11 Years as a PE-Backed CFO: What Sponsors Actually Want (w/ Jon Apter, Accordion)
Jon Apter, CFO of Accordion, joins Devin Mathews to discuss his career transition from investment banking and private equity into leading finance at a fast-growing sponsor-backed services firm. He explains how to structure finance teams across different ownership stages, the discipline required to keep companies exit-ready from day one, and how private equity firms are evolving their approach to hold periods, M&A integration, and AI deployment.
- Accordion CFO Jon Apter notes that sponsor-backed companies are overspending on compute and software tokens, turning AI deployment into an immediate margin drag rather than an instant cost reduction. Read →
- Accordion CFO Jon Apter argues that tracking more than 10 KPIs dilutes executive focus, advising teams to isolate only the metrics that move enterprise value. Read →
- Accordion completed 12 add-on acquisitions by shifting founder relationship management entirely away from private equity deal teams to internal operators. Read →
- Jon Apter, CFO of Accordion, argues that sponsor-backed finance teams must operate as direct value-creation engines rather than administrative gatekeepers. Read →
- Jon Apter, CFO of Accordion, states that the standard five-year private equity hold period has been replaced by either fast two-to-three-year exits or extended seven-to-eight-year continuation vehicle timelines. Read →
- Jon Apter took a 75% pay cut when leaving Evercore's middle-market private equity practice to become CFO of Accordion when it was a 12-person startup. Read →