Our Team

Mike Slavens has over thirty years of finance, accounting, and operations experience as a 10-year Big 4 firm CPA, and senior executive – chief financial officer, Vice President/General Manager, and Controller. He has worked for PE, VC, and entrepreneur-owned middle market companies.

As CFO, Mike has created and executed strategic plans while building efficient infrastructures to grow profitable companies. He has created financial and operational KPIs / reporting, implemented internal controls, and reduced operating costs, to increase cash flows and EBITDA.

Mike has been directly responsible for Board of Director reporting, bank relationships, strategic planning, risk management, insurance, legal, contract negotiations, taxes, cash flow forecasting, working capital management, product costing and pricing, financial modeling/forecasting, budgeting and variance analysis, CAPEX ROI analysis, ERP selection and installation, purchasing, logistics, warehousing, sales and customer service.

Mike has expertise in these areas:

• Cost accounting systems (standard, average, process and project)

• Financial, profitability, and operational analysis

• Internal controls / process improvements / cost reductions

• Inventory management / purchase hedging

• Credit and risk management

• Mergers & acquisitions – buy and sell due diligence

• Financing

His primary financial, operational, and strategic experience lies in the following industry niches:

• Branded consumer products

• Food and beverage

• Specialty retail chains

• Manufacturing and wholesale distribution

• Professional services

Key accomplishments include:

• Market Expansion – Led an increase in sales from $28 million to $80 million, $40 million of which was the result of a new sales channel.

• Profitability Strategies – Managed cross-functional teams to institute cost reductions in raw materials, packaging, and other manufacturing costs to save $900,000 over 7 months.

• Process Improvements – Developed operational and accounting controls for an employer, reducing excessive inventory losses by $500,000+ to .3% of sales vs. .5% industry standard.

• Developed financial / ERP systems for budgeting, reporting, forecasting, analysis, compliance and asset management.

• Created SKU-based, gross margin reporting system that generated monthly margin, markdown, discount and shrink reports.

• Orchestrated as part of the senior management team the sale of a national retail chain, requiring development of financial reports, projections, and road show presentations.

Mike is a CPA (inactive) and has a bachelors in business administration with a concentration in accounting from Youngstown State University. He has served as Treasurer and board member of the Big Brothers organization and board member of the San Diego Technology Financial Forum.