Introduction
We are a small public company that combines the stability and expertise of an established advanced-materials manufacturer with the ambition and growth potential of a highly capable and well-funded entrepreneurial enterprise. We are seeking a Chief Financial Officer to guide CPS toward continued growth and profitability, built on a history of innovation and recent successes. Public company experience at any level is a plus but is not required.
If you are a candidate or know someone who could be, please see “Next Steps” for the target compensation, and how and when to respond to this opportunity.
A. Impact of the CFO
The overarching objective of the CFO role is to make CPS a more valuable company, as reflected in the company’s share price. Our next CFO will be expected to support ongoing growth and improvement. The CFO will serve as the number two executive, partnering with the CEO. Roughly in order of importance, evidence of the new CFO’s positive impact will include:
- Improved gross margins, through greater clarity, discipline, and rigor in financial and operating data to inform strategic decisions and enable thoughtful execution. The key priorities are cost improvements and enhanced pricing discipline.
- Revenue traction from the many promising initiatives in our innovation pipeline. This includes guiding the management team to focus on the most promising initiatives and scale back or discontinue the less promising ones.
- An improved dynamic and working relationship with the board. This will be achieved when a) the board is confident that key questions are addressed proactively, and b) forecast variances are fully explained, including clear estimates of the dollar impact of each driver.
- Investor and analyst confidence. The CFO and CEO serve as the public face of the company. The CFO helps articulate the company’s strategy, performance and vision.
B. Experience and Skills We Seek
We seek candidates who are strategic and operational financial leaders. Our CFO will partner effectively with senior leadership in a manufacturing organization that is actively engaging with new customers, developing new technologies, and bringing novel offerings to market. Here is the experience that matters to us, roughly in this order:
- Primary responsibility for financial reporting for management team purposes in a manufacturing business of 150 to 1,000 employees, including providing analysis that supports decision making in operations, strategy, sales (including pricing), and marketing.
- Demonstrated experience partnering with the CEO in board-facing environments. This includes active participation in board meetings and the development of strong board relationships. Experience working with an active board is more important than experience in a public company.
- Experience in assessing, developing, and launching early-stage lines of business, especially achieving revenue traction by selectively commercializing a robust pipeline that applies advanced technology solutions to meet customer needs.
- Familiarity with public company compliance. The CFO must be able to engage effectively with key investors and equity analysts.
- Experience with SBIR (see more below) proposal development and project management, or other government contracting. This includes the accounting capabilities to support internal project management as well as compliance with external reporting and audit requirements.
- A strong, hands-on grasp of the finance function as well as human resources. We need a CFO who is willing to be directly involved in the details as needed and who is not overly dependent on staff.
C. CPS Today
CPS went public in 1987 and trades on the NASDAQ under ticker CPSH. There are about 18 million shares outstanding, with institutional owners holding about 20% and insiders about 15%. CPS will announce 2025 results in late February. There are roughly 150 employees. Recent revenue and operating profit are shown below.
Revenue Operating Profit
2021 $22.4M $0.5M
2022 $26.6M $2.2M
2023 $27.6M $1.7M
2024 $21.1M ($4.4M)
Q1-Q3 2025 $24.4M $0.5M
The year 2024 results were negatively affected by three primary factors: a stubborn manufacturing defect that was ultimately resolved; the addition of a third production shift; and armor revenue ending in April upon fulfillment of a large U.S. Navy order. In 2025, the company saw significant revenue growth, reflecting increased demand and internal capacity improvements.
On October 8, 2025, CPS closed a $10.34M public offering of common stock. Roth Capital Partners acted as the sole book-running manager. More information is available at CPS’s website, www.cpstechnologysolutions.com, under the heading “Investors”. Roth produced a 21-page initiation-of-coverage research report. We will provide it to serious CFO candidates, along with the slide deck that CPS used during the funding round and a longer version of the article you are reading. In 2026 through February 10, the company’s share price increased 56%.
Established Business
Today, the company’s revenue is generated primarily by two products: metal matrix composite (MMC) baseplates for electronic modules and our hermetic packaging business (HPB) for mission-critical electronics.
MMC baseplate revenue is primarily from two international customers. The company uses proprietary processes to manufacture these products from aluminum silicon carbide, or AlSiC. CPS’s customers incorporate the baseplates into their high-powered electronics assemblies; the baseplates provide the thermal conductivity and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) matching that prevent overheating. Key applications include high speed electric trains. This market is growing.
The market for our second product, hermetic packaging, has many vendors (nondominant), many applications, and many customers. Nearly all these products are sold into domestic aerospace and defense applications.
Our products are typically difficult to manufacture, requiring significant know-how. Nonetheless, gross margins are generally low at 15% to 20%. Price pressure from competitors is intense.
From 2021 to April 2024, CPS fulfilled a $20M order from the U.S. Navy for MMC armor with desirable anti-ballistic properties.
Since 2021, CPS has placed renewed emphasis on using its expertise in advanced material science to develop novel solutions that address well defined customer needs. These entrepreneurial endeavors are expected to generate significant revenue and profit for the company. Nearly all R&D for these activities is customer funded through SBIR contracts. The positive momentum is significant. See “CPS in Five Years,” below.
Management Team and Board
Brian Mackey is the CEO and president. Dan Barton is vice president of operations. Steve Kachur, PhD, is vice president of technology. Joe Englin is director of business development. Chuck Griffith has been CFO since early 2019. He is retiring at age 72. The CPS board of directors comprises Frank Hughes (chairman), Jim Cavoli, Dan Snow, Ralph Norwood (CFO of CPS from 2011 to 2019), and Grant Bennett (CEO of CPS from 1992 to 2021). For more information and bios of the management team and board members, see the CPS website under Company/Our Leadership.
Finance Organization, Systems, and Transition
As CFO, Chuck Griffith leads a department of four other people. Chuck is known as a great teacher and boss who gets the best from his people.
Chuck plans to report Q1 2026 results at the end of April. If the new CFO is not available in time to be involved with Chuck in closing and reporting Q1, Chuck will be available to help with the Q2 close and reporting.
In 2022, CPS migrated from Dynamics GP (formerly Great Plains) to Aptean’s Made2Manage ERP (“M2M”) software. We use the core features of M2M but there are capabilities we have yet to tap.
The new CFO will play a key role in CPS’s ongoing growth. The company has ample cash to pursue a range of promising initiatives.
D. CPS in Five Years
The company’s revenue in 2025 was driven by its MMC and HPB products, with additional support from federal research contracts. Growth of about 20% per year, as projected by equity analysts at Roth, will be driven by growth in high-power electronics. While armor is not currently generating revenue, it is a potential source of substantial future growth.
In addition, our portfolio of innovations has rapidly evolved to include many attractive “shots on goal.” Most of these are catalyzed by funded research contracts won in the last few years under the SBIR/STTR programs. These give intellectual property rights in the funded research to CPS for 20 years, providing the potential for CPS to become the sole-source provider.
Two technologies that are closest to commercialization and especially likely to gain revenue traction are (a) our quickset injection molding (QIM) and sintering of tungsten and (b) AlMax, an aluminum alloy reinforced with ceramic fibers.
In 2026, we plan to relocate to a facility about twice our current size, to support our anticipated growth needs, ideally within 15 minutes of our plant in Norton, MA.
E. Next Steps
The base pay for this position is $250K to $290K. The target bonus is 33% of base pay, typically based on company-wide metrics. Stock options will be granted upon hire and generally annually thereafter. Upon hire, the new CFO must live within commuting distance of Norton, MA, and work fully on site.
This search is managed by James Cannon Johnston of Johnston Company, Lexington, MA. Jim and CEO Brian Mackey are the primary authors of this document. If you think this job is a match for you, please write to Jim at JimJ@JohnstonCompany.com. Use “CPS CFO Search” as the start of your subject line, please. No phone calls, please. Responses from recruiters and staffing agencies will not be considered. Responses are due by March 5, 2026.
