Description:
Martin Inc., a third-generation, family-owned industrial distribution and supply company, is seeking a hands-on, operations-oriented Chief Financial Officer to serve as a key member of the executive leadership team. This leader will be both the senior financial steward and a strategic operational partner, driving financial discipline, operational excellence, governance maturity, and scalable growth across a multi-site distribution network.
The ideal CFO brings deep experience in inventory-driven, lower-margin, operationally complex businesses, and thrives in a family-owned environment that values long-term thinking, trust, and continuous improvement. This role requires a leader who is as comfortable in the warehouse and with branch managers as they are in the boardroom.
Key Responsibilities:
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Financial & Operational Leadership
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Lead the company’s financial strategy in alignment with ownership’s long-term vision.
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Serve as a strategic business partner to ownership, sales, operations, supply chain, and HR.
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Translate financial data into actionable operational insights that improve profitability, efficiency, and scalability.
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Drive financial discipline and accountability across all functions.
2. Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC)
The CFO serves as the executive owner of Governance, Risk & Compliance, ensuring Martin Inc. operates with disciplined oversight, strong internal controls, and a scalable governance framework aligned with a multi-site industrial distribution business.
Governance
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Establish governance structures, policies, and standards that promote transparency, accountability, and operational consistency across all branches and functions.
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Strengthen policy management across finance, operations, supply chain, HR, and IT.
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Ensure consistent branch-level governance, including standardized processes, controls, and reporting.
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Oversee data governance, ensuring accuracy and integrity across ERP, WMS, CRM, and financial systems.
Risk Management
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Lead enterprise risk management (ERM), identifying and mitigating financial, operational, supply chain, cyber, and compliance risks.
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Oversee insurance strategy, including property, liability, fleet, workers compensation, and cyber coverage.
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Implement risk dashboards and reporting mechanisms for ownership and executive leadership.
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Ensure risk-aware decision-making in capital allocation, pricing, credit, and operational initiatives.
Compliance
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Ensure compliance with GAAP, tax regulations, credit policies, safety requirements, and contractual obligations.
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Strengthen internal controls across finance, inventory, credit, and operational processes.
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Partner with HR, operations, and supply chain to ensure compliance with employment law, safety standards, and regulatory requirements.
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Maintain a centralized contract repository and ensure adherence to contract governance protocols.
3. Financial Planning, Budgeting & Analysis
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Oversee FP&A, including forecasting, scenario modeling, and performance measurement tied to operational drivers.
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Lead the annual budgeting and rolling forecast processes with strong alignment to sales, supply chain, and operations.
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Develop and monitor KPIs specific to industrial distribution: gross margin, pricing discipline, inventory turns, service levels, working capital, ROIC, and branch-level performance
4. Pricing Governance & Margin Management
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Establish and oversee pricing governance, including matrix pricing, contract pricing, and margin leakage prevention.
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Partner with sales to evaluate customer profitability, rebate programs, and supplier incentives.
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Ensure disciplined pricing execution across branches and customer segments.
5. Operational Finance & Decision Support
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Support operational initiatives related to inventory optimization, logistics efficiency, branch performance, and demand planning.
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Provide financial analysis for capital investments, fleet decisions, automation, and facility expansions.
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Implement branch-level P&Ls and scorecards to drive accountability and performance.
6. Financial Reporting, Controls & Compliance
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Ensure timely, accurate financial reporting in accordance with GAAP.
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Oversee tax planning, audits, regulatory compliance, and internal controls appropriate for a privately held family business.
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Build clear reporting and dashboards that link financial performance to operational outcomes
7. Cash Flow, Working Capital & Credit Management
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Manage cash flow forecasting, liquidity, and capital allocation.
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Optimize working capital with a strong focus on inventory, customer credit, collections, and supplier terms.
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Oversee customer credit policies and credit risk management in a high-volume distribution environment.
8. Financial Operations & Systems
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Lead day-to-day accounting and finance operations (AP, AR, payroll, general accounting).
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Partner with operations and IT to optimize ERP systems, WMS, pricing tools, and reporting platforms.
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Champion process automation, data integrity, and technology modernization to support scalability.
9. Data, Analytics & Business Intelligence
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Build a data-driven culture with robust dashboards, analytics, and operational scorecards.
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Improve data quality across ERP, CRM, WMS, and supply chain systems.
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Enable real-time visibility into branch performance, customer profitability, and inventory health.
10. Banking, Insurance & External Relationships
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Manage relationships with banks, lenders, insurers, and external advisors.
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Ensure compliance with loan covenants and reporting requirements.
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Oversee insurance strategy as part of enterprise risk management.
11. Supply Chain & HR Leadership
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Oversee and support the leaders of Supply Chain and HR to ensure alignment with organizational goals.
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Strengthen supplier economics, rebate optimization, and sourcing strategies.
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Support workforce planning, talent development, and organizational capability building.
12. Mergers, Acquisitions & Growth Support
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Lead acquisition analysis, due diligence, integration planning, and post-acquisition performance tracking.
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Develop a repeatable M&A integration playbook.
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Evaluate organic growth initiatives through both financial and operational lenses.
13. Contracts, Legal & Governance
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Oversee contract review, negotiation, and management.
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Maintain a centralized contract repository to support governance and risk management.
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Serve as primary liaison with outside legal counsel on financial and operational matters.
14. Leadership, Culture & Talent Development
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Promote a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and alignment with company values.
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Build strong cross-functional relationships in a collaborative, family-owned environment.
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Develop finance, supply chain, and HR leadership talent; build succession plans for key roles.
Requirements:
Ideal Candidate Profile:
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10–15+ years of progressive financial leadership experience.
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Prior CFO, VP Finance, or senior finance role in wholesale distribution, industrial supply, or asset-intensive businesses.
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Experience in lower-margin, operationally complex, multi-site environments.
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Family-owned or founder-led company experience strongly preferred.
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Hands-on, practical leader who understands how the business truly runs.
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Comfortable being visible in the operation — warehouses, branches, and with sales leadership.
Core Strengths & Attributes:
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Strong accounting and financial controls foundation.
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Deep understanding of operational drivers of margin and profitability.
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Excellent communicator who can simplify financial concepts for non-financial leaders.
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Proven collaborator with sales and operations, navigating growth vs. margin tension effectively.
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Practical, steady, humble leadership style aligned with a family-business culture.
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Technology-forward mindset with experience in modernizing systems and processes.
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Strong governance orientation with a disciplined approach to risk and compliance.
Compensation & Incentives:
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Competitive base salary and annual incentive.
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Long-term incentive or equity-like participation may be available.
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Relocation support may be considered.
Why This Role Is Attractive:
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Stable, profitable, third- and fourth-generation family-owned business.
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Strong family culture with professional management and clear values.
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Opportunity to modernize and scale a respected industrial distributor.
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High visibility and influence with ownership.
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Ability to leave a lasting legacy in a company that values long-term stewardship.
