Overview
Craig Arends is the managing principal of CLA's private equity practice and is responsible for leading CLA's Private Equity (PE) businesses, supporting PE funds and their portfolios in deploying capital, refining exit strategies and help creating stakeholder value.
Craig has extensive experience across retail, consumer products, distribution, manufacturing, technology and business service sectors, and has worked on over 300 transactions with valuations in excess of $10b. Over his 30-year career, Craig has served in several leadership roles in the US and abroad, including in Russia and Ukraine for professional services firms.
Craig says "I build and support CLA teams in leveraging our diverse capabilities and expertise at CLA in advising our PE clients to develop and execute a transformation agenda. We help our clients deliver on their stakeholder commitments through expanding the diversity of their talent, focusing on sustainable investments and deploying new technologies across their investments.”
When not working, Craig enjoys playing golf, excercising and watching any sports, but his most favorite are baseball, football and soccer.
Education
Bachelor of Science in Business, Accounting, University of Minnesota
In the community
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants (MNCPA)
Association for Corporate Growth (ACG)