The finalists for WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Awards were announced March 25, and we’ll be highlighting some of them until the event takes place live, in-person May 11 at the The Ritz-Carlton in McLean, Virginia.
Next is Chief Financial Officer (Private Company, Annual Revenue >$250M) finalist Michael Altshuler, who’s CFO at Digital Management, LLC. Here, he talks key recent achievements, career turning points, primary focus areas going forward and more.
What key achievements did you have in 2021/2022?
The most significant initiative over the last 12 months was securing the strategic investment from private equity firm, OceanSound Partners, to support DMI’s global market expansion and long-term growth. The process lasted from January through October and required cross-functional resources from across the organization to bring to a successful completion.
During this time, my focus was to build upon the organization’s fundamental strengths, maintain proper cost discipline and financial transparency, and provide sufficient financial sophistication to allow potential investors to make an investment. The financial transparency and sophistication ultimately provided potential investors with confidence in DMI’s business value, resulting in a successful investment.
My role during the process was not only to continue to manage and execute on the strategic vision of our owners, our chief operating officer and our CEO, but also to work alongside our investment bankers to lead us through a successful process.
What has made you successful in your current role?
The success begins with the team. My primary focus when arriving at DMI was to develop a world-class organization led by key finance leaders leading high-performing finance and accounting experts, and supported by tools and processes that allow for success.
We are also laser focused on building key relationships and partnerships across the organization to ensure we in the finance organization are viewed not just as a back-office function, but as an operational partner. We have been fortunate to retain world-class finance and accounting talent through systems of rewards and opportunity, as well as accountability.
What was a turning point or inflection point in your career?
The primary inflection point for me was pivoting from an advisory and consulting role in public accounting to an operational role within an organization. I went from managing projects to managing careers.
I’ve had many great mentors that have taught me important leadership values, which become more critical as you progress. In leadership positions, the relationships are as important as the technical skills, and this is something I’ve learned after that pivot point from consulting.
What are you most proud of having been a part of in your current organization?
I’m most proud of the finance and accounting organization that we’ve been able to build to allow us to drive margin results including more than doubling our margin profile over the last 18 months and putting us a in a position to successfully complete the transaction with OceanSound Partners. Although the results speak for itself, a transaction of this size and complexity serves as an endorsement of the efforts over the last several years.
What are your primary focus areas going forward, and why are those so important to the future of the nation?
We’ve become a more cohesive, efficient organization and we’ll continue to drive opportunity from the capabilities that we’ve built. The team at DMI is also focusing on our go-to-market strategy. DMI has a built a team with tremendous expertise and unique skill sets in the commercial and government space. Looking ahead, we are focused on bringing best practices from our commercial business into government and vice versa. We see an incredible opportunity to continue to serve and grow with our customers as we bring join the capabilities of the commercial and government businesses.
We’re looking at significant growth in the next few years. DMI will be highly acquisitive to help drive this growth and seek opportunities to bring in organizations that complement DMI’s capabilities, skill sets and customers.
What’s the biggest professional risk you’ve ever taken?
The biggest professional risk I took was moving to Europe in a capital market role, particularly during a time when we were looking at a potential recession. I was there for three years and it ended up being one of the best personal and professional experiences. It provided international experience that I wouldn’t have gained otherwise.
What’s your best career advice for those who want to follow in your footsteps?
Whenever I talk to younger people, I tell them the first thing is to understand the opportunities within the finance and accounting ecosystem. There are many different paths that one can take within this world of finance and accounting. It’s important to gain an understanding of what is out there and try to get exposure to as many of these as possible, and then begin to specialize in those areas that will set your career path up for success.