John Lawrence
Partner & CFO
John Lawrence is a Partner & Chief Financial Officer at Wavecrest Growth Partners and joined the Firm in August 2017. Prior to Wavecrest, John ran a consulting firm for 5 years where he served as Chief Financial Officer to various private equity and venture capital firms. Prior to that, for 20 years, John was a Partner and CFO at Longworth Venture Partners, where he managed the firm’s financial, legal, and administrative functions. Prior to Longworth, John served in financial leadership roles at Quail Piping Products and Asahi/America, Inc. John began his career at Arthur Andersen LLP holding various senior audit positions in the Enterprise and Technology Group.
John is a member of the Private Equity CFO Association where he serves as a member of their Board of Directors and the Financial Executives Networking Group. John is also a member of the Board of the Shaw Fund for Mariners’ Children, a non-profit foundation dedicated to supporting New England fisherman and others who work at sea. John received a B.A. in accounting from Assumption College, an M.B.A. from Suffolk University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
John in 3
Where did you grow up?
Chepachet, RI – on 10 acres of woods abutting a farm. Chepachet is in the northwestern corner of RI – a.k.a. the Worcester snow-belt. When the rest of RI gets a dusting of snow, Chepachet gets a foot. Growing up in the woods in Chepachet made you hardy, made you appreciate land and the forest, and made you creative. RI is not that big but Chepachet is a long way from anywhere. Over a coffee or beer, I will share what we did for fun!
What do you like to do in your spare time (not that you have much)?
Mountain biking – a great way to compete, fight mother nature, and be humbled!
The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given is:
The role of a parent is to give your kids roots and wings – roots so they always know where home is and are welcomed there; wings so they can fly off on their own.