Patina Executes Largest Financing Round to Date, Launches Extensive Growth Plans

MILWAUKEE, June 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Patina Solutions, the fast-growing firm that provides proven, accomplished executives with 25+ years of experience for key projects and interim roles, has raised $3.45 million to support its growth – which includes nearly doubling its sales force, opening additional offices and continuing the trend of substantial annual sales increases.

"Patina has grown dramatically, increasing revenue over 200% in the past three years. With that demonstrated performance, Patina secured its place on Inc. magazine's list of fastest-growing private companies for 2013, 2014 and 2015, and is expected to do so again in 2016," said Mike Harris, President and Chief Executive Officer of Patina. "And, we're not done yet. Patina is going on another exciting growth journey, allowing us to support even more companies and organizations in achieving their goals."

Harris, a Wisconsin-based serial entrepreneur, is best known as the founder and former CEO of Jefferson Wells, which grew to $132 million in sales with 23 offices and 1,600 employees in just five years. Jefferson Wells (now part of Experis) was acquired by Manpower in 2001 for $174 million. Inc. magazine ranked Jefferson Wells as number 5 of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in America that year, and it remains one of the best start-up to exit stories in Wisconsin history. Taking that experience to his current venture, Harris and the entire team at Patina are taking the company to its next phase of success with its largest capital investment in the company's history.

Impressive Growth to Date

Founded in late 2008, Patina has offices located throughout the country and has co-founded Globalise, a global group of leading interim management firms, to serve clients around the world. The firm's growth has been funded with capital provided by individual angel investors who have contributed a significant investment. Based in Milwaukee, Patina currently has offices in Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Green Bay, Madison, Minneapolis, New York and Tampa.

"Patina's flexible model, combined with experienced and practical professionals who can hit the ground running, allows organizations to capture more opportunities and drive faster growth," said Patrick O'Brien, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board at Patina. "Patina is accelerating growth and results for its clients, which in turn is allowing Patina to grow at a fast pace."

"When Kadant had a critical project in a remote area of China, Patina delivered a team of experienced people with the expertise and language skills needed for this important engagement," said Dave Stuer, Director of Corporate Internal Audit at Kadant Inc., a Westford, Mass.-based global supplier of high-value, critical components and engineered systems used in process industries. "We were impressed by Patina's ability to quickly give us a team with the competence to deliver results halfway around the world."

While business leaders may be acting with caution during this slower economic period, Patina's diverse services and the types of organizations and markets it serves mean that the company is still experiencing strong growth.

"With Patina, we've done a variety of projects from process improvement to project management, in roles from corporate communications to finance, and in the United States and overseas," said Jeff Augustin, CIO of Johnson Controls, a global company based in Milwaukee, Wis., that offers products and services to optimize energy and operational efficiencies of buildings, automotive batteries and interior systems. "Patina has been a key business partner for many years, helping JCI implement new programs and initiatives quickly."

In addition, Patina offers companies experienced talent only when they need it, which allows organizations to stay nimble and achieve their goals within budget. Patina is especially seeing strong momentum in the areas of healthcare, information technology and manufacturing.

"Quad has worked with Patina multiple times and we regard Patina as a reliable, responsive business partner," said Joel Quadracci, CEO of Quad/Graphics, a leading global provider of print and media solutions based in Sussex, Wis. "Patina helps us find qualified professionals swiftly with the experience and proven skill sets we need to implement our growth strategies."

Leadership to Support Future Growth

Patina plans to nearly double its sales force and to open new offices in key markets in the next year. In order to ensure Patina is well-equipped to handle the next phase of its growth, the company has also expanded its leadership team.

"As we grow in size and complexity, we realize that we need more executive resources to achieve our goals and maximize the great opportunity that is in front of us," said Harris. "Therefore, I'm pleased to welcome Tom McBride as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer."

McBride joins Patina from Fiserv where he was President of several business units including software solutions and professional services. He also spent six years at Jefferson Wells where he led the global sales and marketing functions. McBride will oversee sales, marketing, operations, practices and recruiting at Patina.

"Tom brings us hands-on expertise in managing and scaling national businesses. We look forward to his energy, industry experience and leadership as we accelerate Patina's rapid growth."

Susan Gallagher has taken on the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Patina. Gallagher has served as Chief Operating Officer for the past three years and will now shift her focus to making sure the company's infrastructure, including accounting, human resources, information technology and reporting, can support the company's aggressive growth plans. She will also lead Patina's efforts to expand its international business capabilities. 

"Susan knows Patina very well, having led our sales growth and field organization over the last three years. In addition to CFO duties, she will manage a number of critical special projects for us," said Harris. "I am pleased that we have her expertise to help us evaluate, staff and open new markets, and handle all of our legal and compliance matters."

About Patina Solutions

Patina partners with companies to solve problems, realize opportunities, improve results, fill a key expertise or resource gap, develop talent or support any other critical initiative. Helping clients achieve their goals, the company builds solutions to deliver specialized expertise targeted to companies' unique circumstances. Every Patina Professional in the Patina Nation is an accomplished executive with a minimum of 25 years of experience.

The Patina approach is highly flexible, collaborative and consultative, enabling clients to get results utilizing only the resources they need, just when they need them. Patina is a company of practitioners who accelerate success through consulting, projects, leadership and board roles. As well, the firm is delivering innovative external mentoring solutions through The Mentor Bank^©. An Inc. 500|5000 honoree and founding member of Globalise, the global group of leading interim management firms, Patina is headquartered in the U.S. and serves companies around the globe. Learn more at patinasolutions.com.

SOURCE Patina Solutions

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http://www.patinasolutions.com