Brook + Whittle — Account Dossier

Why This Company

Fit:

• PE-backed (Genstar Capital) label and flexible packaging manufacturer: ~$400M revenue, ~1,000 employees, 15+ US production sites — built through 13 acquisitions with no procurement function, no procurement technology, and no CPO (brookandwhittle.com; LeadIQ; PRNewswire)

Pain:

• Zero spend visibility across 13 acquired companies — Each acquisition brought its own supplier relationships for films, adhesives, inks, substrates, and MRO across 15+ sites. No ERP system or procurement tool consolidates this data. Estimated $200-280M+ in procurement spend running on spreadsheets and inherited local practices. (The Org — Pankau; Indeed)
• Procurement owned by non-procurement executives — SVP Supply Chain Patrick Goss (30+ years in label industry sales) and EVP Daryl Northcott (label films sales background) manage procurement as a secondary responsibility with one Director and one Analyst supporting all 15+ sites. No procurement expertise, no tools, no team. (LinkedIn — Goss; The Org — Goss; PRNewswire — Northcott)

Timing:

• New CEO Carl Will started Feb 10, 2026 — recruited for "operational excellence" from INSIGHT2PROFIT, a consulting firm helping PE-backed companies improve profitability (800+ engagements). His 90-day priority-setting window is wide open. The PAYS model's zero-upfront, self-funding structure is the only procurement investment viable in B+W's cash-constrained environment ($500M PIK debt, nonaccrual status, dual credit downgrades from Moody's and S&P). (PRNewswire; INSIGHT2PROFIT; ainvest.com)

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Decision Makers

Carl Will — Chief Executive Officer

Ultimate Decision Maker

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/carl-will-28256347
• Email: cwill@bwhittle.com (inferred — same FLast pattern)
• Cares about:
  • Profitability improvement in PE-backed companies — Ran INSIGHT2PROFIT for 4 years: 250+ pricing experts, 800+ engagements helping PE portfolio companies achieve profit and EBITDA growth. (INSIGHT2PROFIT; Umbrex)
  • Operational excellence and quick wins — Board Chair cited his "strong track record of driving growth and operational excellence." First-week CEO at a distressed company needs visible wins within 90 days. (PRNewswire)
• Why they matter: Most aligned CEO persona possible — spent 4 years consulting on exactly the problem Simfoni solves. Doesn't need education on the concept; needs to see specific capability. Forming priorities now.

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Steve Pankau — Chief Information Officer

Technical Evaluator / Potential Champion

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/steve-pankau-94017441
• Email: spankau@bwhittle.com (verified — ZoomInfo)
• Cares about:
  • System consolidation across 13 acquisitions — Currently "spearheading enterprise technology strategy, infrastructure enhancements" and working to "consolidate systems." (The Org)
  • ERP deployment in multi-site PE-held packaging companies — Third time doing this: PPC Flexible Packaging (ERP across facilities), Stouse (scalable platforms for acquisition integration), now B+W. (RocketReach)
• Why they matter: Actively solving the system integration problem that creates the natural entry point for procurement technology. Can position Simfoni as part of his consolidation initiative, not a standalone project.

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Patrick Goss — SVP Supply Chain, Procurement & EHS

Operational Champion

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/patrickgoss
• Email: pgoss@bwhittle.com (inferred — same FLast pattern)
• Cares about:
  • Managing procurement across 15+ sites without procurement training or tools — Owns "procurement" by title but entire 30+ year career is in label industry sales and business development (Avery Dennison, UPM Raflatac, Technicote). (LinkedIn; FTA)
  • Supply chain security under tariff pressure — 25% tariffs on aluminum/steel and duties on polyethylene/polypropylene directly impact B+W's raw material costs. (Evergreen Resources)
• Why they matter: Feels procurement pain most directly — managing fragmented operations across 15+ sites with no tools, no team, and no procurement background. His professional success depends on solving this problem.

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Daryl Northcott — Executive Vice President

Influencer

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/daryl-northcott
• Email: dnorthcott@bwhittle.com (verified — ZoomInfo)
• Cares about:
  • Product innovation and sustainability differentiation — Oversees B+W's core brand differentiator: patented recyclable shrink sleeves, PCR content labels, CELAB membership. (brookandwhittle.com)
  • Competitive positioning — Background in label technology sales (Avery Dennison, UPM Raflatac). Formerly held "Procurement" in title before reassignment to Goss. (PRNewswire)
• Why they matter: Previously owned procurement; retains institutional knowledge and informal influence. Not a primary target but his buy-in matters for organizational alignment.

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Entry Strategy

Recommended Entry Point: Carl Will (CEO)

New CEO as of Feb 10, 2026 — inside his 90-day priority-setting window. Spent 4 years at INSIGHT2PROFIT consulting PE-backed companies on exactly the profitability improvement Simfoni delivers. Doesn't need education on the concept. With no identified CFO or CPO, budget authority likely consolidates with him. Cold outreach should lead with the PAYS model's zero-upfront economics given B+W's financial constraints.

Potential Champion: Patrick Goss (SVP Supply Chain, Procurement & EHS)

Goss owns procurement by title but has no procurement tools, no procurement training, and a support team of two across 15+ sites. (LinkedIn) Procurement technology would transform his ability to execute his role. His 30+ years in the label industry give him deep credibility with the B+W workforce — he can champion internally with authority. (FTA)

Note: No warm introduction paths exist between B+W decision makers and the Simfoni team. This is a cold outreach situation — the value proposition and CEO transition timing must carry the conversation.

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Key Context

• Procure Analytics — Genstar's own procurement platform: Genstar (B+W's PE owner) holds a majority stake in Procure Analytics, a GPO with $1B+ aggregated buying power, tail spend management (Amicus), and AI-powered spend analytics (Seaforth). PA's co-founder Suja Katarya sits on Genstar's Strategic Advisory Board advising industrial investments — she is a shadow stakeholder in any B+W procurement decision. Whether B+W is already a PA member is unknown and is a critical discovery question for first contact. Simfoni's differentiation vs. PA: enterprise-wide analytics + eSourcing workflow + automation across ALL spend categories, vs. PA's GPO model focused on MRO/packaging volume leverage. Position as complementary, not competitive. (Genstar — PA; procureanalytics.com; Genstar — Katarya SAB)

• Financial distress creates urgency and constrains approach: $500M term loan converted to PIK, first-lien at 74 cents, nonaccrual by BlackRock TCP Capital, dual downgrades (Moody's, S&P), customers trading down to cheaper competitors, significant headcount reductions since acquisition with employee reviews describing successive layoffs leaving departments "overworked and understaffed." Genstar injected $140M+ equity and closed $130M refinancing (Aug 2025). Zero-upfront pricing is not optional — it's the only model that works here. (ainvest.com; Yahoo Finance; BlackRock TCP Q2 2025; Indeed)

• No CFO since March 2022: Paul Hogan (CFO Oct 2020 – Mar 2022) was never replaced. Finance is run by Shannon Kloc (VP Finance, ex-Praxair/Deloitte, CPA), Sarah Hibit (VP Finance, ex-Stouse/T-Mobile), and Mike Barton (Chief Accounting Officer & Controller, ex-Owens Corning). This is consistent with PE-backed companies under financial stress where the sponsor provides CFO-level oversight through its own operating partners rather than hiring a full-time CFO. With no CFO and no CPO, procurement budget authority defaults to the CEO. (LinkedIn — Hogan; ZoomInfo — Kloc; ZoomInfo — Hibit; The Org — Barton)

• Genstar portfolio upside: Genstar has $33B AUM across 103 companies, including Tekni-Plex (another packaging company). A successful B+W deployment could seed procurement across the broader portfolio — the PE one-to-many motion. (Genstar; Tracxn)

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Quick Reference

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