Jim Clayton
Advisory Council
Jim Clayton is a strategic advisor to CrossCountry’s national Private Equity practice. He leverages his extensive network and deep industry knowledge to identify key talent, drive business development, and elevate the firm’s visibility within the private equity ecosystem. Jim’s counsel is instrumental in shaping our PE strategy and helping both funds and their portfolio companies navigate complex transformations to achieve their investment objectives.
Jim’s career is marked by significant leadership roles and a track record of delivering impactful results. As a retired Principal at BDO, he led a management consulting team focused on financial and operational optimization, post-merger integration, and transaction support for private equity portfolio companies. He also co-led the firm’s Private Equity Industry Group, shaping its go-to-market strategy. Previously, as a Principal at AC Lordi, he founded and scaled a Business Advisory practice focused on mid-market PE to $10 million in under four years. As a Senior Director at Cigna, he oversaw a $150M+ finance transformation program, leading over 100 resources to modernize the global finance function. His expertise spans M&A execution, technology enablement, process optimization, and shared services across software, healthcare, manufacturing, and insurance sectors focusing on companies with $50 million to $2+ billion in revenue.
Jim received his Bachelor of Science in Finance and MIS from the University of Delaware and an MBA from Saint Joseph’s University.