Value Creation Before and After the Deal: Building for Growth
Presented By: Growth Operators / Wipfli
Long-term success is shaped by what companies do both before and after the ink dries. This session examines how to strengthen financials and operations ahead of a deal, then accelerate growth through post-close integration, scalable processes, and talent strategies. Panelists will share how investors and executives are using structured assessments and tailored action plans to capture opportunities early and deliver stronger performance throughout the deal lifecycle.
Moderator:
Co-Founder & CEO
Growth Operators
Rick Nordvold is a seasoned executive and the Co-Founder of Growth Operators, bringing decades of experience in corporate finance and business growth strategies. He has led financial transformations, driven strategic planning initiatives, and played a key role in successful M&A transactions. As CEO, he focuses on guiding businesses through complex financial landscapes and helping clients achieve sustainable success. Rick enjoys mentoring emerging leaders and supporting businesses in reaching their full potential.
Panelists:
Managing Director
Wipfli Corporate Finance Advisors, LLC
Colin brings over 15 years of investment banking and consulting experience to his clients and focuses on advising private middle market companies and their shareholders on mergers and acquisitions, valuation, transition, and strategic planning matters. He has successfully led transactions for across a multitude of industries, some of which include construction services, manufacturing and distribution, consumer goods, engineering and design, software as a service (SaaS), environmental waste remediation and professional service industries.
Partner
Tonka Bay Equity Partners
Kam is a Partner at Tonka Bay and joined in 2015. He is responsible for serving on the investment committee, deal origination, transaction diligence, structuring and financing, and portfolio governance. He currently serves on multiple portfolio company boards of directors and works closely with portfolio company executives to execute strategic growth initiatives. Prior to joining Tonka Bay, Kam spent six years in public accounting at Ernst & Young, where he worked in the Transaction Advisory Services practice.
Former CFO
Twelve Consulting Group
Jill King is a wife, mother of three, and founder of Twelve Consulting Group. Drawing on her background in accounting, she built an efficient, customer-centric organization that empowers clients to plan with confidence. Passionate about people and purpose, Jill leads with integrity, balancing her entrepreneurial drive with her dedication to family and community.
CEO
Twelve Consulting Group
Josh is deeply experienced in management consulting, especially leveraging EPM tools like Cognos, IBM TM1, and most recently, Anaplan. Josh was one of the first 10 employees hired in 2011 just months after Anaplan went commercial.
In five years, Josh built the global pre-sales organization from the ground up as the Vice President of Pre-Sales. He joined Twelve in February 2016 to help scale the organization.
Josh’s passion is growth: building a strong culture, scaling competent teams, and developing leaders. At Anaplan, he built a team with a very specific culture that was focused on continuous development and became a feeder for leaders at Anaplan.
At Twelve, he is enjoying working with an innovative team to extend the culture, deliver customer value, and execute at scale. Josh works with our leaders to continue to evolve the way that we deliver excellence to our customers while developing our people for long-term success.