Elise Howes

Vice President Finance

Elise Howes is a study in balance:  inquiry and advocacy; logic and intuition; analysis and creativity.  She has led financial initiatives at start-ups through multi-billion dollar international firms and finds the levers to position each for profitable growth and exit.  She brings this wealth of experience to ProfitStreams in her role as VP Finance.

Prior to ProfitStreams, Elise was principal at Howes Business, a business advisory firm serving mid-cap companies.  Her experience in acquisitions, divestments and investment banking, along with her business valuation work, provided clients with solid guidance on how to maximize the value of their companies during those critical years just before a transaction.  Her clients include firms in textiles, transportation, medical equipment, restaurants, cosmetics, electronics and energy.  Elise typically started engagements by establishing current market value for privately held clients and devising specific, actionable work plans to improve that value.  Plans ranged from enhancing sales and marketing, overhauling operations, implementing performance management systems and capital investment plans.   By using historical analysis, current market analysis and creative strategic modeling, firms were able to develop creative options to improve cash flows and build value.

Elise has extensive experience in acquisitions and divestments and has evaluated over $8B of opportunities across a variety of industries; including closing a successful $3.49B acquisition.  Her experience includes senior finance positions in telecommunications, oil and gas exploration, production and transmission, aerospace, and professional services.

Elise Howes is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, with B.S. in Accounting.  She practiced public accounting for several years with Ernst & Young, specializing in taxation.  She holds a Masters of Management degree in Strategy and Finance from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.  She is an Accredited Valuation Analyst through NACVA and serves on the Executive Board of the Colorado-Wyoming Chapter.  She is Past President of the Rocky Mountain Group of Accredited Associates of the Institute for Independent Business.