1145: Creative Capital, Tough Cuts, and the Power of “Why” | Jayme Brooks, CFO, Limbach

The email with the term sheet arrived first, then the bottle of champagne from the CEO, Jayme Brooks tells us. The lender had agreed to a nontraditional structure that allowed Capstone to borrow against intangible assets, creating a lifeline at a moment when revenue had dropped about 40% and market cap had fallen from roughly 400 million to 25 million, she tells us. Cost reductions, including a 25% reduction in force and ultimately a 50% cut in the cost structure, followed, she tells us. But the bridge financing meant the company could still fund payroll, buy supplies, and keep shipping microturbines.

That moment caps years of learning “in the room.” Brooks began in engineering before shifting into accounting and public practice, she tells us. Controller roles in aerospace and a UK-owned division exposed her to debt, private equity, and board dynamics. She later accepted what looked like a step back—a director of financial reporting role at an unprofitable public company—because she wanted capital-markets experience and trusted a former CFO mentor, she tells us.

Along the way, an MBA and countless investor calls broadened her view beyond “head down” execution. In the restructuring, she focused on explaining the “why” to suppliers, employees, and investors, securing payment plans and shared sacrifice so the business could survive, she tells us. Today, at Limbach, she continues to leverage external experts, integrate acquisitions, refine owner-direct metrics, and lead with an empathetic, trust-building style inspired in part by Leading with the Heart, she tells us.