CFO Placement for a Specialist Financial Services Firm
CFO Placement for a Specialist Financial Services Firm
Client: Specialist Financial Services Firm
Sector: Financial Services
Turnover: £20M+
Role: Chief Financial Officer
Time to Hire: 15 weeks
The Brief
Our client, a rapidly growing financial services firm, engaged us to appoint their first Chief Financial Officer — a newly created role designed to support expansion and strengthen strategic leadership. We first connected with the client in late 2024, with the brief formalised in mid-2025. Recognising the importance of this key appointment, the client chose to partner with us on a retained basis to ensure a thorough and carefully managed process.
The Challenge
The client was clear from the outset that this would be a considered search. The Founder and CEO’s international commitments meant that scheduling feedback and interviews would require flexibility. The key objectives were:
🔹 Identifying a CFO with strong technical expertise and strategic vision
🔹 Ensuring a robust process despite limited client availability
🔹 Managing candidate engagement over an extended timeframe
🔹 Delivering a high-quality shortlist that balanced capability and cultural fit
Our Solution
By anticipating the pace and structure of the process, we were able to plan effectively. We curated a longlist of potential candidates and took the time to engage in depth, ensuring alignment with both technical and cultural expectations.
Each shortlisted professional was presented through our Client Portal, combining CVs with introduction videos. This approach gave the client — often travelling — the flexibility to assess candidates remotely and gain a genuine sense of their communication style and personality before progressing to formal interviews.
Over the course of two months, we refined and presented a shortlist of 18 high-calibre candidates from an initial pool of 65.
Key Results
📌 65 candidates shortlisted
📌 18 CVs presented
📌 2 candidates interviewed
📌 1 CFO appointed
📌 15 weeks to placement
The Outcome
The structured and transparent process enabled the client to move confidently through each stage, despite time constraints. Once interviews commenced, progress accelerated — the final two candidates met the Founder and senior team, leading to a successful appointment within two weeks of final interviews.
The client gained a proven CFO with the strategic, technical, and leadership qualities required to support their next phase of growth. This partnership demonstrated how a thoughtful, flexible, and well-managed retained search can deliver exceptional results — even within a complex and evolving brief.