The Long View: Our 17-Year Partnership with Holmberg Mechanical
Walk into Holmberg Mechanical’s Bellevue headquarters and you immediately sense momentum. The building is only a few years old — all glass, steel, and possibility — but what really animates the space is the feeling that this is a business looking ahead, not backward.
Jeff White bought Holmberg Mechanical in 2006, when it was a small, family-owned plumbing company with just 12 employees and a primarily public-sector footprint. He stepped into his new role with a bold vision for the future — but also, by his own admission, some significant gaps in financial leadership. “I was the everything man,” he recalls. “I was the tip of the spear on sales, I was operations, and I was newly part of the back-of-house work. A lot of it was new to me.”
Jeff knew the business needed more sophisticated financial guidance than he could provide alone. On the recommendation of his Vistage chair, he met with CFO Selections’ Kevin Briscoe — a meeting that would mark the beginning of a 17-year partnership.
Developing the Financial Backbone
Kevin still remembers his first day clearly. “I met the gal who was doing the accounting work, and it all became clear. She was such a sweet lady, and she was really working hard for Jeff, but she didn’t know what she didn’t know. She was just in over her head.”
Holmberg wasn’t struggling — but it was underbuilt for the level of growth Jeff wanted to pursue. Accounting processes were overextended, financial reporting was backward-looking, and the company lacked the systems needed to forecast, adapt, or scale.
My first impression of Kevin was that he understood operations. That was my biggest thing. But then he went deeper than that: he understood my marketplace, helped me align with compliance, and really position the company for growth. I knew we wouldn’t be able to sustain the relatively slow growth the business had seen over the prior decade or so.”
— Jeff White, President & CEO, Holmberg Mechanical
Taking The Long View
Kevin stepped in as Holmberg’s fractional CFO and began building forward-looking financial models, strategic reporting tools, compliance practices, and decision-making frameworks. With each improvement, the business became clearer, steadier, and better equipped to take calculated risks.
That mindset shift was especially important during the Great Recession. In its early years, the strategy was simple: drive top-line growth to weather margin pressure. That is… until Kevin proposed thinking bigger.
Our strategy was working, but I started thinking about where the organization should land to actually start paying some dividends. So I did what accountants do, and came to Jeff with a plan. I said, ‘I think we should shoot for $30 million.’ It took him about two seconds to start laughing.”
— Kevin Briscoe, Managing Partner, CFO Selections
“I said, ‘We are never going to do $30 million,’” Jeff recalls. “We were at $10 million at the time, and tripling it did not seem reasonable.” Of course, Holmberg eventually blew past that number. “Let’s just say that time has passed. Kevin consistently teases me about it.”
A Partnership That Evolves with the Business
As Holmberg expanded into a full-service mechanical contractor — taking on large, complex design-build work and entering new geographies — Kevin’s role evolved along with it. Some years required him several days a week; other seasons needed only periodic strategic support.
“That flexibility — to add or subtract hours based on the needs of the business — is something you don’t get anywhere else,” Jeff says. “Every other year brought a new challenge, and we could scale the support to match.”
Kevin sees that adaptability as a hallmark of both organizations. “It’s ebbed and flowed as the business has matured. My role isn’t as significant as it once was, but because I have history and context, I can still bring value to those discussions.”
Over time, the relationship became deeper than a typical fractional engagement. Kevin became a sounding board, a strategic advisor, and someone Jeff trusted with decisions that carried long-term implications.
There are other parts. Businesses take on new life with new people, so Kevin and I speak deeply about how to maintain a culture while you grow. Kevin is also a great writer — I’ve leaned on him for communication with our bank, customers, you name it. He’s helped me find my voice. That’s not what you imagine from a CFO.”
— Jeff White, President & CEO, Holmberg Mechanical
Preparing Holmberg for its Next Generation
“My advice to people would be, do not underestimate the importance of forward-looking accounting and compliance,” Jeff cautions. “You can be a really good operator, but when we’re focused on sales and clients, we forget the importance of these things. That’s how you create a strong business.”
This forward-looking approach has also shaped Holmberg’s succession planning. As a third-generation business, sustainable leadership is top of mind. “We all know the statistics on making it to the fourth and fifth generations,” Jeff says. “If you want to do that, you better be prepared for a lot of work. Kevin has been a trusted advisor in that in a great way.”
Kevin has witnessed Jeff’s leadership expand alongside the company — and for him, the admiration is mutual. “Jeff had to choose to embrace this effort,” he explains. “When I first came in, he was much more focused on the jobs they had in hand, what else they were bidding. Now, Jeff has an eye towards where they’re headed. He’s not trying to drive the car by looking backwards.”
I help Jeff flesh out ideas more than I necessarily bring unique and revolutionary things to the business. Jeff consistently has a pretty clear vision. He finds his North Star, and he knows where he’s going. Helping him find the path to get there is where I come in.”
— Kevin Briscoe, Managing Partner, CFO Selections
It’s a partnership built on deep trust — and a shared commitment to stewarding the business forward.
Business is about relationships. Well, everything is about relationships. What I cherish the most is knowing I can trust him to have my back. And I believe Kevin has that from me too. We have crossed many bridges of different types of challenges — economies, employees, personal life and relationships — and every time we cross another one, that trust deepens.”
— Jeff White, President & CEO, Holmberg Mechanical
Built to Last
Today, Holmberg is a markedly different company from the one Jeff purchased nearly two decades ago. It has grown from a family plumbing operation into a regional mechanical contractor with a state-of-the-art facility, a stronger internal leadership team, and the confidence to pursue larger opportunities. Their footprint is broader, their impact deeper, and their systems built to scale.
We're currently expanding outside of our geographical area. We've moved into other communities and states to do work, and we couldn't be doing that without coming from a position of strength. And I believe having these metrics and things in place is what gives you the confidence and ability to take on new opportunities like that. The current opportunities for the company expand far beyond where I will likely take it.”
— Jeff White, President & CEO, Holmberg Mechanical
What has remained constant is the value of the relationship behind that progress. After 17 years, Kevin continues to serve as a steady advisor — offering context, clarity, and a perspective to the organization. Their partnership embodies what fractional leadership can make possible: long-term trust, flexible support, and the confidence to lead with vision.
As Kevin puts it, “I hope everyone on our team gets to enjoy a relationship like this in their career.”
