Jo Hands, Co-Founder, Whiteark
It takes a certain amount of grit, determination, and doggedness to just quit your job and follow your dream. Leaving behind a well-paying job and steady paycheck to set a foot in the uncertain entrepreneurial world is a tough call to make. However, there are some, who have taken the chance and left their cushy corporate job to give wings to their startup ideas. The secure job, stable life, and fat salary couldn’t stop these hardheaded personalities from treading a path less traveled- one that’s fraught with risks, uncertainty, and financial instability. With unwavering commitment and diligence, they’ve been able to turn their ideas into booming businesses. One such exceptional business leader is Jo Hands, the Co-Founder of Whiteark.
Jo started her career in the Big 4 as an auditor and loved the learning, network, and experiences that she gained through the journey. But, her career really took off when she got the opportunity to work with Private Equity through carve-outs, transitions, integrations, and CFO roles working across strategy, finance, IT, and PMO. At the age of 40, she decided to make the transition from corporate life to creating something new. She loves learning, challenges, and helping businesses drive the best outcome. These passions ultimately led her way to start her own business with her co-founder – James Ciuffetelli. “Whiteark is a consulting company – but we’re not your average consulting firm, we think and act a little differently. Obsessed by tangible results and powered by genuine people, we use data to drive deliverables so we can give you our word on outcomes. Then deliver them. We love working alongside management teams to get our hands dirty and drive a great outcome for their business,” Opines Jo.
Changing the Way Businesses Operate
Whiteark came into existence during the COVID-19 pandemic when companies across the globe were struggling to ensure business continuity. The company supported its clients through this period ensuring they are set up to reap the benefits post the lockdowns. “Sometimes when you are in an Executive role you lose sight of what matters – what is important and how to really move the needle for your team, your department, your role, or the organization but in our position, we are blessed to have this opportunity to identify and help them drive the outcome. There is so much opportunity in organizations to do things better – but prioritizing what is important and then having the ability to deliver – will ensure success,” affirms Jo.
Today, the pioneering company provides transformation services to all businesses regardless of their size and industries. It has an experienced team that works alongside management to drive the outcome- with practical experience and a hands-on approach. It has playbooks for all its value creation activities – focused on identifying the levers that will make the biggest difference to a company and working with the management team to execute them. When it comes to private equity, Whiteark has extensive experience to keep pace with the fast-paced nature of deals and help management achieve a return on investment. It enables smaller businesses to get their businesses ready for sale and help them sell or get investment. “We love what we do and we are passionate about making a real tangible difference to our clients that that is why we jump out of bed every day excited to have the opportunity to work with great people, companies and drive value,” adds Jo.
Factors Contributing to the Uniqueness of Whiteark
Besides its highly experienced team, the differentiating strength of Whiteark also lies in its ability to develop a winning plan and help businesses implement it successfully. Many companies get a PowerPoint pack but often fail to execute it and that is where things fall over. Standing apart from the rest, Whiteark works relentlessly alongside the management team to identify and deliver great outcomes. Staying true to its core values of leadership, passion, excellence, data-driven outcomes, and doing things differently, the company strives to bring positive change to organizations. James and Jo are very aligned in their values and they focus on hiring those people and partnering with those companies that share the same value as Whiteark.
Imparting the key lessons learned from her years of experience, Jo advises budding entrepreneurs to decide how they want to be different and what services they provide rather than trying to do everything. She also encourages them to surround themselves with great people and love what they do. “Being your own boss is great – it does feel like less pressure and more time to really focus on what matters – priorities and having the control to make the company, team, and future that you want. Working alongside a co-founder is great as the journey is not lonely but great energy, someone to bounce ideas off and it’s great to have different experiences and ideas that can help bring the business to life,” asserts Jo.
Continues Helping Organizations Realize Their Full Potential
Whiteark is focused on providing its clients – hands-on practical support and ensuring that they get the right outcome for the leadership, their people, and the shareholders. Moving ahead, it aspires to continue supporting its clients while expanding its team and standing tall as a great option to assist businesses during this transition period out of COVID. According to Jo, the change that COVID has created has driven opportunities for clients to pivot and it’s a great time to be working with businesses for them to capitalize on this critical time. “I love working with people – our team, my clients, and business leaders. My passion for people and helping businesses optimize is why we started Whiteark and will be our focus as we continue to expand our business,” concludes Jo.