WHY US
The role of the middle market company CEO today is more complex and more critical – than ever.
The role of the middle market company CEO today is more complex and more critical –than ever. A faster pace is the new norm. With the rapid evolution of technological innovation, disruptive business models and increasing pressure to grow revenues and findnew customers, today’s management teams must be able to quickly translate data into meaningful and actionable information for competitive advantage. Agile companies who can learn quickly, adapt to changing business conditions and apply fresh, new approaches to problem solving are essential. You need experienced players on your team with the right set of leadership qualities, technical skills and business know-how to tackle today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.
Axion Alpha Advisors is a premier middle market corporate consulting and advisory firm, whose Partners bring a unique set of experiences and diverse skills to their clients. We can help with even the most difficult problems. Each of the Partners has more than 30 years of experience acting in a “C-Suite” or Lead Consulting role to middle market companies in a broad array of industry sectors across multiple economic cycles. Partners have served as Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Strategy & Development Officer, Executive Director, Partner, Consultant and Board Member for public and private companies.
Moreover, Axion Alpha bring more than 30 years of experience interacting with private equity firms, family offices and institutional investors and lenders focused on middle market companies. Our experience base spans many industries and the full range of operating and structural issues.
Schedule a Free In-depth Initial Consultation, Review and Analysis
- Confidential meeting with business owners to understand the business, historical performance, current situation/ challenges and outlook
- Review of the Company’s recent financial and operating information to assess performance and the company’s current situation/ challenges
- The assessment results in a company-specific “Agenda,” in which we outline our findings and a plan of action that provides ownership with a focused sightline to success.
- No cost/ no obligation
EXPERIENCE
Paul Echausse
Managing Partner, has served as CEO of a publicly traded finance company; Executive Chairman of a $250 million regional collision repair company; Chairman of a $80 million beverage equipment company; Managing Partner of a Merchant Banking initiative for a money-center bank; Chief Marketing Officer of a Fin-Tech start-up; Executive Director of a regional non-profit organization; Chairman/CEO and Founder of an AgTech start-up and Board Member/Observer on more than 30 companies engaged in aerospace, defense, government services, waste management, dental practice management, manufacturing, consumer products, amongst other industries.
Paul has been involved in more than 125 M&A opportunities representing several billion dollars of transaction value during his career. Paul is a Phi Beta Kappa Magna Cum Laude graduate of Fordham University; has an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business and a JD from Fordham Law School.
R am Capoor Partner, brings a unique combination of Main
Streetand Wall Street skills and capabilities. As a Management Consulting Partner at Deloitte, Ram solved broad gauge strategic and operational problems for clients across many industries, amongst which were –consumer goods, health care, manufacturing, service businesses, and banking. Subsequently, he built and led Morgan Stanley’s in-house consulting group advising senior management on expansion and diversification initiatives, progressing to senior investment banking and analytical roles at Morgan and then other premier financial services firms. At UBS, Ram was Head of Strategic Development for UBS Americas -reporting to the bank’s Executive Committee, and later held a similar role with Zurich Financial Services.
During his career, he has played lead marketing and analytical roles in more than $7 billion of IPOs, M&A transactions and recapitalizations. On the entrepreneurial front, Ram brings over a 15 years of experience as the Founder & CEO of a specialty publishing and education company; and CEO & CFO of a content marketing company serving the tech sector.He is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology and holdsan MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business.
D
avid Dudding CPA, Partner, is a well-rounded business leader with more than 30 years of progressive operational and financial experience in manufacturing and distribution companies. David has held the CFO role in companies ranging from $50 to $450M in revenues. David’s passion is transferring advanced management strategy and techniques used by the Fortune 500 into smaller organizations because these smaller organizations often lack the cohesive strategy, processes and infrastructure necessary to remain competitive and profitable.
David specializes in distressed or turnaround situations, having participated in five successful business turnarounds since 2001. Be also has considerable experience guiding privately held companies towards a liquidity event. He completed two recent transactions valued at over $200 million dollars. David holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Kentucky and an MBA from Bellarmine University. He is a Certified Management Accountant and a Certified Public Accountant.
Recent Engagements
Chairman
Office of the president
August 2022
Fabrication
Buy-Side Advisory Services
Management Buy-Out
March 2023
Law Firm
Corporate Advisory Services
Interim CFO Services
Recapitalization
Partner Buy-Out
September 2022
Venture Loan Guaranty Corp
Corporate Advisory Services
Advisor to CEO
April 2023
Special Gift Company
Interim CFO Services
May 2023
$8,000,000
Revolving Credit Facility
July 2023
Victoria Australia
Automotive Supplier to EV Market
$60,000,000
Technology Patent Notes
Due Diligence Consulting
June 2023
HERO Health, Inc.
New York, NY
Healthcare SaaS Company
$20,000,000
Technology Patent Notes
Due Diligence Consulting
May 2023
Engagement Examples
Strategy
Assisted international investor in developing US acquisition strategy and helped them acquire and invest in multiple middle market businesses.
Exit Planning
Provided valuation, buyer road map, data room, due diligence assistance, deal negotiation and related assistance to seller of a business services company.
Acquisitions
Provided end-to-end advice and assistance in targeting, approaching, proposing, negotiating and acquiring several middle market companies.
Financing
Axion was hired by the CEO of a Specialty Finance Company to assist in the underwriting of $20 million of Term Notes for a health care software (SaaS) company. Axion worked closely with senior management to provide insights into the SaaS company’s “go to market” strategy; cost of customer acquisition and average profitability per customer, among other benchmarks. We also provided insight into current market valuation methodologies to assess the loan to value for the investment.
Restructuring/ Turnaround
Management Buyout
Axion was approached by a management team regarding the purchase of a business with which they had deep industry expertise. During the course of our engagement, we negotiated an indication of interest that gave our client exclusivity; identified additional sources of equity; identified and negotiated senior secured revolver and term debt for the acquisition. We also assisted in negotiating the purchase agreement.
Interim Senior Management
Fast growth of this industrial refrigeration business exceeded the management capability of the existing CEO and CFO. While a new CEO was recruited an Axion Partner served as the Chairman of the Office of the President, leading the senior leadership team. Results included a more focused strategy that concentrated on better customers and emphasized selling broader solutions. Information systems were upgraded; processes, procedures and metrics were improved and a new business risk management system deployed. This leadership approach also enabled the business to refine its staffing levels to manage and improve profitability.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Please check this section for our most common questions. If you’re still unable to find an answer to your query, please contact us.
Yes. It’s free because we are willing to invest in the relationship, to show you the value we can add. And there is no obligation.
Yes, Axion Alpha will be pleased to sign a confidentiality agreement before proceeding.
We tailor our services to the needs of the client. Usually it’s a mix of in-person, online and phone/ video engagement that serves our clients the best while being cost effective.
While a majority of the work can be done remotely, the Axion Alpha principals believe that relationships are critical to every engagement, and as such, personal meetings are important in the beginning of an engagement and periodically throughout. Once engaged and utilizing readily available digital communication and online tools, much of the work can be handled without face-to-face meetings or office visits for many client engagements. These included file sharing and video conferencing, in addition to email and phone calls. However, in certain instances in-person meetings are preferable, for example a Board presentation or manufacturing facilities visits.
Fees are always agreed in writing prior to engagement. Fees can be set up in a variety of ways depending on the client’s needs. With a client who needs recurring services for a certain number of hours a month, we can arrange a monthly fee based on agreed hours. In other cases, fees may be project based.
For comparable quality, our fees are more than competitive, especially when compared to large financial or consulting firms.
No. However, we can help recommend firms that have strong capabilities and relevant experience.
We are obsessed with complete client satisfaction and outstanding client service. We will do our very best to gain a satisfied client with the goal of building a long-term relationship.
Axion believes that senior level attention is a differentiator in our service capabilities versus larger firms that have a tendency to staff projects with more junior personnel in leadership roles. Client assignments are staffed appropriately with experienced junior professionals with relevant experience for the assignment at hand.