Finance leadership built in the operator’s seat.

Karl has built companies and finance functions across construction, AEC, broadband, multi-state infrastructure, services, and technology. His work spans accounting and close integrity, FP&A, liquidity, treasury, working capital, job cost and WIP, lender and investor communication, capital planning, finance transformation, and executive decision support.

His method begins with the economics. Benchmark performance, isolate the anomaly, and trace it through the operating model, incentives, systems, and decisions behind the numbers. The objective is not more reporting; it is a more reliable basis for action.

Karl’s record includes part-ownership of a Portland/Seattle enterprise generating $100M+ in annual revenue, opening and building its Seattle market, later acquiring his partners’ interests, scaling the operation to $30M+ in annual revenue, leading teams of 200+, raising growth capital, evaluating private-equity acquisitions, and building and scaling businesses from $0 that collectively generated more than $200M in cumulative revenue. He also built and led the finance departments and operating systems required to support that scale. At Broadband Development Group, he led finance-function and operating-discipline work in a growth-oriented construction and broadband environment. He now brings that operator context to KSIG engagements. CFO leadership remains the foundation; fractional COO mandates focus on accountability, operating cadence, workflows, implementation and reducing founder dependency in construction, home-services and other project-based businesses. Explore the operating leadership scope →

Across the operating companies he has built and led, Karl has developed and managed brands, websites, market positioning, digital content, sales collateral and executive communications. His brand strategy spans the full customer-facing expression: logos, typography, packaging, websites, messaging, sales and marketing. He connects those choices to the audience, commercial priorities and experience the business needs to deliver. Through The Studio, a KSIG Advisors brand, he collaborates with Emerson’s branding, photography and content expertise and Stacey’s interiors and styling.

Karl leads finance-system, AI-workflow, automation, and technology-governance work directly where appropriate. He evaluates security and customization tradeoffs, permissions, auditability, integration, human review, adoption, and the permanent operating cost created by technical choices.

Through BlackBoxx.ai, he architects and pressure-tests governed agentic workflows and applied AI systems. The work informs KSIG engagements without turning an executive-finance relationship into a technology sale.

Karl also serves as Financial Domain Expert | AI Training & Evaluation for Ethos, backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), one of the world’s largest venture capital firms, with $100B+ under management and roots in Silicon Valley, evaluating AI model outputs and providing expert feedback to improve financial reasoning, analytical quality, and real-world business relevance. This is an independent-contractor engagement.

He is also engaged by LinkedIn as Financial Analysis Expert | AI Evaluation under an independent-contractor engagement, evaluating AI-generated financial analysis and applying CFO and founder/operator judgment to assess financial reasoning, analytical accuracy, and practical business relevance.

As a member of the AI CFO Office community, Karl engages with practical applications of AI and automation in finance leadership.

Karl is completing MIT Sloan Executive Education coursework toward the Advanced Certificate for Executives in Management, Innovation & Technology and is a CMA Candidate. His selected leadership and professional affiliations include the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council (member since 2024), National Small Business Association Leadership Council and its Economic Development Committee, ACG Seattle, and the Association for Financial Professionals.

He previously served on the boards of the Building Industry Association of Washington and Central Washington Home Builders Association (2022–2023), including government affairs work. He also participates in Fiber Broadband Association working groups covering AI and machine learning, deployment, and middle-mile infrastructure. These are individual roles and memberships, not endorsements of KSIG Advisors.

View Karl’s full professional affiliations and leadership record →

Karl is a member of the Fractional Finance Association (FFA), a community for fractional finance leadership and practice founders, and ACG Seattle, focused on middle-market growth, capital, and M&A.

Karl is an American Bar Association member with participation in the Business Law Section and Forum on Construction Law. Membership reflects continuing professional education and interest; it does not imply attorney licensure or legal services.

“I would recommend Karl as one very knowledgeable and very experienced person to help lead your business in a positive direction!”

Dennis Bourdeau · Director of Corporate Development, Trident · Longstanding vendor partner · LinkedIn recommendation, June 2024

“His advice has been instrumental in my own career, guiding me through complex decisions with wisdom and insight.”

Kamran Mostofi · Owner / Broker · Personal LinkedIn recommendation, June 2024

“I've always believed that he is a man of high integrity, a man who is very diligent, and one that you can trust that he will do what he says he will do.”

John Dammarell · Executive Director, Liberty Road Foundation · Personal LinkedIn recommendation, May 2024

These excerpts are from recommendations of Karl personally and are not represented as KSIG client testimonials. LinkedIn profile →

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