Scott Foster, CEO & Operating Partner

CEO · MANAGING DIRECTOR · OPERATING PARTNER

Improve EBITDA, cash flow and enterprise value across complex manufacturing, distribution and multi-channel businesses.

CEO, Managing Director and Operating Partner with deep experience leading complex manufacturing, distribution and multi-channel businesses across Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific.

I work with founders, boards and private equity firms when execution has drifted, performance has stalled or the business needs experienced operational leadership from inside the business—not outside it.

Where Is Value Leaking?

Choose the challenge that feels most familiar.

EBITDA Pressure

Profit isn't converting.

Revenue is growing, but EBITDA is not following. The gap is pricing structure, cost drift or margin leaking at the operating level.

Pricing Discipline and Margin Improvement
Working Capital Drag

Cash keeps disappearing.

Profitable on paper, but cash isn't converting. Inventory climbing, debtor terms drifting, working capital absorbing margin.

Profit and Working Capital
Financial Visibility

We can't trust our numbers.

Reports are lagging. Variance analysis is retrospective. Forecast integrity is low. The business moves, but leadership can't see it.

Execution Cadence Framework
Pricing Discipline

Pricing discipline has slipped.

Discounting has become the default. Product mix drifting toward lower-margin lines. Pricing made at the sales floor, not the board table.

Pricing Discipline and Margin Improvement
Decision Authority

Decisions keep coming back to me.

Every decision ends up on the CEO's desk. Managers escalate instead of owning. Growth is limited by one person's bandwidth.

Decision Centre
Growth Complexity

Growth has become harder to manage.

The business has outgrown its systems, processes and leadership structure. Scale has added complexity faster than capability.

Operating Model
Leadership Cadence

Leadership isn't operating together.

No shared accountability. Departments optimise for themselves. Execution rhythm is inconsistent. Decisions drift after they're made.

Operating Model vs Operating Rhythm
Founder Dependency

Too much depends on one person.

The business performs—but depends entirely on one or two people. PE buyers discount this heavily. Valuation gets reduced because of it.

Founder Readiness
Operational Consistency

Operational discipline is slipping.

Quality issues appearing. Lead times unreliable. Cost control has drifted. Processes aren't being followed consistently across the business.

Performance Reporting vs Operational Visibility
Commercial Performance

Commercial performance is inconsistent.

Forecasts are always wrong. Customer acquisition unpredictable. Customer retention declining. Sales processes are ad-hoc. Pipeline visibility is low.

Commercial Performance Engine
Transaction Readiness

Buyers will discount us.

PE sees EBITDA quality, pricing discipline, working capital and founder dependency before anything else. Valuation is determined in the 12–24 months before a sale.

Exit Readiness and EBITDA Valuation
General Diagnostic

We know something is wrong.

The numbers are moving in the wrong direction. Something is creating drag. You can feel it in the business, but can't pinpoint where value is actually leaking.

Client Value Leakage Diagnostic

Operating Experience

20+

Years

Revenue Managed

$110M+

Annual

EBITDA Growth

300%

Polyflor Australia

PE Exit Multiple

17×

EBIT · Dotmar

Why These Issues Compound

The Commercial Engine Behind The Numbers

These issues compound through the same operating system. That's where EBITDA, cash and enterprise value are created—or lost.

Pricing → Margin

Discipline at the transaction level converts to EBITDA at the P&L level.

Working Capital → Cash

Inventory, debtor and creditor control determines whether EBITDA becomes actual cash.

Visibility → Confidence

Operating cadence and forecast integrity create the confidence buyers and boards require.

Explore the commercial engine →

Ideal Mandate Profile

The Businesses I Typically Work With

Established industrial businesses with a specific performance, transition or transaction challenge.

Founder-led businesses preparing for growth, succession or sale

Private equity portfolio companies during the hold period

Manufacturing and industrial processing businesses

Distribution and branch-based operating models

Multi-site businesses requiring stronger operating cadence

Businesses where EBITDA, cash flow or execution has drifted

Typical Scope

Scale & Complexity

Most mandates centre on operational complexity, not strategy.

Revenue typically $20M–250M+

ANZ and APAC operating footprints

Manufacturing, industrial products and distribution

Multi-site branch and service networks

Founder-to-management transitions

Post-acquisition integration and value creation

Pricing, margin, working capital and execution improvement

Sale preparation and transaction readiness

Wholesale, retail and specification channels

B2B, B2B2B and B2B2C operating models

Commercial, industrial and government markets

Evidence

Track Record Highlights

17×

Exit Multiple

PE Exit · Dotmar · Crescent

Revenue $38m→$93m. Gross margin +500bps. Operational restructure and commercial rebuild across 14 ANZ sites.

300%

EBITDA Growth

Polyflor Australia

Pricing discipline, product mix and operating leverage within broader APAC mandate across 12 countries.

~85%

EBIT Improvement

Plascorp

Operating control, commercial discipline and execution focus inside a PVC and steel reinforcement manufacturer.

View full track record →

How I Work

Executive Mandates

Most situations need an operator inside the business with accountability for cadence, decisions and results.

Full Mandate

CEO / Managing Director

Full P&L ownership, operating authority and accountability for business performance. Permanent or defined-term engagement.

Learn more →

Immediate Deployment

Interim CEO / Acting MD

Immediate leadership inside a defined performance, transition or ownership window. Deployable within days with full accountability from day one.

Learn more →

PE Hold Period

Operating Partner

Embedded value creation support across EBITDA growth, working capital, execution cadence and exit preparation.

Learn more →

Preparation

Before You Say Yes To Private Equity

Valuation is determined in the 12–24 months before a sale, not in the data room. PE focuses on EBITDA quality, pricing discipline, working capital and founder dependency.

Read the preparation guide →

What PE sees before you sit down with them. How to fix operational gaps before they discount valuation. The operating improvements that matter most in a transaction.

The checklist most founders don't review until it's too late.

Start with the issue you recognise.

Click into the operating challenge that feels most familiar. Or if the gap feels more systemic, run the diagnostic first.

Client Value Leakage Diagnostic Explore The Issues Discuss A Mandate