Job Details
Description
Chief Financial Officer will lead enterprise financial stewardship during a period of system modernization, and disciplined growth. Leading with strong financial acumen balanced with operational fluency, risk discipline, and the maturity to operate effectively in a family-owned governance structure transitioning toward broader institutional rigor.
The CFO serves as a core control point in our business model — anchoring capital allocation, working capital management, banking relationships, risk oversight, and board-level financial credibility. This role extends well beyond financial reporting and accounting oversight; it is central to sustaining profitability, protecting liquidity, and growing long-term shareholder value in a complex wholesale distribution environment.
Key Responsibilities
Financial Leadership & Reporting
- Owns and leads all accounting, financial reporting, audit, annual operating plan and compliance functions ensuring accuracy, and alignment with strategic objectives.
- Delivers timely, accurate, board-ready financial reporting and analysis.
- Ensures GAAP compliance and strong internal control environment.
- Responsible for tax, compliance, and planning in coordination with external advisors.
- Monitors and optimize cash conversion cycle, inventory turns, and AR/AP discipline.
- Maintains a 13-week cash flow forecast and long-range liquidity planning.
- Monitor covenant compliance and maintain strong lender transparency.
- Drives disciplined credit management and customer risk assessment.
- Serves as primary relationship manager with banks and lending partners.
- Evaluates and recommends capital structure strategy.
- Responsible for refinancing, revolver management, and covenant negotiations.
- Provides insight into debt capacity relative to growth initiatives and capital plans.
Capital Allocation & Capex Governance
- Guides capital allocation decisions using disciplined ROI and cash impact frameworks.
- Evaluates distribution center investments, technology upgrades, automation, and capacity projects.
- Establish structured capex gating processes in partnership with the Project Management Office and operations.
- Supports the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) in prioritizing strategic initiatives within capital and liquidity constraints.
- Provides clear trade-off analysis to ensure growth investments align with balance sheet strength and long-term shareholder value.
Risk Management & Insurance Oversight
- Oversee enterprise risk management framework.
- Manage insurance coverage strategy and broker relationships.
- Ensure appropriate coverage across liability, property, workers compensation, D&O, cyber, and supply chain risk.
- Support crisis preparedness and business continuity planning.
Legal, Contract & Cost Modeling Oversight
- Serves as financial partner to outside legal counsel.
- Review customer and vendor contracts for financial risk, margin protection, and working capital implications. Provide executive oversight and financial authority over customer and vendor contracts, safeguarding margins, managing risk, and optimizing cash flow. Lead enterprise-level cost modeling and scenario analysis, including vendor cost changes, freight volatility, commodity shifts, and inflationary pressures.
- Ensures disciplined documentation, renewal management, and margin protection frameworks across commercial agreements.
Strategic Finance & Decision Support
- Partner with Sales, Merchandising, and Operations to evaluate new customer opportunities, vendor programs, seasonal inventory commitments, and margin risk exposure.
- Provide scenario modeling to support pricing strategy in inflationary environments.
- Translate financial data into operational insight.
- Develop long-range financial models aligned with strategic growth objectives.
Technology & Systems Modernization
- Provide financial leadership in ERP modernization and IT upgrades.
- Ensure financial controls remain strong during system transitions.
- Partner with IT leadership to align financial reporting architecture with future-state systems.
Team Leadership & Talent Development
- Lead and develop accounting and finance team.
- Build bench strength and succession within finance.
- Foster culture of accountability, clarity, and continuous improvement.
- Align with Imperial’s mission: prioritize people, embrace change, foster growth.
- Model and reinforce Imperial’s values to ensure safety, celebrate each other, support our communities, continuously improve, and do right every day.
Qualifications
- 15+ years progressive finance leadership experience
- Distribution, wholesale, or retail industry experience
- Experience in privately held or family-owned governance structures.
- Proven board-facing experience
- Experienced track record of managing working capital and liquidity.
- Experience leading ERP or systems transformation.
- Experience leading organizations through significant change and transformation, including technology adoption, process redesign, and adapting to market shifts.
- Proven ability to engage and motivate large, diverse teams, with success in building culture, developing leaders, and driving retention through clear communication and support.
- Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
- CPA a plus
Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Ability to lift, push, or pull up to 10 pounds and move objects related to an office setting
- Requires manual dexterity and visual acuity sufficient in typing, presenting and performing other administrative job functions (type, email, demonstrations, etc.).
- Physical ability to safely perform job functions with or without aid of mechanical devices.
- Ability to walk, stand, bend, stoop, and reach.
Work Environment
The work environmental characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- This job generally operates in a professional flexible office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as laptop computers, smartphones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and scanners.
- This job is expected to travel to trade shows, educational opportunities and customer stores (grocery stores) as needed.
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of all activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. The items listed above are considered to be the essential functions of this role. This listing and description may change at any time based on business or company needs.
