1145: Creative Capital, Tough Cuts, and the Power of “Why” | Jayme Brooks, CFO, Limbach
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The email with the term sheet arrived first, then the bottle of champagne from the CEO, Jayme Brooks tells us. The lender had agreed to a nontraditional structure that allowed Capstone to borrow against intangible assets, creating a lifeline at a moment when revenue had dropped about 40% and market cap had fallen from roughly 400 million to 25 million, she tells us. Cost reductions, including a 25% reduction in force and ultimately a 50% cut in the cost structure, followed, she tells us. But the bridge financing meant the company could still fund payroll, buy supplies, and keep shipping microturbines.
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That moment caps years of learning “in the room.” Brooks began in engineering before shifting into accounting and public practice, she tells us. Controller roles in aerospace and a UK-owned division exposed her to debt, private equity, and board dynamics. She later accepted what looked like a step back—a director of financial reporting role at an unprofitable public company—because she wanted capital-markets experience and trusted a former CFO mentor, she explains.
Along the way, an MBA and countless investor calls broadened her view beyond “head down” execution. In the restructuring, she focused on explaining the “why” to suppliers, employees, and investors, securing payment plans and shared sacrifice so the business could survive, she tells us. Today, at Limbach, she continues to leverage external experts, integrate acquisitions, refine owner-direct metrics, and lead with an empathetic, trust-building style inspired in part by Leading with the Heart, she tells us.
CFOTL: The company is acquisitive. Can you share a little bit about the M&A mindset that Limbach has today?
Brooks: Over the past five years, we’ve focused on our M&A strategy and on building out our footprint. We look at a number of transactions, and we’re really trying to find the right fit for our company. It has to be the right culture and the right mix of customers. We also look for companies in the right industry and market verticals. There is a lot of activity in the M&A market right now, but we are trying to find that needle-in-a-haystack fit that aligns with our strategy.
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Our model is to work directly with building owners—not through a general-contractor model—so any company we acquire needs to have, or be able to build, those same types of relationships. We integrate these companies into our business from both an ERP-system perspective and a business-strategy perspective. They need to be able to take on change as they move into a public-company environment, shift their go-to-market approach, and ultimately deliver solutions directly to owners.
Limbach | www.limbachinc.com | Warrendale, PA
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