2026 marks a special milestone for Headstar as we celebrate 40 years since our story began in Yorkshire in 1986.
A lot has changed in four decades – including our name.
The business began life as FD Yorkshire Limited focusing on Fractional CFOs (or Portfolio FDs as they were known then). We later became FDYL before merging with Woodrow Mercer in 2016 to begin offering finance recruitment services. Following a management buyout in 2020, the Headstar company name was born.
Managing Director James Roach, who first joined the business 13 years ago as a Director during its FDYL days, said: “When you look at where the business started from in 1986 and compare it with Headstar today, so much has changed. We’ve grown and adapted as our clients and the market have evolved, and we’re a very different business to the one we were back then.
Forty years is a brilliant milestone and there have been a lot of great people along the way who have helped shape the business we are today. It felt right to get some of them back together and celebrate it properly.”
Celebrating 40 years
We marked the occasion with our 40th Summer Social at Azotea Rooftop Restaurant in Leeds, bringing the Headstar team together for an afternoon of food and drinks.
We were also joined by a couple of familiar faces from Headstar’s past, including Neil Muffitt, former Chair and Managing Director of Headstar, who first joined as a Partner at FDYL back in 2003 and Mark Raven who was an FDYL Partner from 2002 before becoming Group Finance Director following the merger with Woodrow Mercer.
It was a great opportunity to bring together some of the people who have been part of the business at different points in its journey and celebrate how far we’ve come.
Thank you to everyone who has played a part in our first 40 years – our team past and present, clients, candidates and Fractional CFOs.
Here’s to the next chapter…
