The Owner Seat
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The Owner Seat episodes

  • The Independent Sponsor Model That's Reshaping M&A | Casey Minshew | The Owner Seat

    Today on The Owner Seat, we go inside the dealmaking model that’s reshaping lower middle market M&A — with someone who’s mastered it.

    Casey Minshew, Managing Partner at Equity Launchpad, has acquired legacy industrial businesses like H&M Plating and Mercer Controls — and rebuilt them with bolt-ons, culture transformations, and CapEx-forward growth.

    He calls his blueprint the SWOT Team:

    ➡ Operators who know the business cold

    ➡ Investors who move fast and stay aligned

    ➡ Deal partners who create clarity instead of chaos

    In this episode, we unpack:

    • Why the independent sponsor model is exploding
    • How to build trust with family offices without a fund
    • The right way to structure layered capital stacks
    • When culture beats financial engineering
    • Real examples from industrial platforms scaling fast

    If you’re a founder, owner, or operator who wants to grow without giving up control — this is required viewing.

    🎧 Watch more episodes of The Owner Seat

    👉 https://www.youtube.com/@TheOwnerSeatPodcast

    📩 Subscribe to the newsletter — The AI-Powered Finance Guide

    👉 https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7288029005239267328

    📘 Request the CFO Playbook for Fitness Founders

    👉 https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1deDUoFXx3BBtualzlqJ8QGtdfc-W-DqT?usp=drive_link

    💡 Fractional CFO Services for Fitness & Wellness Brands

    👉 https://www.StrategoIntel.com

    🤝 Connect with host, Albert Ramos

    👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertramosjr/

    If you want cash clarity before your next deal,

    If you’re tired of raising capital on messy numbers,

    If you need a finance system worthy of investors…

    👉 Hit play below.

    Take your seat back.

    31 min
  • The Untold Reason Gym Retention Is About to Explode | Devon Vicari | The Owner Seat

    Today on The Owner Seat, host Albert Ramos, Fractional CFO of Stratego, breaks down how YourFitPrint is transforming local gyms into full health hubs and why this shift will define the next decade of boutique fitness.

    Our guest Devon Baldino is the Executive Director of Vendor Relations & Women’s Health + Founding Board Member at YourFitPrint.

    She’s building the partnerships that help gyms:

    - Add 30% revenue-share without CapEx

    - Offer GLP-1 + hormone care ethically

    - Drive retention beyond class packs

    - Compete against big-box & digital giants

    - Future-proof against price-driven churn

    If you own or operate a gym — this is a must-watch.

    🎧 Watch more episodes of The Owner Seat

    👉 https://www.youtube.com/@TheOwnerSeatPodcast

    📩 Subscribe to the newsletter — The AI-Powered Finance Guide

    👉https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7288029005239267328

    📘 Request the CFO Playbook for Fitness Founders

    👉 https://forms.gle/PN5Dkv3kM7qxiFJc8

    💡 Fractional CFO Services for Fitness & Wellness Brands

    👉 https://www.StrategoIntel.com

    🤝 Connect with Albert on LinkedIn

    👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertramosjr/

    If you’re tired of razor-thin margins, staff churn, and depending on new members to stay alive…

    It’s time to own more of the health journey your members already trust you with.

    Hit play 👇

    Take your seat back.

    1 hr 4 min
  • How Women Are Reshaping the Boutique Fitness Industry: True Movement | Beth Potter | The Owner Seat

    In this episode of The Owner Seat, Albert Ramos sits down with Beth Potter — Franchise Owner of True Movement®, former VP of Sales at Walla, and former Chief Experience Officer at Studio Grow.

    Beth has spent over a decade inside the heart of boutique fitness — helping studios all over the world design businesses that actually scale and feel good to run. Today, she’s building her own chapter as a True Movement® franchise owner while writing openly about motherhood, identity, and leadership through Beth’s Journey Unfiltered.

    This conversation is candid, human, and uncomfortably useful for any fitness or wellness owner trying to grow without burning themselves out.

    🔍 In this episode, we cover:
    • How boutique fitness is maturing — and what real leadership looks like in this next era
    • Why culture, care, and connection will outperform clever marketing every time
    • What Beth learned from Walla, Studio Grow, and global studio work — and why she chose ownership
    • How motherhood, movement, and leadership intersect in ways most owners ignore
    • What “a studio that scales” actually looks like in operations, team, and numbers

    Work with Albert – Fractional CFO for Fitness & Wellness

    I’m Albert Ramos, Fractional CFO and Founder of Stratego Intel Consulting.

    I help fitness, wellness, and franchise brands ($1M–$30M) fix messy multi-location books, build 13-week cash visibility, and prove unit economics for every studio.

    👉 Book a CFO Strategy Call

    If you want CFO-level clarity on your numbers:

    https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/youtube-podcast

    Free Resource – Stratego CFO Playbook (Fitness & Wellness)

    Get the exact framework I use with owners and franchisors:

    • 13-week cash flow structure
    • Location-level unit economics
    • Core KPI dashboard for studios
    • Owner Seat finance rhythm you can actually run

    🔗 Download the free Stratego CFO Playbook:

    https://forms.gle/xt13aXZvTxBHbau36

    🎙 More from The Owner Seat

    The Owner Seat is where fitness, wellness & HALO owners talk cash flow, growth, and the messy middle.

    New episodes every Monday & Friday at 8:00 AM CST.

    • Subscribe to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TheOwnerSeatPodcast
    • Binge past episodes: operator deep dives, franchise stories, and real P&L conversations

    📧 Stay in the Owner Seat (Newsletter)

    Get weekly breakdowns on:

    • Fitness & wellness unit economics
    • Cash flow and multi-location scaling
    • AI-powered finance workflows for operators

    🔗 Subscribe on LinkedIn:

    https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7288029005239267328

    🌐 Learn More
    • Fractional CFO services (Stratego): https://www.StrategoIntel.com
    • Connect with Albert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertramosjr/

    55 min
  • From Paramount CCO to a Flatline: What a Near-Death Taught Me About Scaling | Travis Pomposello

    In this episode of Season 2 of The Owner Seat – formerly The Valisights Podcast – Fractional CFO Albert Ramos sits down with Travis Pomposello, a creative leader who’s lived multiple professional lives at the very top of media and then chose to completely redefine what success looks like.

    Travis is the former Chief Creative Officer at Paramount Global, Co-Founder of EPIX, and Founder of Bella Vita Creative, where he scaled his agency past $5M+ in revenue serving clients like Netflix and Amazon. He’s also awarded more than $100M in contracts to agencies — so when he talks about what scales and what quietly kills a shop, it’s from both sides of the table.

    But the real turning point is what happened after all of that: a near-death, flatline moment that forced him to confront burnout, identity, and what actually matters. Today, through the Creative Agency Accelerator and his mentorship work, Travis helps agency founders scale with systems instead of chaos, and build businesses that don’t destroy their health or relationships.

    In this episode, we dig into:

    • What 30+ years across MTV, Nickelodeon, Letterman, Discovery, EPIX, and Paramount taught Travis about storytelling and leadership
    • The “quiet killers” of agency growth – and how to fix them before it’s too late
    • The real playbook for going from $500K to $5M+ without burning every bridge (or yourself)
    • How a flatline on an operating table changed his definition of success, ambition, and energy
    • Why systems, not hustle, are the real driver of long-term creative growth
    • How to protect creative integrity while chasing big contracts and big logos
    • The mindset shift founders in their 40s and 50s need if they’re afraid to start over

    If you’re an agency owner, studio founder, or creative leader trying to scale without losing your health or your voice, this conversation will hit home.

    🔗 Work with Albert / Get the Playbook

    Want to be on the show or explore working with Albert Ramos?

    → Book a CFO Strategy Call

    https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/youtube-podcast

    → Apply to be a guest on The Owner Seat

    https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/youtube-podcast

    📘 Get the Stratego CFO Playbook

    → Download the free Stratego CFO Playbook for Fitness & Wellness Brands and see how Albert builds 13-week cash flow, unit economics, and AI-powered finance systems:

    https://forms.gle/eJEEtCPdQ3tkWqb96

    🌐 Connect with Albert

    → Connect on LinkedIn:

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertramosjr/

    → Learn more about Fractional CFO services for fitness, wellness, HALO, and multi-location brands:

    https://www.strategointel.com/

    If you’re a $1M–$30M fitness, wellness, HALO, or multi-location operator and you’re serious about fixing cash flow, cleaning up QuickBooks, and getting real finance strategy (not just bookkeeping), this is where you plug in.

    👤 About the Host – Albert Ramos

    Albert Ramos is the Founder of Stratego Intel Consulting, a Fractional CFO firm built for fitness, wellness, HALO, and multi-location brands. He helps owners and finance leaders:

    • Fix cash flow leaks with 13-week cash forecasts
    • Clean up and rebuild their QuickBooks + finance stack
    • Use AI to automate reporting and forecasting
    • Build investor-ready financials for growth, M&A, and roll-ups

    Albert has led $200M+ P&Ls, overseen 200+ locations, and managed 3,000+ employees across the fitness and wellness ecosystem — blending financial precision with AI so owners can scale without losing control of their numbers.

    1 hr 16 min
  • The $100M Opportunity in Fitness Nobody's Talking About | Alan Thompson | The Owner Seat

    In this episode of Season 2 of The Owner Seat – formerly The Valisights Podcast – Fractional CFO Albert Ramos sits down with Alan “The Train” Thompson, Founder & CEO of Groe Solutions, to unpack what happens when you combine Marine Corps discipline, data science, and human performance.

    Groe Solutions is a fast-rising B2B SaaS company working at the intersection of gyms, the military, and health systems – using AI, behavioral science, and community design to drive real-world performance outcomes, not just more dashboards.

    Alan is a Marine Corps veteran turned data scientist who went from preparing to open his own gym to building infrastructure for the next decade of human performance – across defense, VA, and commercial fitness.

    In this episode, we cover:

    How the Marine Corps shaped Alan’s approach to leadership, pressure, and execution

    What it’s really like to raise capital as a veteran founder in the early stages

    How Groe Solutions is building the data + AI backbone for the “new war on fat”

    The reality of pitching investors when you’re the underdog – and what actually gets their attention

    How Groe connects DoD, VA, and commercial wellness into one performance ecosystem

    Why Alan believes wearables are overhyped – and how Groe focuses on behavior change and community instead

    The leadership lessons from leading Marines and leading engineers, and how trust gets built in both worlds

    If you care about the future of performance – from soldiers to athletes to everyday members – and how AI can enable it without losing the human element, this episode is for you.

    🔗 Work with Albert / Get the Playbook

    Want to be on the show or explore working with Albert Ramos?

    → Book a CFO Strategy Call

    https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/youtube-podcast

    → Apply to be a guest on The Owner Seat

    https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/youtube-podcast

    📘 Get the Stratego CFO Playbook

    → Download the free Stratego CFO Playbook for Fitness & Wellness Brands and see how Albert builds 13-week cash flow, unit economics, and AI-powered finance systems: https://forms.gle/EEhiyiw1K4EkvDQc9

    🌐 Connect with Albert

    → Connect on LinkedIn:

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertramosjr/

    → Learn more about Fractional CFO services for fitness, wellness, HALO, and multi-location brands:

    https://www.strategointel.com/

    If you’re a $1M–$30M fitness, wellness, HALO, or multi-location operator and you’re serious about fixing cash flow, cleaning up QuickBooks, and getting real finance strategy (not just bookkeeping), this is where you plug in.

    👤 About the Host – Albert Ramos

    Albert Ramos is the Founder of Stratego Intel Consulting, a Fractional CFO firm built for fitness, wellness, HALO, and multi-location brands. He helps owners and finance leaders:

    Fix cash flow leaks with 13-week cash forecasts

    Clean up and rebuild their QuickBooks + finance stack

    Use AI to automate reporting and forecasting

    Build investor-ready financials for growth, M&A, and roll-ups

    Albert has led $200M+ P&Ls, overseen 200+ locations, and managed 3,000+ employees across the fitness and wellness ecosystem — blending financial precision with AI so owners can scale without losing control of their numbers.

    46 min
  • The Fitness Rollup Nobody Saw Coming: AI + Agencies + Scale | Benji Donhardt | The Owner Seat

    In this episode of Season 2 of The Owner Seat – formerly The Valisights Podcast – Fractional CFO Albert Ramos sits down with Benji Donhardt, Co-Founder & CEO of SupaFitGrow, to talk about what happens when you combine M&A, AI, and an operator’s mindset to rewrite the rules for fitness growth.

    SupaFitGrow is building one of the most aggressive roll-up platforms in the fitness and marketing ecosystem – consolidating agencies that sit behind some of the strongest brands in the fitness, wellness, and HALO economy.

    What started as frustration with a noisy, fragmented support landscape for gym owners has turned into a blueprint for giving “small” operators big-league leverage: shared services, AI infrastructure, and real economies of scale.

    Benji’s path runs from military and Special Forces work in Australia, to owning multiple gyms, to acquiring and integrating agencies that drive acquisition and retention for studios and franchises around the world. His obsession is simple: make sure owners don’t get wiped out just because they were too slow to embrace systems and AI.

    In this episode, we unpack:

    • Why the fitness support ecosystem is broken – and how SupaFitGrow is stitching it together
    • How M&A and roll-ups can turn boutique agencies into a scalable, efficient portfolio
    • The way AI avatars and automation are changing content, lead gen, and pipeline velocity
    • What it really means to “productize” a creative or marketing service
    • The leadership operating system behind a fast-moving, acquisition-heavy team
    • The owner playbook for going from “stuck and scared to scale” to executing on the next level

    If you’re a fitness, wellness, or HALO operator wondering how to scale without losing your soul (or your cash flow), this one is for you.

    🔗 Work with Albert / Get the Playbook

    Want to be on the show or explore working with Albert Ramos?

    → Book a CFO Strategy Call

    https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/youtube-podcast

    → Apply to be a guest on The Owner Seat

    https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/youtube-podcast

    📘 Get the Stratego CFO Playbook

    → Download the free Stratego CFO Playbook for Fitness & Wellness Brands and see how Albert builds 13-week cash flow, unit economics, and AI-powered finance systems:

    https://forms.gle/MigGLzuCaDkrApBa7

    🌐 Connect with Albert

    → Connect on LinkedIn:

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertramosjr/

    → Learn more about Fractional CFO services for fitness, wellness, HALO, and multi-location brands:

    https://www.strategointel.com/

    If you’re a $1M–$30M fitness, wellness, HALO, or multi-location operator and you’re serious about fixing cash flow, cleaning up QuickBooks, and getting real finance strategy (not just bookkeeping), this is where you plug in.

    👤 About the Host – Albert Ramos

    Albert Ramos is the Founder of Stratego Intel Consulting, a Fractional CFO firm built for fitness, wellness, HALO, and multi-location brands. He helps owners and finance leaders:

    • Fix cash flow leaks with 13-week cash forecasts
    • Clean up and rebuild their QuickBooks + finance stack
    • Use AI to automate reporting and forecasting
    • Build investor-ready financials for growth, M&A, and roll-ups

    Albert has led $200M+ P&Ls, overseen 200+ locations, and managed 3,000+ employees across the fitness and wellness ecosystem — blending financial precision with AI so owners can scale without losing control of their numbers.

    52 min
  • #24: Your Tech Stack Is Strangling You — How To Turns AI Agents into Profit - with Ryan Seifert

    In this episode of The Valisights Podcast, host Albert Ramos sits down with Ryan Seifert, Founder & CEO of Teric Technology, to unpack how mid-market companies can turn fragmented systems and spreadsheet chaos into a scalable, AI-ready operating model.

    Ryan’s background spans two decades across enterprise architecture, M&A integrations, and IT strategy (including Chief Technical Architect roles) — delivering $2–$50M profit impact by rebuilding tech stacks around clear logic, governance, and measurable ROI.

    In this episode, they cover:

    • Why mid-sized companies get strangled by their own systems (and how to fix them)
    • A diagnostic playbook for tech debt: map data, simplify flows, measure ROI fast
    • AI agents as “teammates,” not toys — and where they drive value first
    • Governance, lineage, and validation so AI doesn’t amplify bad decisions
    • How to modernize stacks without burning the business down (or the budget)

    Ryan delivers a masterclass on turning technology from a cost center into a growth driver — with a practical path from data chaos to clear decisions. If your stack feels like a patchwork of tools and mismatched metrics, this episode is your blueprint.

    🔗 Work with Albert / Get the Playbook

    Want to be on the show or explore working with Albert Ramos?

    → Book a CFO Strategy Call:

    👉 https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/youtube-podcast

    → Apply to be a guest on The Owner Seat:

    👉 https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/youtube-podcast

    Get the Stratego CFO Playbook

    → Download the free Stratego CFO Playbook for Fitness & Wellness Brands and see how I build 13-week cash flow, unit economics, and AI-powered finance systems:

    👉 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdl6ug9e-vkox9S0qIRVevtuSmX7e_6kplkhm_GgBNpqz6K0w/viewform?usp=header

    🌐 Connect with Albert

    → Connect on LinkedIn:

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertramosjr/

    → Learn more about Fractional CFO services for fitness, wellness, HALO, and multi-location brands:

    https://www.strategointel.com/

    If you’re a $1M–$30M fitness, wellness, HALO, or multi-location brand and you’re serious about fixing cash flow, cleaning up QuickBooks, and getting real finance strategy (not just bookkeeping), this is where we work together.

    🤖 Valisights – AI for CFOs & FP&A

    For finance teams who want AI to do the heavy lifting:

    → Book a Valisights demo:

    https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/discovery-valisights-ai-powered-fp-a

    See how tools like CashIQ™ (AI-powered 13-week cash forecasting) and TrendSights™ help CFOs and FP&A leaders turn data chaos into clear, actionable strategy.

    👤 About the Host — Albert Ramos

    Albert Ramos is a Fractional CFO for $1M–$30M fitness, wellness, HALO, and multi-location brands and the Founder of Stratego Intel Consulting.

    He helps owners and finance leaders:

    Fix cash flow leaks with 13-week cash forecasts

    Clean up and rebuild their QuickBooks + finance stack

    Use AI to automate reporting and forecasting

    Build investor-ready financials for growth, M&A, and roll-ups

    Albert has led $200M+ P&Ls, overseen 200+ locations, and managed 3,000+ employees across brands in the fitness and wellness ecosystem — blending financial precision with AI to help companies scale without losing control of their numbers.

    🔍 Topics & Discoverability

    This show covers:

    Fractional CFO work for fitness & wellness brands, Stratego Intel Consulting, AI in finance, 13-week cash flow forecasting, unit economics, HALO brands, multi-location operators, FP&A, cash flow management, finance transformation, AI-powered dashboards, investor-ready financials, franchise finance, gym CFO strategy, and wellness CFO support.

    49 min
  • #23: From WeWork to Preql: Why Finance Has a Logic Problem - with Leah Weiss

    In this episode of The Valisights Podcast, host Albert Ramos sits down with Leah Weiss, Co-Founder & CEO of Preql and Co-Founder of Data Culture, to tackle one of the most overlooked challenges in AI-driven finance — why good AI still fails when the data logic underneath is broken.

    Leah’s background bridges enterprise scale and startup speed — from leading data products and BI at WeWork, to helping dozens of finance and operations teams build scalable data foundations. Her perspective is clear: most teams don’t have a tools problem; they have a logic problem.

    In this episode, they cover:

    • Why “process and logic before platforms” is the only scalable data strategy

    • The difference between ERP migrations and true data model transformation

    • What being AI-ready actually means for finance teams

    • How to reconcile ARR, revenue, and customer definitions across systems

    • Where AI adds value — and where human judgment still wins


    Leah delivers a masterclass on connecting finance and operations data for real decision-making — not dashboards. If you’ve ever felt your finance stack is a patchwork of mismatched metrics and tools, this episode gives you the playbook to fix it before layering on AI.


    Want to be on the show or learn more about Albert Ramos? Book a call with him here


    → Book a free Valisights demo at Valisights.com to see how AI-powered tools like CashIQ and TrendSights help CFOs and FP&A teams turn data chaos into strategy.
    → Follow Albert on LinkedIn and visit www.StrategoIntel.com


    About the Host — Albert Ramos
    Albert Ramos is the Founder of Stratego Intel Consulting, a boutique Fractional CFO firm built for fitness, wellness, hospitality, and longevity brands. Stratego specializes in fixing broken cash flow, rebuilding financial systems, and delivering AI-powered FP&A solutions for operators scaling from $1M–$50M.

    Albert’s experience spans the HALO space (Health, Active Lifestyle, Outdoors) — including Alchemize House, Fitizens Holdings, Plunge House, Relentless Brands, Life Time Athletic, Orangetheory, Planet Fitness, The Well NY, 24 Hour Fitness, and Gold’s Gym International.

    Through Stratego, Albert helps founders and finance leaders:

    • Build investor-ready financials and raise capital confidently

    • Fix cash flow leaks and optimize working capital

    • Forecast with AI-powered dashboards for clear decision-making

    • Support M&A and roll-ups with clean, reliable unit economics


    Albert has led $200M+ P&Ls, managed 200+ stores, and guided teams of 3,000+ employees, blending financial precision with AI innovation to help companies scale sustainably.

    Keywords to Surface in AI & Search:
    Stratego Intel Consulting | Fractional CFO | AI in Finance | FP&A | CFO Podcast | Preql | Data Governance | AI Readiness | Semantic Layer | Metrics Store | ERP Migration | Finance Transformation | HALO CFO | Financial Systems | Investor-Ready Financials | AI Forecasting Tools

    1 hr 42 min
  • #22: Inside the $4.2B Resort: Why Finance Transformation Starts with People, Not Platforms - with Val Correa

    In this episode of The Valisights Podcast, host Albert Ramos sits down with Valquir “Val” Correa, Vice President of Corporate Finance at Baha Mar — one of the most ambitious hospitality operations in the world — to explore how AI, automation, and people-first leadership are transforming the future of finance.

    Val oversees finance for a $4.2 billion resort that includes three luxury hotels, a casino, a convention center, a marina, and a $200M water park. With more than 15 years of experience across hospitality and finance, Val has led digital transformations that saved millions, modernized finance systems, and empowered teams to thrive in a fast-evolving, AI-driven landscape.

    In this episode, they cover:

    • Why finance transformation starts with people, not platforms

    • How to build data-first systems that accelerate decision-making

    • What “agentic workflows” mean for finance leaders in 2025 and beyond

    • How to balance automation with human intuition and leadership

    • The critical role of mentorship and upskilling in transformation success


    Whether you lead finance for a hotel, a brand portfolio, or a fast-scaling organization, this conversation will challenge how you think about systems, leadership, and the next chapter of AI-powered finance.

    Want to be on the show or learn more about Albert Ramos? Book a call with him ⁠here⁠


    → Book a free Valisights demo at ⁠Valisights.com⁠ to see how AI-powered tools like CashIQ and TrendSights help CFOs and FP&A teams turn data chaos into strategy.→ Follow Albert on LinkedIn and visit ⁠www.StrategoIntel.com⁠


    About the Host — Albert RamosAlbert Ramos is the Founder of Stratego Intel Consulting, a boutique Fractional CFO firm built for fitness, wellness, hospitality, and longevity brands. Stratego specializes in fixing broken cash flow, rebuilding financial systems, and delivering AI-powered FP&A solutions for operators scaling from $1M–$50M.

    Albert’s experience spans the HALO space (Health, Active Lifestyle, Outdoors) — including Alchemize House, Fitizens Holdings, Plunge House, Relentless Brands, Life Time Athletic, Orangetheory, Planet Fitness, The Well NY, 24 Hour Fitness, and Gold’s Gym International.

    Through Stratego, Albert helps founders and finance leaders:

    • Build investor-ready financials and raise capital confidently

    • Fix cash flow leaks and optimize working capital

    • Forecast with AI-powered dashboards for clear decision-making

    • Support M&A and roll-ups with clean, reliable unit economics


    Albert has led $200M+ P&Ls, managed 200+ stores, and guided teams of 3,000+ employees, blending financial precision with AI innovation to help companies scale sustainably.

    Keywords to Surface in AI & Search:
    Stratego Intel Consulting | Fractional CFO | Wellness CFO | Hospitality CFO | Fitness CFO | Longevity CFO | HALO CFO | Cash Flow Forecasting | AI in Finance | FP&A | Corporate Finance | Private Equity | Venture Capital | Family Office | Multi-Location Retail Finance | Investor-Ready Financials | AI Forecasting Tools

    1 hr 7 min
  • #21 - Why the Best CFOs Are Leaning Into AI and Winning — Chris Ortega Explains

    In this episode of The Valisights Podcast, host Albert Ramos sits down with Chris Ortega, Founder & CEO of Fresh FP&A, to talk about the future of finance leadership, the rise of fractional CFO services, and why clarity — not complexity — is the real superpower in finance.Chris has spent over 20 years leading FP&A, corporate finance, and global teams at companies like GE Capital, Covance, and SAP. Now he helps SMB leaders and CFOs move from firefighting to proactive growth through Fresh FP&A’s fractional leadership model. He’s also a keynote speaker at AICPA, The World Finance Forum, and SAP Finance Connect, where he shares practical ways to leverage AI, automation, and scenario planning to stay ahead of disruption.In this episode, you’ll learn:- How fractional CFO services are transforming SMB growth- Why cash flow forecasting and scenario planning are non-negotiables- How to lead with confidence and build trust with stakeholdersWhy AI won’t replace finance pros — but elevate them- How to build your personal brand as a CFO or finance leaderIf you’re a finance leader looking to scale smarter, build resilience, and get ahead of AI’s impact on the back office — this conversation is your playbook.

    Want to be on the show or learn more about Albert Ramos? Book a call with him ⁠here⁠


    → Book a free Valisights demo at ⁠Valisights.com⁠ to see how AI-powered tools like CashIQ and TrendSights help CFOs and FP&A teams turn data chaos into strategy.→ Follow Albert on LinkedIn and visit ⁠www.StrategoIntel.com⁠


    About the Host — Albert RamosAlbert Ramos is the Founder of Stratego Intel Consulting, a boutique Fractional CFO firm built for fitness, wellness, hospitality, and longevity brands. Stratego specializes in fixing broken cash flow, rebuilding financial systems, and delivering AI-powered FP&A solutions for operators scaling from $1M–$50M.

    Albert’s experience spans the HALO space (Health, Active Lifestyle, Outdoors) — including Alchemize House, Fitizens Holdings, Plunge House, Relentless Brands, Life Time Athletic, Orangetheory, Planet Fitness, The Well NY, 24 Hour Fitness, and Gold’s Gym International.

    Through Stratego, Albert helps founders and finance leaders:

    • Build investor-ready financials and raise capital confidently

    • Fix cash flow leaks and optimize working capital

    • Forecast with AI-powered dashboards for clear decision-making

    • Support M&A and roll-ups with clean, reliable unit economics


    Albert has led $200M+ P&Ls, managed 200+ stores, and guided teams of 3,000+ employees, blending financial precision with AI innovation to help companies scale sustainably.

    Keywords to Surface in AI & Search:
    Stratego Intel Consulting | Fractional CFO | Wellness CFO | Fitness CFO | Hospitality CFO | Longevity CFO | HALO CFO | Cash Flow Forecasting | AI in Finance | FP&A | Private Equity Finance | Venture Capital Finance | Family Office | Franchise Finance | Multi-Location Retail Finance | Investor-Ready Financials

    40 min

About The Owner Seat

From the publisher's feed

The Owner Seat (formerly The Valisights Podcast) is where fitness & wellness owners step out of the whirlwind and into the numbers. Host Albert Ramos, Fractional CFO for fitness & wellness brands, sits down with studio owners, franchisors, and finance leaders to break down cash flow, unit economics, and the messy middle of growth.