Women's Network: Navigating the Peaks and Valleys of Growing a Company

Paige is a fixer of fixers, orchestrating a collection of highly adept tech and engineering all-stars. She founded Point Solutions Group to address the dire need for diversity in information technology, engineering, and professional services in government and commercial organizations. And the looks she gets when she walks into some meetings exemplifies that.

She not only talks the talk, but her extensive background in the information security, healthcare IT, and Department of Defense industries gives her the cred to strut the strut. As well as to pirouette between highly classified government projects and the demands of an ever-changing commercial landscape.

Kathleen Neuheardt is CFO of Bonfire, a tech platform that supports peer to peer fundraising through the delivery of customized merch. She leads finance, operations and HR, and is responsible for over 90% of the $60 million P&L.  

Throughout her career, Kathleen has worked with CEOs in the middle market space to strategize, execute, and optimize organizations for smart expansion and efficient value creation. Over the past two years, Kathleen has led the creation of over $20 million in enterprise value at Bonfire and previously, hundreds of millions while at QuickBox and (now) BKV through optimization of operations, people management, and efficiencies using a "fresh eyes" approach.

Kathleen was previously CFO with QuickBox, a Denver based logistics company that increased operations 50% through scaling and M&A during her tenure. And before Quickbox, she served as CFO for (now) BKV Corp and was instrumental in leading the organization’s growth from managing a singular passive natural gas investment to directly operating the majority of the company’s assets (achieving >10 times growth within 4 years), obtained through extensive M&A activity and a holistic strategy for lean operational scaling. She is a recovering auditor, having spent her first thirteen years as an auditor and senior leader in the KPMG Houston office.

Nancy Phillips, a seasoned executive and leader in the telecommunications and IT infrastructure industry, has built her career around service-oriented organizations in a tech-centric world.

Her professional journey began in the dynamic realm of technology companies, where she held various founder and executive leadership roles at firms like TSC, ConferTech International, ITC, RMI.net, and Intrepid Communications. In 1999, she co-founded ViaWest, where, as its President & CEO, she led its transformation into one of the industry’s largest colocation and cloud providers until its substantial acquisition by GI Partners.

Today, Nancy serves as a Managing Partner at Rallyday Partners, focusing her efforts on empowering lower-middle market growth companies. Concurrently, she holds the Chair of the Board at Flexential, a leading provider of data center solutions that evolved from the amalgamation of IT powerhouses Peak 10 and ViaWest.

Nancy’s commitment extends beyond her professional endeavors. She actively supports Colorado’s entrepreneurial community and champions the advancement of women in computer science, serving on numerous boards, including the National Center for Women and Information Technology, where she is Chair.

Her visionary leadership has garnered her numerous accolades, such as the 2016 EY Entrepreneur of the Year in Technology Services for the Mountain Desert Region and the inaugural Colorado Governor’s Citizenship Medal for Growth and Innovation.

When not leading or mentoring, Nancy relishes Colorado’s great outdoors, skiing, cycling, and hiking with her family. A native of Toronto, Nancy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queens University in Canada.

As the leader of the firm’s transaction advisory practice for the Rocky Mountain region, I’ve been involved in hundreds of transactions on both the buy and sell side, including quality of earnings, working capital targets and resolution, profitability analysis, and carve-out financial statements. For 25 years, I’ve served clients in manufacturing and distribution, healthcare, professional services, consumer products, technology, and real estate.

I’m regularly asked to speak at conferences on panels about business transition planning and transactions. Memberships include the AICPA, the Colorado Society of CPAs, Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors, and I’m a past board president of the Association of Corporate Growth – Denver Chapter. My alma mater is the University of Illinois at Chicago where I graduated with a B.S. in accounting.