Situation

A private equity firm was eager to invest in a building materials manufacturing company. The client’s strategy for turnaround was predicated on helping the manufacturing company obtain make-or-break government contracts and thus felt it was imperative to know that the past conduct of the manufacturing company’s leadership did not pose any unnecessary legal or reputational risks. The client asked Corporate Resolutions Inc. (CRI) to investigate.

Findings

The first pass of our investigation revealed that the manufacturing company’s CEO had misrepresented his educational credentials to accelerate his climb up the corporate ladder. To better understand his thought process and assess his character, our investigators subsequently conducted an on-site, in-depth interview with the CEO and his colleagues. The investigation elucidated the circumstances behind the misrepresentation and revealed additional false claims about his background and finances.

Outcome

The private equity firm felt the investment was so promising that they decided to proceed with it but placed tight guardrails on the CEO to ensure that both he and the investment remained on track.