Chief Financial Officer (CFO) & Company Secretary | U.S. IPO / Public-Company Execution | Defence / Aerospace / Advanced Manufacturing
Executive Agility is seeking EOIs from experienced Chief Financial Officer & Company Secretary candidates for a confidential company preparing for a U.S. public listing. The mandate requires an executive who can personally lead the finance & governance work required to support the company through U.S. listing readiness & then operate credibly as a U.S. public company.
The role combines U.S. public-company / IPO technical execution, defense / aerospace / advanced-manufacturing operating finance, Company Secretary responsibilities & senior leadership capability.
🔷 WHO WE ARE
Executive Agility is the listing readiness quarterback for U.S. & Canadian capital markets. We help companies prepare for & execute domestic IPOs, up-listings, dual listings, cross-border listings, SPACs & de-SPACs.
We solve two problems: execution readiness & execution coordination. We diagnose the gaps, build the roadmap, execute governance, PCAOB audit & disclosure readiness workstreams, deploy interim or fractional executives, place independent board directors & coordinate the critical path across counsel, auditors, bankers, boards & management.
Our role is to keep every workstream moving concurrently, not sequentially, so companies accelerate schedule, reduce costs & reduce execution risk. Our Executive & CFO Placement practice sources, screens & places senior finance executives who can operate effectively in complex U.S. capital-markets environments.
🔷 THE CLIENT PROFILE
Our client is preparing for a U.S. public listing & requires a CFO & Company Secretary capable of building the finance, governance, reporting, controls & operating-finance infrastructure required both before & after listing. The business operates across advanced manufacturing / hardware, defence-adjacent activities & Australia-U.S. cross-border operations.
The mandate requires capability across:
✔ SEC reporting & registration-statement finance inputs
✔ PCAOB audit leadership
✔ U.S. GAAP & technical accounting
✔ SOX / internal control over financial reporting / disclosure controls
✔ Nasdaq / U.S. IPO execution
✔ Board & Audit Committee reporting
✔ Capital markets & public-company reporting cadence
✔ Company Secretary & governance administration
✔ Hardware / manufacturing economics
✔ Cost accounting, inventory / WIP & revenue recognition
✔ FP&A, cash / working capital & supply chain
✔ Government-contracting finance literacy
✔ Defence / aerospace operating familiarity
✔ Australia-U.S. cross-border execution
✔ M&A / integration.
🔷 THE ROLE
The Chief Financial Officer & Company Secretary will:
✔ Build & lead the finance function required to support the company through U.S. listing readiness & into public-company operation
✔ Lead management-side PCAOB audit readiness, PBC ownership, audit issue resolution & finance-side critical-path delivery
✔ Own or materially lead SEC-facing financial reporting, registration-statement finance inputs, disclosure controls, internal control over financial reporting & post-listing reporting cadence
✔ Carry or oversee the Company Secretary / governance-administration function, including Board / committee calendars, approvals, minutes / resolutions, entity governance, governance records & coordination with counsel
✔ Build scalable budgeting, forecasting, cash management, KPI reporting, close discipline, cost accounting, inventory / WIP controls & Board-quality management reporting
✔ Build finance infrastructure capable of supporting U.S. Government / defence contracts, including contract economics, indirect-cost visibility, audit-ready accounting & appropriate interaction with specialist government-contracting advisers
✔ Partner with the CEO, Board, Audit Committee, counsel, auditors, bankers & operating leaders while maintaining disciplined ownership & escalation
✔ Support capital structure, financing, diligence, acquisition / integration workstreams & investor-facing finance inputs
✔ Build & develop the finance team, systems, processes & control environment required for a scaling U.S.-facing public company.
🔷 ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE
✔ Direct management-side ownership of U.S. public-company reporting and/or IPO finance inputs
✔ PCAOB audit execution
✔ Strong U.S. GAAP capability
✔ Public-company controls experience
✔ Board & Audit Committee reporting experience
The successful candidate must be able to personally lead the finance & governance work required for U.S. public-company readiness.
🔷 HIGH-VALUE EXPERIENCE
✔ Prior Company Secretary experience; alternatively, substantial Board / committee governance administration, entity governance, minutes / resolutions, approval workflows & counsel coordination
✔ Meaningful IPO, up-listing, financing or major transaction execution experience
✔ Advanced-manufacturing / hardware finance, including cost accounting, inventory, WIP, gross margin, working capital & physical-product economics
✔ U.S. Government / defence-contracting finance literacy, including contract profitability, indirect costs, audit-ready accounting & DCAA / DCMA interfaces where applicable
✔ Defence / aerospace operating familiarity, including sector economics, customer expectations, program / contract cadence & regulated operating environments
✔ Australia-U.S. cross-border execution across entities, advisers, currencies, time zones & reporting / regulatory interfaces
✔ M&A / integration experience
✔ Commercial insurance / aviation-risk literacy is useful where relevant to the business
Personal Pentagon or agency relationships are a bonus rather than a core CFO requirement.
🔷 YOUR PROFILE
We are looking for someone who demonstrates:
✔ Hands-on builder mentality — creates the model, tracker, process or control when necessary rather than requiring mature infrastructure
✔ Execution pace with discipline — moves quickly without compromising reporting integrity, controls or audit quality
✔ Low-ego partnership — can challenge an entrepreneurial CEO & experienced Board constructively & then execute the agreed decision
✔ Candor — escalates bad news early & clearly
✔ Accountability — owns outcomes & closes loops rather than hiding behind advisers or ambiguity
✔ Sound judgment — understands what matters, what can wait & when specialist advice is required
✔ Commercial fluency — connects finance decisions to production, customer delivery, government contracts, working capital & enterprise value
✔ Board-level communication — explains technical matters in decision-ready language to directors, auditors, counsel, bankers & management
✔ Team-building capability — builds a finance organisation & governance cadence that can scale beyond the CFO personally
✔ Confidentiality & integrity appropriate to a defense-adjacent & transaction-sensitive future public company.
🔷 COMPENSATION & APPOINTMENT
✔ Competitive executive base salary
✔ Target annual performance incentive
✔ Meaningful long-term equity participation
✔ Market-standard executive benefits & protections
✔ Final remuneration will reflect experience, credentials & role fit.
🔷 HOW TO APPLY
Apply via LinkedIn. Your application should include a current CV & a concise summary demonstrating your relevant experience across:
✔ U.S. public-company / IPO execution
✔ SEC reporting
✔ PCAOB audits
✔ U.S. GAAP
✔ SOX / internal controls / disclosure controls
✔ Company Secretary / governance administration
✔ Advanced-manufacturing / hardware operating finance
✔ Government-contracting finance and/or defence / aerospace environments where applicable
✔ Australia-U.S. cross-border finance execution where applicable.
Shortlisted candidates will be contacted by Executive Agility directly for a confidential conversation. Appointment will be subject to standard executive due diligence, including identity, reference, credential, sanctions / adverse-media & criminal-history checks, conducted with candidate consent & in accordance with applicable law. Approaches from recruitment agencies will not be responded to.
