Reed Operating Partners: three cattails and a single leaf

FINANCE & AI STRATEGY. IN PRACTICE.

FINANCE & AI STRATEGY. IN PRACTICE.

FINANCE, SYSTEMS & AI SUPPORT

A clear direction.
A stronger business.

Practical finance leadership, better-connected systems, and AI that works in the everyday. ROP helps owners reduce manual work, see the business clearly, and build a finance function that grows with them.

A focused conversation about what comes next.

THE PATH FORWARD

01

Understand the work

Find the friction in finance and operations.

02

Improve what’s there

Get more from the systems you already use.

03

Build lasting capability

Equip your team, not just your technology.

01 / WHERE WE HELP

Stronger finance. Smarter operations.

Start with the processes behind the numbers. From a focused assessment to ongoing fractional CFO support, engagements are shaped around your business—not a predetermined software stack.

01

Fractional CFO support

Build a repeatable close, reliable management reporting, and a forward view of cash. Connect budgets and forecasts to the realities of your business.

Close calendars / Variance reporting / Cash forecasting

02

Systems & process optimization

Reduce re-keying, reconciliation, and error-prone handoffs. Get more from existing tools, or evaluate replacement platforms against business requirements, integration needs, and migration risk.

Keep / Replace / Integrate · Independent platform evaluation

03

AI strategy & adoption

Turn scattered experiments into practical, governed workflows. Prioritize use cases, deploy them with human review, train the team, and track value against a baseline.

Workflow deployment / Team training / AI governance

Finance, systems & AI assessment

Map how money and data move across finance and customer systems. Identify manual steps, handoffs, control risks, and the cost of recurring work. Receive a documented current state, prioritized quick wins, and a clear direction for your systems.

Finance organization & roadmap

Design future finance roles, skills, and in-house or outsourced responsibilities around the work ahead. Receive a sequenced roadmap with owners, dependencies, investment considerations, and migration planning aligned to your growth strategy.

02 / HOW WE WORK

Not a report on a shelf. A partner at the table.

The work starts with how your business actually runs. ROP combines finance and operating experience with hands-on implementation, so recommendations become useful habits, systems, and decisions.

Assess and prioritize

Interview the people doing the work and walk through systems, reporting, and the close. Document data flows, manual effort, controls, and AI readiness to establish a shared picture of today.

Design the path forward

Make keep, replace, or integrate decisions using clear requirements and independent vendor comparisons. Agree on a sequenced roadmap; scope configuration, migration, and workflow implementation separately where needed.

Train, measure, and improve

Help people use the new workflows in their real tasks. Review time saved, capacity released, output quality, and adoption—not just tools installed.

03 / YOUR OPERATING PARTNER

Finance expertise. An operator’s perspective.

Lucas Jones, Founder and Principal of Reed Operating Partners

Lucas Jones

Founder & Principal, Reed Operating Partners

Lucas is a finance and operations leader and investor with 15+ years of experience across hospitality, real estate, and technology, often for private equity-backed businesses. His background spans roles as CEO, CFO, as well as various finance & operations leadership roles through periods of significant growth or evolution. PortCo experience includes companies owned by Blackstone and KKR.

As a CEO for a growing regional builder/developer, he experienced firsthand the impact that effective AI strategy can have on businesses of all sizes. He brings that same hands-on perspective to helping owners connect financial insight and efficiency with everyday operations.

Education:

MBA, UCLA Anderson - Real Estate & Finance

BS in Hotel Administration, Cornell University

Core Competencies

Budgeting & Forecasting

KPI Reporting

Acquisition Integration

Sales & Marketing Accountability

AI-enabled Workflows

Operations & Finance Leadership

Change Management

Growth Initiatives

Investor Relations

Fundraising

Transaction Management

Underwriting & Financial Modelling

Training & Onboarding

EOS

ERP Migration Planning

Portfolio Operations

Real Estate Acquisitions

Asset Management

04 / LET’S TALK

Let’s talk about your next move.

Where is manual work slowing you down? What could better systems and processes unlock in your business? Tell us what’s on your mind, and we’ll explore the right starting point.

An open conversation. A useful first step.

Explore your processes, systems, and priorities. Then decide together whether a focused project or ongoing partnership makes sense.

Reed Operating Partners

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