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Mark Dirsa

Mark Dirsa

CFO Consultant

Mark is a dynamic Finance, Operations, and HR leader with over 30 years of experience in early and mid-stage companies across various industries. He thrives on collaborating with founders, CEOs, and investors, focusing on overall strategy while maximizing cash flow and value creation. Mark is drawn to roles that demand a commitment to getting the job done, regardless of responsibility. He takes pride in closing multi-million-dollar transactions while putting together desks and stocking kitchens.

His varied experiences include:

  • Fractional CFO at Quartic AI: Lead finance, accounting, and HR functions for an early-stage software company specializing in intelligent management operations around batch manufacturing, with subsidiaries in the US, Canada, and India.
  • CFO at Bigleaf Networks: Instrumental in guiding a high-growth hardware/software SaaS company towards profitability while raising significant equity and venture debt to support growth. Successfully transitioned from basic start-up systems to more robust platforms like Salesforce, DealHub, Planful, and Tipalti, implementing strong expense and process controls related to cash flow.
  • CFO at Garten Wellbeing: Helped the corporate wellness company grow significantly, pivoting to an asset-light model. Closed over $40 million in equity and debt financing despite COVID-19’s impact on the business model. Expanded the company through two acquisitions.
  • CFO at Vendini: Managed the finance, accounting, and administrative functions of a rapidly growing, ticketing software (SaaS) company with 6 offices in the US and 1 in Italy. Manage the growth of the company from 55 employees to over 180 employees worldwide. After bootstrapping, completed first VC round (Series A $20 million). Led acquisition/integration of 2 ticketing companies –one from founder and one from public company.
  • CFO at DeviceAnywhere: Early finance hire at a mobile hardware/software technology company with offices in US, Europe and Japan. Completed Series B financing of $8 million, Series C of $12 million, term/revolving debt financings of $3.5 million, $6 million venture debt financing, and various equipment lease facilities. Led the $90 million sale to Keynote Systems Inc.
  • Senior Director FP&A at Keynote Systems Inc.: Managed the FP&A group of a public company, overseeing the annual operating plan, budgeting, monthly forecasts, and timely management reporting. Part of the due diligence team responsible for the company’s $396 million purchase by Thoma Bravo, a private equity firm.
  • CFO at Alexa: First full-time finance hire, leading the company through significant operational and revenue growth, culminating in the sale to Amazon for $250 million.

Mark has extensive experience in financial modeling and metrics/KPIs, working closely with founders, management, boards, and investors to track success in real-time. He has a strong GAAP accounting background, particularly in cost analysis and revenue recognition, having navigated numerous audits and due diligence processes unscathed. As a former senior corporate finance banker, Mark is well-versed in private and public equity. He understands the critical role of human resources in any business, having overseen HR in most of his CFO roles.

Mark holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Connecticut. He and his family are currently renovating a 220-year-old farm in Vermont. Mark is an avid runner, both trail and road, having completed the NYC Marathon 17 times.