Executive Management
Katherine L. Davis - Chief Financial Officer
Ms. Davis' career spans 30 years, serving in financial, operational, managerial, and accounting positions. She has a successful track record of improving financial performance and profitability of middle market firms in the food & beverage, food service, industrial equipment, agricultural, consumer products, and real estate industries. In addition to her specific industry sector expertise, she has in-depth knowledge and experience in companies involved in import, export, sales, service, and distribution.
Having been affiliated with MainStream for 11 years Ms. Davis rejoined the company in 2009 as Chief Financial Officer. As Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Davis is responsible for finance & accounting, human resources, contracts management, and information technology. In this role, she also leads the recruitment and training efforts of all personnel working in the area of Finance and Accounting.
Prior to re-joining MainStream in 2009, Ms. Davis was Vice President, Accounting and Administration, for Harvest Manor Farms, LLC, a $175 million nut and snack company. While at Harvest Manor Farms, Ms. Davis successfully implemented changes to track and report marketing margins, logistics margins, and inventory variances. The marketing margin reporting increased the visibility of margins by customer and contract. This led to a change in sales compensation to a margin based compensation plan, resulting in improved profit margins. The logistics margin reporting gave visibility to actual freight revenue against billed freight charges by customer and job. This new reporting increased freight revenues and decreased costs resulting in a $1.2 million profit improvement. The inventory variance reporting implemented by Ms. Davis led to better tracking and inventory control, resulting in $1.6 million in savings due to a reduction in by-products. Ms. Davis held this position until 2009 when the company was successfully sold to a strategic buyer.
Ms. Davis began consulting for Morven Partners, LP, a holding company for various snack and nut companies, in 2001. At that time, she was affiliated with MainStream and was a key player in the analysis and divesture of several divisions of Morven Partners, LP. In 2003, she joined Morven Partners, LP. As Controller, Ms. Davis played a key role in implementing controls, improving cash management and bringing stability and confidence to the finance department.
During her career Ms. Davis also held the position of Vice President and CRO of a retail jewelry and accessory chain. In this position, she managed all finance, accounting, legal and human resource functions, as well as loss prevention.
Ms. Davis began her career at LeFebure Corporation/DeLaRue Systems, Americas, where she advanced through the accounting functions of Credit Manager, Manager of Financial Planning and Budgeting, Controller-Domestic Operations, and Corporate Controller.
Ms. Davis received her Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from Mt. Mercy College and is a Certified Public Accountant in Iowa. She is a member of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA).