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
