CFO Recruitment

Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) play a vital “number 2” role in a business, helping to drive profitability, cash generation and value. Not only that though, their role within a business has become a critical one of leadership, implementing culture and leading by example.

Trusted by industry leaders

CFO Search

Headstar have an in-depth understanding of the role and importance of a CFO, as many of the team have successfully acted as a Finance Director themselves. They know that the role encompasses so much more than just risk management and compliance. We believe a good CFO is effectively a translator and an artist, able to build trust with non-financial managers while turning numbers into pictures and words, making the complex simple. In the ever-changing business climate, the softer skills of a CFO are more important than ever and our search process helps businesses to choose the right person for the role.

"Working with Headstar was such a refreshing experience. Having worked with several recruiters over the years, both for my own career moves, but also to recruit into my finance teams, Headstar has really impressed me. Jenny in particular demonstrated great skill in understanding and interpreting the client brief and more importantly was able to find that ever-important 'personality fit'. The process was efficient, professional and pragmatic. I'm delighted with the outcome."

"Working with the team at Headstar was both a delight and productive. When I was recruiting I was aware that I lacked some of the technical financial expertise, so having James on hand to test the candidate’s technical ability on their awareness of and abilities within financial control was important to me. The successful candidate has transformed our financial planning, technical ability and brought a level of financial rigour above and beyond my expectations, all within her first year. I admire Headstar’s approach to advertising for new roles with an eye-catching and fun approach in what can often be a pretty dull arena."

How Our Process Works

The importance of this role means that you’ll need more than just a single pair of eyes on it. At Headstar, we combine our experience of the CFO role with our attention to detail in cultural fit and management of a recruitment process. What does this mean? You’ll work with a highly experienced Recruitment Consultant as your main point of contact and they will be supported by one of our Consultant Finance Directors throughout the process, ensuring that not only will shortlisted candidates have been thoroughly tested on cultural alignment, but also on the technical aspects of the role, giving you greater confidence in the ability of the candidate to thrive in the role on all aspects.

Not only that, our dedicated research team work behind the scenes to ensure no stone is left unturned during the search. We share these findings with you throughout the assignment, giving you insights on the market, your employer brand and the feedback we’re garnering from candidates.

CFO Search is not a dark art. It is a rigorous process of identifying candidates and then testing them for the characteristics most important to you. We’ll help identify these characteristics with you at the initial briefing stage and then feed back against those throughout the process, helping you to make the right judgement on each candidate.

Our CFO Recruitment Network

It’s no understatement to say that CFOs prefer speaking to other CFOs and FDs rather than Recruiters! In this regard, Headstar have successfully built a network of excellent CFOs across the country. We regularly arrange events and forums to provide our CFO network with up-to-date technical advice, but also help and support in their networking efforts and access to other professional advisors. As a result, Headstar consultants have become trusted advisors to the CFO network and are able to speak confidentially and credibly to a broad cross-section of candidates.

Get in touch today

Our qualified FDs would love to help you find the best finance recruitment solution for your team.

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Industries We Work In

The skills and abilities of CFOs are often transferable to a variety of sectors. There are, however, often great lessons to be learned from the work of complementary businesses. Many of our CFO network have specialised in a particular industry, while others have spread their skills over multiple sectors. Whether your search requires a particular skillset or you’re open to a breadth of skills, we can advise on the right type of individual and draw up shortlists to suit. From manufacturing to marketing, engineering to entertainment, property to pharmaceuticals, construction to computing and almost every industry in between, Headstar have successfully placed CFOs in a multitude of industries.

Case Studies

With an aggressive growth plan in mind, the Board of Catalyst IT had a specific remit of finding a CFO with experience of growing a software business and M&A management but also with a hands-on approach to running the business as they were still at an early stage. Our search was helped by our national reputation and network on this ooccasion, with the successful candidate living some 200 miles from Head Office. Catalyst were modern and flexible in their thinking, having been advised by us that the specificity of the brief meant that our remit would need to span the country.

Meet Our CFO Recruitment Consultants

James Roach

Managing Director
Executive Search

Simon Webster

Director
Advisory & Portfolio

Jenny Martin

Associate Director
Executive Search & Senior Finance

David Clark

Director
Interim & Transformation

Natalie McGregor

Director
Executive Search & Senior Finance

Need help with finance recruitment? Get in touch today

We’ll help you find the best solution for your business with the help of our experienced recruiters and qualified Finance Directors.