Frontenac’s 2025 Executive Forum Drives Collaboration and Skill Building

Chicago, IL

Last month, Frontenac hosted more than 100 portfolio company leaders, CEO1ST Partners, and team members at the 2025 Frontenac Executive Forum in Chicago. This two-day event created opportunities for networking and the exchanging of best practices across key operational themes. The Forum hosted speakers with expertise in highly relevant topics including talent, growth and exit readiness, while the event format incorporated breakout discussions, working sessions and networking opportunities to enable attendees to engage and share perspectives cross functionally.

The Frontenac team set the stage for the Forum by discussing the evolution of the private equity market and highlighting the increasing need for operational excellence and focused, intentional value creation planning. The team called attention to the growth of Frontenac, including the expansion of the Portfolio Resources Group, and several value creation programs being deployed across the portfolio.

Frontenac Managing Partner, Walter Florence said, “At Frontenac, we’re big believers in continuous improvement and keeping our tools sharp. This year’s Forum was designed to cover tactical approaches to driving value creation. Whether you’re operating a food distribution business or an IT services company, the learnings should help you along the way.”

Talent: Unlocking Hiring Success

Archana Potters, Partner, and Katie Creagh, Associate Partner, at ghSmart kicked off the functional sessions with a talent-focused workshop. They provided tools and insights to effectively create a scorecard to systematically evaluate candidates. Katie and Archana demonstrated how consistent use of scorecards can be practical way to not only help identify A-players but to set expectations – internally and externally – around a position, track execution and manage performance post-hire.

Sales & Marketing: Improving Decisions with Process and Metrics

George De Los Reyes, Managing Partner, and Bill Piacitelli, Partner, at Cortado Group shared a comprehensive go-to-market framework with attendees during their Sales & Marketing session. They outlined best practices for strong lead and opportunity management, emphasizing the need for these processes to inform one another. Discussions around pipeline management also emphasized the need to use measurement and coaching to support sales leaders and reinforce established processes.

Exit: Positioning for a Successful PE Sale

Todd Noffke, Co-Head of M&A at Baird, shared current trends in the M&A market and emphasized the importance of thorough preparation and data to support a successful exit. Sale processes have become more dynamic and buyers are increasing the depth of their diligence especially around growth opportunities and integration given heightened valuation levels. Noffke stressed the importance of articulating a clear value proposition, justifying growth levers with data, and addressing key value detractors in aiming to achieve optimal exit outcomes.

Takeaways & Next Steps

The sessions and interactive discussions at this year’s Executive Forum provided attendees with new tactics, tools and actionable takeaways to help drive value in their organizations. A big thank you to our speakers, attendees and team who contributed meaningful time and insights to this year’s event. We look forward to hosting more events that support our companies and leaders in the near future.

About Frontenac

Frontenac is a Chicago-based private equity firm. The firm focuses on investing in lower middle market buyout transactions in the consumer, industrial, and services industries. Frontenac works in partnership with established operating leaders, through an executive-centric approach called CEO1ST®, which seeks to identify, acquire, and build market-leading companies through transformational acquisitions and operational excellence. Over the last 50+ years, Frontenac has built a franchise working with over 325 owners of mid-sized businesses as they address complex transition issues of liquidity, management enhancement, and growth planning. For more information, please visit www.frontenac.com.