategic planning department of a rapidly growing $60m security company and as a member of its board of directors.
• The part-time CFO of a $20m polling firm.
• The part-time CFO of a $10m aerospace parts supplier.
• The part-time COO/CFO of a $3m testing lab.
• A member of the advisory board of a $15m financial modeling company.

Other representative engagements include:

• Building the financial model and writing the business plan for an integrated coffee business in Ethiopia raising $5m.
• Developing a financial model of a complex, $600m, multi-year contract for an online education vendor that used it in its successful negotiations with its first customer for a new line of business.
• Assessing the financial processes and management of a $30m human services company and recommending operational changes that eased its cash crunch.

Earlier, he was COO of the Ambit Group, a $5m government contractor growing at 100% per year. At Ambit, he managed cash flow in a cash-constrained situation; selected and managed the firm’s outsourced IT and HR/benefits/payroll vendors; handled all contract and legal matters; and obtained a GSA IT Schedule 70.

Before that, he was CFO of the Touchstone Consulting Group, a $24m government contractor. While there, he obtained the funding to support its 100% annual growth; redesigned the billing and collections process to cut days sales outstanding 32%; and established a blanket purchase agreement through which it ran over 50% of its business.

Earlier, he was an SVP of Aquilent, a $20m government IT systems development firm, where he led its biggest project, growing revenues 20% and motivating a demoralized team. He also served as a financial advisor to management during its buyout of the company and created the firm’s incentive compensation and stock option plans.

Before that, he co-founded two management consulting firms and worked for Mercer Management Consulting, IDC, Lehman Brothers, and Bain & Company.

Steve received a BA and an MS in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University, an MS in Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.