Since founding Spark Consulting in 1999, Frances has provided management, corporate governance and business consulting services to a large number of organizations.

Engagements include working with MVC Capital, Inc. (MVC), a publicly traded private equity firm, over a period of three years from 2003-2006 as Interim CFO and as an Investment Professional. Also, during the two years, 2002 to 2004, Frances joined forces with E&S Advisors as a turnaround consultant working with Cornerstone Propane, a retail propane company headquartered in Missouri and California.

From 1999 to 2002, Spark Consulting worked with many early-stage companies across a broad range of industries; advising on strategy, providing management resources, developing business plans and budgets, and preparing for presentations to investors. Prior to Spark Consulting, Frances served as Controller at The Beacon Group (”Beacon”), a private investment firm in New York (now a part of JP Morgan Partners). At Beacon, Ms. Spark managed the finance and accounting functions for the firm, its private equity funds and its investment banking business. Before Beacon, Frances was the CFO of Hyperion Capital Management, an investment management firm in New York, and held a number of financial roles at Prudential Securities in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Frances is a Chartered Accountant and spent five years with KPMG in the United Kingdom. She received a B.Sc. in Biology from Southampton University, England. Frances is a Board Member and Chair of the Audit Committee of Cypress Sharpridge Investments, Inc., a REIT; and formerly a Director of Baltic Motors Corporation, a Latvian-based automotive dealer sold by MVC during 2007.

Email: frances@sparkconsulting.com