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Qorval Partners, LLC, Chairman and Founding Partner James R. Malone Names Paul Fioravanti CEO & Senior Managing Partner of the Firm

(Naples, FL, October 7, 2020) –  James R. “Jim” Malone, Chairman and Founding Partner of Qorval Partners, LLC, a boutique management consulting, turnaround, restructuring, and advisory firm, announced today that Paul Fioravanti, formerly Managing Partner, will be assuming the position of CEO & Senior Managing Partner of the firm. Malone, a six-time Fortune 500 CEO and renowned turnaround expert who has been a CEO and director of such companies as Facet Enterprises, Purolator, Cenveo, InaCom, Anchor Glass, Brown Jordan, Grimes Aerospace/Honeywell, Ametek, Regions Financial, and others, founded Qorval in 1996 to help challenged companies and organizations needing operational and financial improvement by providing them with strategic counsel and interim leadership. Malone will remain Chairman Emeritus and Founding Partner of the firm.

Malone commented, “Paul first joined us in 2011 and he’s been involved in more than fifty situations fixing companies across myriad industries for more than 20 years of his career. In one of Paul’s recent interim projects, he served as CEO leading the restructuring of a global pharmaceutical manufacturer which supplies medicines and over-the-counter products to Merck, Pfizer, Astellas, GSK, and others. Paul restored bank and vendor relations, improving delivery and quality metrics, and renegotiating upstream and downstream supply contracts. The company shed loss-making entities and improved EBITDA from FY 2018 to 2019 by increasing it from negative $45,000 to positive $30 million, saving more than 1,900 jobs. Those are the kind of results Paul is known for delivering.”

According to Malone, “Qorval clients are in good hands” with Fioravanti who he describes as “a proven CEO, advisor and tactical manager who has worked with privately held, publicly held, and private equity-owned companies. Paul has a fierce work ethic with roots going back to being raised in a family business, has always embodied Qorval’s core values and I’m proud to transition the management of the firm to him. He’s passionate about results, working hard for clients, and driving transformation and growth in organizations. Qorval will continue to grow our team in a wide variety of disciplines, to help businesses long into the future.”

Fioravanti said, “I am honored to accept the challenge of leading Qorval into the future. Jim Malone has been an outstanding mentor, partner and friend. He’s been called on by US presidents, governors, board chairmen, and executives, from Main Street to Wall Street, to advise and restore companies, organizations, and institutions, and drive results with a deft touch, compassion, and humility. Jim leads by example, always instilling in Qorval team members the importance of working hard, playing hard, not taking yourself too seriously, but taking the work and the challenge seriously; he reminds us that when we’re immersed in struggling service and manufacturing companies to keep an eye on things like contribution margin, and always emphasizes the need to zero in on fundamentals like “P/O/M/C” (plan, organize, motivate and control the people and the work). Jim reminds us that the workforce motivation piece is critical to success and senior leadership must understand the employees are absolutely the most important part of the business. I’m eternally thankful to Jim for continued life and business lessons, partnership, and all that I continue to learn from him.”

Regarding Qorval’s outlook, Fioravanti said the firm is “getting many requests for proposals to help businesses and organizations in the private, public and institutional sectors. In addition to severely impaired situations in hospitality, travel, and retail, we’re seeing lots of financial and operating pressure in higher education, services, manufacturing, healthcare, aerospace, defense – virtually every industry and vertical.” Fioravanti said the firm plans to add resources “to build our team and bolster our bench strength.”

Commenting on the current challenges facing businesses, Fioravanti said, “Clearly the Coronavirus aid programs were a much-needed lifeline for businesses, but in many industries, continued soft demand means that those businesses are starting to face the inevitable. Banks and lenders, through what he characterized as “amend, pretend, and extend,” have delayed the real impact on the many commercial borrowers strained by loan covenant challenges – we believe there is enormous pent-up demand for tactical expertise and we’re ramping up for a busy 2021. While the “workout” side of commercial banking will be dealing with strained loan portfolios, we also believe that this will be an unprecedented time of opportunity for private equity groups, family offices, and hedge funds, requiring due diligence support for making strategic and financial acquisitions. Qorval can shore up those buyers’ efforts with quality of earnings reviews, in-depth KPI and operational reviews, and other due diligence with objective assessment and by highlighting things that are often overlooked. We’re also seeing some real challenges posed by a lack of succession planning in various sized companies.”

Malone spoke of Qorval’s roots in light of the current needs of clientele, “2021 will mark Qorval’s 25th year; Qorval was founded on the basis of four core values: Profit, growth, integrity, and fun. Helping businesses drive profit, achieve sustainable growth, and maintain integrity – are the hallmarks of what we do. Our focus has always been on results, not reports, and gathering the best tactical teams and immersing ourselves in the operation – on the factory floor, in the marketplace, in the C-suite and with board governance, and in front of stakeholders – to spearhead impactful lasting changes. The need for what we do is greater than ever and we’re here to help both lenders and borrowers with strategies to improve businesses.”

Fioravanti Additional Biographical Information

Fioravanti has held a variety of senior-level roles in publicly held and private companies, including leading a startup company to the Inc. 500 for four consecutive years. He’s gained additional experience in other industries including energy and utilities, healthcare, higher education and learning, pharmaceuticals, automotive, defense, aerospace, and other specialized manufacturing. He is a valuable resource for an extensive list of global private equity firms seeking merger & acquisition, due diligence, and operational & financial management expertise. Fioravanti holds three degrees (BS, MPA, MBA) from The University of Rhode Island (which recognized him in 2010 with a Dean’s award), an advanced degree from Bryant University (CAGS) and is a graduate of Leadership Rhode Island’s “Chi” class. He has served as an advisor and board member to private equity groups, private investors, angel funds, and a variety of companies (including a start-up which was prominently featured and won on “Shark Tank”) and community organizations during his career and has taught and guest lectured undergraduate and MBA- level courses at six different universities. He writes and speaks extensively on business topics and is a member of the Association for Corporate Growth, the Turnaround Management Association and is a founding member of the Tampa, Florida chapter of the Private Directors Association.

About Qorval

Qorval Partners LLC is a Naples, Florida based boutique management consulting, turnaround, restructuring, and advisory firm founded in 1996, and has a proven staff of experienced interim CEO, COO, CFO, CIO, accounting and finance, operations, technology, growth, and development, services and manufacturing subject matter experts available for engagements in regions throughout the US.