Claire Milligan: How Private Equity Drives Efficiency and Strategic Leadership

About Claire Milligan: Whether she’s helping businesses transform their cloud spending or hitting the slopes as a ski patroller, Claire Milligan thrives on distilling complex problems down to their core issues — and turning these pragmatic findings into groundbreaking solutions. Through a journey spanning marketing, UX, and leadership roles at tech companies like Tallie and SpringAhead, she’s meticulously constructed a diverse skill set built upon hands-on expertise and an unrelenting thirst for knowledge. Now, as the CEO of startup Aimably, she’s applying her unique superpowers to help businesses grow by spending smarter and dramatically reducing their cloud costs.   In this episode, Dean Newlund and Claire Milligan discuss:Private equity’s role in transforming and growing companiesThe expanding financial responsibilities of CTOsCost reduction and financial efficiency in software companiesLeadership continuity through acquisitions and turnoverAligning operations with long-term financial objectives   Key Takeaways:Private equity helps companies transition from good to great by rigorously assessing core operations, eliminating inefficiencies, and focusing on mission-driven growth.Successful CTOs in private equity contexts must adopt a financial mindset, overseeing budgets, cost management, and return on investment for technology spending.Evaluating every role within a team based on adaptability and alignment with evolving business priorities is essential for CTOs managing acquisitions.Companies preparing for potential acquisition can benefit from acting as though they are selling, which enhances operational efficiency and scalability.Cloud infrastructure spending can significantly impact profitability, so companies should regularly audit and optimize their cloud costs.   "The whole goal of private equity is to take a good company and make it great by examining everything as an opportunity to stop, reset, re-evaluate, and make sure you’re not wasting time or resources on things that aren’t core to your values or mission, driving much more success out of the same core architecture.” — Claire Milligan   Connect with Claire Milligan:   Website: https://www.aimably.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairemilligan/     See Dean’s TedTalk “Why Business Needs Intuition” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEq9IYvgV7I   Connect with Dean: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgqRK8GC8jBIFYPmECUCMkw Website: https://www.mfileadership.com/ The Mission Statement E-Newsletter: https://www.mfileadership.com/blog/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deannewlund/ X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/deannewlund Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MissionFacilitators/ Email: dean.newlund@mfileadership.com Phone: 1-800-926-7370   Show notes by Podcastologist: Hanz Jimuel Alvarez Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.