Garden City Equity is a people-first holding company investing in exceptional founder & family-owned businesses. We live by our core values of serving others, pursuing excellence, seeking simplicity, staying positive and prioritizing family.

About the COO Role

The Operating Partner / Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the private equity firm and driving strategic operational excellence. This leader will partner closely with the portfolio companies executive leaders and have two direct reports: VP, People and VP, Operations.

*The role is based in Charlotte, NC.

Responsibilities:

Operational Strategy: Develop and implement an operations playbook to intentionally strengthen and grow portfolio companies
Portfolio Company CEOs: Act as a trusted, strategic advisor and primary point-of-contact to all portfolio company CEOs; serve as an active board member to all portfolio companies
Growth Initiatives: Partner with stakeholders to identify and support growth initiatives: shareholder sales introductions, add-on acquisitions, new products & services, market expansions, and operational improvements (technology integrations, platforms, softwares, etc)
Human Resources: Partner with the VP, People to ensure recruiting, talent management, learning and development, benefits and employee relations efforts are evolving and effectively supporting portfolio companies appropriately
Finance: Partner with the VP, Finance and/or CFO on portfolio company financial operations (budgeting, margin improvement, cash flow conversion, accounting software, financial statement accuracy, tax reporting, compliance)

Requirements:

10-15+ years of significant private equity (lower, middle market) experience in a COO or similar role
Have managed and lead a team of operational staff
Bachelor's degree in Business; MBA preferred
25% travel
Knowledge of industry trends and opportunities
Entrepreneurial style mindset
Strong operations, communication, leadership and organizational skills

More About Garden City Equity:

Think a “Berkshire Hathaway” model, but of small to mid-sized businesses, with a people-first approach, and with a vision “to honor God by building the best holding company in the world where all workers can thrive”.

We have a simple strategy. We buy & hold companies for the long term, use little to no debt, keep the management team in place, close deals quickly in ~60 days, and preserve the founder’s culture and legacy.

We have strategic capital - no institutional investors. All of our capital comes from mission-aligned and value-added investors who are passionate about coming alongside us to help grow our businesses.

Garden City Equity has experienced significant growth since its launch in 2020; highlights include:

Capital raised & deployed: Initially raised $52M, which has been almost completely deployed. Raised an additional $150M+ in 2024.
Family of companies: Currently includes 6 businesses (control & non-control) that generate $85M+ revenue and employ 200+ people.
Growing team: The company will employ 11 professionals across the Investments and Operations teams.
Investment performance: The firm is currently generating annual cash returns in the high teens, while growing the underlying equity value of the portfolio. If the entire portfolio liquidated today, it would have generated a 60%+ cumulative return.

We offer:

Competitive compensation and time off
Generous health benefits
Mission-aligned team
Team offsites
Regular shareholder summits

Garden City Equity

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Operating Partner