About Griffin Highline Capital
Griffin Highline Capital (“GHC”) is a Dallas-based holding company that invests in and actively builds specialized, niche insurance businesses. GHC takes a differentiated, hands-on approach to ownership, partnering with management teams to grow platforms across underwriting, distribution, risk-bearing, and insurance services.
The GHC portfolio includes Open Road Insurance, Inness Insurance Managers, Dallas Specialty Insurance Company, adoro, Ragland Strother & Lafitte, Reunion Health Services and TWFG, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWFG), alongside minority positions in several other specialty insurance businesses. The firm has already delivered three successful platform exits, generated strong inception to date returns and is backed by a blue-chip investor base of institutions, publicly traded corporations, family offices, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, with strategic relationships across the insurance industry.
GHC is in an exciting phase of growth: scaling its existing portfolio of specialty insurance companies while continuing to pursue new platform investments across the insurance value chain. This is a rare opportunity to build the financial infrastructure for a fast-growing group of insurance businesses from the inside.
The Opportunity
GHC is seeking an experienced, entrepreneurial, hands-on Chief Financial Officer to serve as the senior finance leader across its portfolio of specialty insurance companies, as well as at the holding company itself. Working closely with portfolio company management teams and the GHC investment team, this individual will build institutional-grade accounting and reporting infrastructure, define the metrics that matter and support portfolio company M&A. This is a high-impact, high-visibility role for a finance leader who wants to shape the financial backbone of a growing group of insurance businesses.
This role requires two important attributes: i) an enthusiasm for direct, hands-on, gritty financial work and ii) strong financial judgment and experience to make important strategic decisions across a complex organization. Our CEO and senior leadership team work directly in Excel, and we expect this candidate to be a doer, not a delegator. The CFO must also have the confidence and judgment to build teams and processes.
Successful candidates could be mid-career and need not have served as a CFO previously. Experienced CFOs may also be a good fit but must be excited about working directly with our companies and on problems themselves, as opposed to relying on large teams.
Key Responsibilities
Portfolio Company Responsibilities (~80%)
- Accounting & Reporting: Ensure proper GAAP and, for regulated insurance entities, statutory accounting and reporting across portfolio companies; identify gaps and implement upgrades to accounting processes, controls, and systems where they meaningfully improve decision-making or reduce risk.
- KPI Development: Identify the critical business metrics and KPIs for each portfolio company and operationalize reporting to track performance on an ongoing basis. Reporting should emphasize the relatively small number of measures that are genuinely useful in understanding performance and making decisions.
- Board & Parent Company Reporting: In partnership with portfolio company management, structure and lead monthly and quarterly financial reporting to each portfolio company's Board of Directors and to GHC (the parent company).
- Management Incentive Plans: Lead oversight of portfolio company Management Incentive Plans (MIPs), including valuation and pricing of awards, financial modeling, tracking, reporting, modifications, and communications with management teams to incentivize value creation.
- Finance Talent & Capability: Evaluate, coach, and develop portfolio company finance teams and leaders; identify capability gaps and assist with recruiting when necessary. Each company should build a finance organization appropriate to its size and complexity.
- Capital Allocation: Help management teams evaluate significant commitments of capital, including investments, acquisitions, hiring, technology expenditures, and distributions, based on prospective risk-adjusted returns and contribution to long-term value creation.
- M&A Support: Work with GHC and portfolio company leadership on portfolio company M&A efforts, including financial diligence, deal structuring, valuation, and post-close integration, including establishing appropriate reporting, controls, and financial performance expectations for acquired businesses.
- Portfolio Capital Management: Lead capital / surplus / capacity planning and optimization across portfolio companies, including deployment of GHC capital, utilization of third-party financing sources, and capitalization of regulated insurance entities to support growth, profitability, and regulatory capital requirements.
- Stewardship & Risk Management: Help portfolio companies maintain appropriate financial controls, tax planning, liquidity management, and regulatory compliance, providing effective stewardship without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.
GHC Corporate Responsibilities (~20%)
- GHC Corporate Finance Leadership: Oversee Griffin Highline's finance function, including financial reporting and forecasting, accounting, audit coordination, liquidity and treasury oversight, debt and lender relationships, tax strategy and coordination, and financial content supporting Board and investor communications.
- Management Incentive Plans: Lead administration and oversight of GHC incentive plans, including valuation and pricing of awards, financial modeling, tracking, reporting, modifications, and communications.
- Capital Allocation Partner to GHC Senior Leadership: Work closely with the GHC CEO and team on capital allocation, capital offerings, acquisitions, financing decisions, distributions, and other significant financial matters.
Expectations
Performance in this role will principally be judged by outcomes rather than the volume of activity performed. The CFO is expected to:
- Provide the GHC CEO and portfolio company leaders with accurate, timely, and economically meaningful financial information, improving both the quality and speed of financial decision-making
- Identify material financial opportunities and risks early enough for the appropriate decision-makers to act on them
- Create strong systems to oversee incentive plans, as well as to explain and remind portfolio company teams of the significant value that is achievable under those plans
- Develop capable finance leaders and organizations across the portfolio
- Concentrate personal attention where it has the highest expected value, rather than participating equally in every company or issue
Ideal Experience
- Entrepreneurial, low-ego, and hands-on — equally comfortable setting strategy and rolling up sleeves in the details
- Sound judgment, intellectual honesty and an owner-oriented approach
- Significant relevant experience in finance, accounting and / or capital markets roles within the insurance or insurance investing industry
- Strong command of GAAP and statutory accounting principles in insurance, with experience building or upgrading financial accounting and reporting infrastructure
- Demonstrated ability to design KPI frameworks and board-level reporting packages for operating businesses
- Comfortable operating across multiple portfolio companies simultaneously, balancing the needs of individual company boards with those of a parent holding company
- Experience with incentive plans
- Track record of coaching, developing, and recruiting finance talent
Engagement Details
- Commitment: Full-time / in-office
- Location: Based in Dallas, TX, with moderate travel to portfolio companies as needed
- Reports to: GHC CEO, serving as a senior financial partner to each portfolio company CEO
- Direct Reports: GHC Controller and strong dotted-line oversight of portfolio company finance leaders
- Time Allocation: Approximately 80% portfolio companies / 20% GHC, as a guideline rather than a fixed allocation; attention should shift to where it creates the greatest value
Compensation
- Base salary
- Cash bonus
- Participation in the Management Incentive Plan(s) of relevant GHC portfolio companies
- Participation in GHC Incentive Plan (the parent company)
Note: we expect a significant portion of the incentive compensation awards over time to be based on the CEO’s assessment of the CFO’s i) track record of hands-on direct impact on his / her responsibilities and ii) value created
