McKibben Communications LLC made Inc. Magazine’s list of fastest growing companies three years running. But while the Chatsworth-based provider of global programming services for pay-per-view, cable and other television formats was enjoying banner years in 1997, 1998 and 1999, it was also incurring substantial debt. So much so that when McKibben sought financing for the expansion needed to accommodate the growth, investors shied away. When one shareholder in the privately-held company finally did offer financing, it came with a caveat: McKibben would have to make the transition from a family-run operation to a professionally managed company with the kinds of systems, reporting requirements and fiscal disciplines found in publicly-held organizations. Ravi Patel, the firm’s chief financial officer, was named president and CEO in April, while the founders, Mark and Carol McKibben, moved into consulting roles. Patel spoke with Business Journal senior reporter Shelly Garcia about managing that change. “Mark and Carol had done a fantastic job of nurturing the organization and helping it grow. Entrepreneurs, especially if they’re family-owned, are more paternalistic and they’re very sensitive to employees. I wanted to make sure the employees didn’t feel that suddenly we were going to become a cold, hard organization. “The second major objective is to assess how we can get out of the debt situation. And the third objective was to reassure customers that the change of management was not going to be a change in service level. “One of the hardest things is to maintain employee loyalty. If the employees feel the founders were mistreated or let go unceremoniously, they become very disgruntled with the new management. Just the fact that they are actively involved in working with us, that’s a very visible sign that they’re still part of the company. “Being a CEO is a lot broader (than being a CFO). It’s not necessarily dollars and cents on a day-to-day basis as it is operational excellence, new customer development, employee training and motivation. And in the long term, my focus will be more in developing the strategic direction of the company.