RFF Advisors

Engineering Execution.
Enterprise Value.

RFF Advisors works with PE-backed manufacturers and industrial companies to create enterprise value by turning engineering execution into a competitive advantage, improving how teams are built, products are defined, and strategy is executed.

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Ryan Rochel, Founder of RFF Advisors
Ryan Rochel
Founder
  • Six US patents in product design and engineering
  • BSME, Kansas State University
  • MBA, Aurora University

Who You Are Working With

Engineering leadership that has
done the job, not just advised on it

I help PE-backed manufacturers build the engineering organizations, processes, and product development capabilities that drive enterprise value. I spent 14 years at Caterpillar before serving as VP of Engineering and New Product Development at portfolio companies of Tinicum Capital and LFM Capital, where I built engineering functions, launched new product lines, and delivered measurable results across multiple businesses. I founded RFF Advisors to bring that same experience directly to PE sponsors and their portfolio companies.

Engineering execution and business performance are inseparable. When execution breaks down, revenue slows, margins compress, and competitive position weakens. I work alongside leadership to find the operational gaps, align priorities, and put processes in place that hold after I am gone.

Ryan Rochel is an engineering executive who works with PE sponsors and industrial companies when engineering is constraining growth, product development, or the company's ability to execute its strategy. He founded RFF Advisors to bring his experience building and transforming engineering organizations inside PE-backed manufacturing companies directly to sponsors and their portfolio companies.

Most recently, at AttachCo, an LFM Capital portfolio company, Ryan served as VP of Engineering and New Product Development with responsibility for engineering across three LFM Capital portfolio companies. He built the engineering teams, established processes and accountability, and developed the engineering capabilities needed to support growth across the businesses.

Before AttachCo, Ryan served as Director and then VP of Engineering and New Product Development at Continental Disc and Groth Corporation, sister companies first owned by Robert Family Holdings and later by Tinicum Capital. He rebuilt an engineering organization that had not brought a new product to market in nearly a decade and led the development of nine new product lines, including a next generation pressure and vacuum relief valve that represented more than 60% of Groth revenue at the time of his departure.

Before his PE experience, Ryan spent 14 years at Caterpillar in engineering, product, and marketing roles across Kansas, Illinois, and Texas. His experience included global product programs, voice of the customer, product strategy, and protecting and leveraging intellectual property.

Today, through RFF Advisors, Ryan works directly with PE sponsors and their portfolio companies, including companies backed by LFM Capital and JMC Family Office. His work spans engineering organization and talent, process and accountability, project prioritization, product strategy, new product development, and broader business strategic planning.

Ryan holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Kansas State University and a Master of Business Administration from Aurora University.

Capabilities

Where sponsors and CEOs bring me in

Engagements start with a clear question: where is engineering leaving value on the table? The answer usually falls into one of five areas.

01

Post-Acquisition Engineering Build

You closed the deal and engineering has no systems, no documented processes, and no accountability.

I have walked into this repeatedly. Work requests arrive by email, nothing is tracked, and no one owns the outcome. I assess the current state, define the organization the business actually needs, hire into the gaps, and put operating processes in place so engineering can be held to a plan.

Engineering assessmentOrganizational designProcess and accountabilityHiring and onboarding
02

New Product Development

Products are arriving late, over cost, or are not what the market asked for.

I design and implement stage gate processes built around how the business actually works, then move active programs into that structure without stalling them. The process is customized to the company, documented, owned internally, and still running after the engagement ends.

Stage gate design and buildVoice of the customerCritical customer requirementsDesign for manufacturabilityProgram leadership
03

Engineering Change Management

Changes move between engineering and the floor without control or a record.

Informal change management creates rework, scrap, and disputes that nobody can resolve because there is no history. I build structured ECR and ECN workflows with defined approval routing and notification, name the process owner, and train the internal team to run it.

ECR and ECN workflowApproval routingProcess ownershipTrain the trainer
04

Product and Portfolio Strategy

Engineering is busy, but nobody can say whether it is working on the right things.

I build multi year product strategy and the prioritization methodology behind it, so project selection is tied to financial impact rather than the loudest voice in the room. That includes the tools leadership needs to rank projects, allocate engineering capacity, and defend the plan to a board.

Multi year product roadmapProject prioritizationFinancial evaluation toolsMarket and growth strategyPatent and IP review
05

Interim and Fractional Engineering Leadership

The role is open, the hire is not right yet, or the company is not ready for a full time VP.

I step in as the senior engineering voice, attend the meetings, make the calls, and own the outcomes alongside your team. That includes developing the leaders already in the building so the capability stays when the engagement ends.

Interim VP of EngineeringEngineering leader coachingProject manager developmentOngoing advisory

Recent Impact

Work that moves the needle

Representative outcomes from engagements with PE-backed industrial and manufacturing companies.

Assessed engineering capability across organization, process, and systems, then delivered a phased implementation plan leadership used to prioritize investment and sequence the work.

Built and implemented a customized stage gate product development process in 10 weeks, enabling clearer project prioritization, standardized execution, and stronger accountability across engineering and leadership teams.

Delivered a market opportunity analysis, proposed the product portfolio to address it, and built the OEM specific pitch strategies to sell that portfolio, giving commercial leadership a straight line from market demand to product decisions to a sales plan.

Implemented design for manufacturability tools and processes that put cost and producibility into the design conversation. Margin is protected before it is committed rather than recovered afterward.

Developed a five year product strategy establishing portfolio priorities, target markets, and geographic focus, aligned with long term growth and EBITDA objectives.

Placed an engineering leader capable of owning the function rather than filling a seat, defining the role, screening every candidate, and testing technical capability against what the role actually required.

Moved in flight product development programs into a new stage gate framework without stalling them, giving leadership visibility into status, priorities, and resource load across the project portfolio for the first time.

Directed voice of customer work and translated it into validated product requirements, so development spend went toward what customers would actually pay for rather than internal assumptions.

Strengthened patent applications to ensure intellectual property protection is both granted and genuinely enforceable, preserving the competitive value of core innovations.

Engagement

Three ways to work together

Engagements are structured around the problem, whether that is a defined project, ongoing advisory access, or embedded leadership inside the business.

Project Based

Defined scope. Clear deliverables.

Best for discrete problems with a known end state, such as building a stage gate process, standing up engineering change management, running a hiring search, or developing a product strategy. Fixed timeline, defined outputs, agreed cost. Project engagements typically run eight to twelve weeks.

Monthly Retainer

Consistent senior access.

An ongoing advisory relationship for sponsors and portfolio company leadership who want a senior engineering voice available as decisions come up, without committing to a full time role.

Interim and Fractional

Embedded VP level leadership.

VP of Engineering leadership inside your team at a fraction of the cost of a full time hire. I attend the meetings, drive the decisions, and own the outcomes alongside your people.

Get in Touch

Ready to solve your engineering execution challenge?

Whether you are a sponsor evaluating a portfolio company, a CEO who needs senior engineering leadership, or a leadership team working through a strategic planning challenge, the first conversation is a straightforward discussion about the situation.

Direct
rrochel@rffadvisors.com

References available from PE sponsors and portfolio company CEOs.