For years, Matt Williams had a professional interest in business operations. In graduate school, he planned to trade his early private equity experience for an operational role. A unique opportunity with growth equity firm Frontier Growth kept Williams in the investment world after earning his MBA, though.
In 2019, a year into his tenure at Frontier, Williams helped lead the firm’s investment in a public affairs software company that grew significantly before being acquired by Quorum three years later. Williams negotiated the deal and became an industry-knowledgeable board observer for Quorum.
When Quorum’s CFO left in late 2023 and the company began a national search for a replacement, Williams saw an opportunity to pursue that long-standing interest in operations while leveraging his industry experience to help Quorum navigate its next growth phase. He joined the software company as CFO in April 2024, bringing more than a decade of private equity and finance experience to the public affairs software category leader.
Matt Williams
CFO, Quorum
First CFO position: 2024
Notable previous employers:
- Frontier Growth
- Adobe
- Pamlico Capital
- SunTrust Robinson Humphrey
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
SANDRA BECKWITH: You are a first-time CFO at Quorum. What makes you the right person to serve as its CFO now?
MATT WILLIAMS: In 2022, Quorum acquired one of its direct competitors, a company I became involved with three years earlier when my prior employer, growth equity firm Frontier, invested in it. As a result, I’m intimately familiar with the industry, the companies in it, and the market, so that allowed me to get up to speed quickly after joining Quorum.
At the same time, we think there’s an opportunity for Quorum to grow through more acquisitions over the next five to 10 years. I’ve spent nearly a decade doing that at Frontier and Pamlico Capital before that, so that’s a core competency for me. My experience positions me to help evaluate and execute those future acquisition opportunities
What made you decide to leave private equity, venture capital and investment banking to become this company’s top finance executive?
WILLIAMS: After Quorum began its CFO search, Quorum’s CEO and I started an ongoing conversation about my long-time interest in getting operational experience. I enjoy getting deeper into the details, and ultimately, seeing things through to good outcomes. There’s some level of that in an investing role, but it’s more surface-level depth, especially when you’re spread across multiple businesses at any point.
I wasn’t going to take that leap of faith out of private equity without a deep understanding of my potential employer’s business, its market, how the management team operates, and the board dynamics, though. They’re so important to the CFO’s success. I felt good about all those things at Quorum.
How does your background affect how you do your job at Quorum and how might it differ from someone who came to the CFO role with different experiences?
WILLIAMS: Because of my investing background, I focus on looking through the windshield as opposed to through the rear-view mirror. Certainly, you want to be aware of the historical trends and how those trends have changed. But “What does it mean for the future?” is really the punch line.
There are also nuanced accounting dynamics that would come second nature to someone who has an audit background that I lack, of course. For that, I’ve followed the advice of other former private equity professionals who have transitioned to the CFO role and, like me, aren’t CPAs: “Make sure you’ve got a good controller.” And I do.
What part of the CFO’s job is most difficult for you because of your background?
WILLIAMS: I’ve had to get up to speed on internal systems and data so I can dive in deep on the details and make sure we’ve got the right data for the decisions we’re making. Also, because I don’t have that audit background as I just mentioned, I’ve spent marginally more time than someone who does making sure our accounting methodologies comply.
What’s the easiest?
WILLIAMS: It’s putting the historical financials and data into forward-looking models and communicating the KPIs of the business to the board in ways that they’re used to receiving them. We’ve not executed an acquisition since I joined, but when we get that opportunity, the work involved will come naturally given my background.
What advice would you give to others in finance hoping to become CFOs?
WILLIAMS: Acquire a breadth of experience you can draw on in situations where you won’t necessarily have the right answer to every question. You’ll have the confidence to pull from that experience to develop a point of view.
Also, have an investor’s mindset. Constantly think about what the business is trying to do to create shareholder value, and understand both where the business sits today and what needs to happen to accomplish those goals.
Finally, be a good teammate. I see the finance department as a service provider for other teams when it comes to making data-based decisions and measuring success. That mindset goes a long way.
