1. Understand
The skills, experience and attributes required, providing insights and fresh perspective to help the organisation define the unique needs and objectives of the search.
CFO Search
appointing CFOs who deliver lasting strategic impact
The CFO Practice partners with high-growth, transformational and turnaround companies, recruiting Chief Financial Officers who can drive scale, lead change, and unlock long-term value.
With over two decades of executive finance experience, Rob brings deep expertise across a broad range of CFO and senior finance leadership searches. His focus is on appointing finance leaders for businesses where strategic growth is central to the role, alongside operational improvement, financial process optimisation, and the development of scalable infrastructure.
Every search is carefully tailored to the business’s growth journey and strategic goals, ensuring the appointment of the right leader to drive success and deliver lasting value.
2. Agree
The search parameters, developing a tailored assignment brief that details the company, role, and key deliverables, specifying the candidate experience, qualifications and competencies required for success.
3. Identify
Candidates using targeted, in-depth research across relevant companies and sectors, generating an extensive long list using The CFO Practice network and a range of executive recruitment tools.
4. Screen
The longlist through a rigorous, multi-stage interview process that evaluates each candidate’s competencies, technical skills, and aspirations against the assignment brief.
5. Present
A shortlist of the most qualified and motivated candidates, thoroughly assessed, and aligned with the specific role requirements.
6. Manage
All aspects of the interview process, ensuring a coordinated and transparent feedback loop between candidates and the company.
7. Complete
The search by carefully overseeing the offer process, conducting thorough checks and references to validate the candidate’s competencies and identify potential areas of development.
8. Follow Up
Stay in close contact with all parties before and after the start date to ensure a seamless transition.
Search Process
The CFO Practice takes a qualitative, time-intensive approach
The CFO Practice takes a qualitative, time-intensive approach for every hiring process, limiting the number of searches to ensure each process receives the highest level of care and attention.
For The CFO Practice, every search is personal. This approach ensures that each step is executed with precision and confidentiality to deliver the best possible result.
Executive search doesn’t need to be complicated. However, unnecessary red tape and complexity have become ingrained in the industry.
The CFO Practice is committed to simplifying the process, offering complete transparency, and consistently delivering high-quality service.
Diversity at the heart of the search
A UK-wide CFO search with a strong focus on diversity in the engineering sector
At The CFO Practice, we are deeply committed to supporting our clients’ diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) objectives, this was evident in our partnership with MS-RT.
When should a business hire a CFO?
Businesses typically hire a CFO when financial complexity increases through growth, fundraising, international expansion, M&A activity, or operational transformation. A strong CFO helps strengthen financial visibility, support strategic decision-making, and build scalable infrastructure.
What makes a strong CFO for a PE or VC-backed business?
Investor-backed businesses often require CFOs who can combine strategic leadership with operational execution. Experience across fundraising, board reporting, scaling, transformation, cash management, and stakeholder management is typically highly valuable.
What is the difference between a CFO and a Finance Director?
While responsibilities can overlap, CFOs are generally more strategically focused, often working closely with boards, investors, and CEOs on long-term growth, financing, and business strategy. Finance Directors are often more operationally focused on finance delivery, controls, reporting, and team leadership.
How long does a CFO search typically take?
Timeframes can vary depending on the complexity and confidentiality of the search. However, due to The CFO Practice’s personal and agile approach, alongside deliberately limiting the number of searches undertaken at any one time, CFO searches can often be completed in a matter of weeks rather than several months.
What industries does The CFO Practice specialise in?
The CFO Practice primarily partners with high-growth, transformational, and investor-backed businesses across sectors including technology, SaaS, consumer, healthcare, business services, manufacturing, and broader scale-up environments. Many searches involve businesses navigating growth, operational change, fundraising, M&A activity, or exit preparation.
Why use a specialist CFO search firm?
Appointing a CFO is one of the most important leadership decisions a business can make. Specialist CFO search firms bring market insight, long-standing relationships, and the experience required to assess leadership capability, cultural fit, and long-term alignment beyond a CV alone.
“When Rob makes an introduction to me, I know they’re going to be good. I trust his judgement, and importantly (and somewhat uniquely), I know that his priority is finding the right fit, not finding the right fee.”
John Coburn
Portfolio Talent – Business Growth Fund
“The CFO Practice conducted an efficient and thorough executive search service and provided an excellent list of candidates for our CFO position. Thanks to the accurate screening of candidates, we were able to rapidly hone in on the successful candidate who has fitted smoothly into our organisation. Top marks to the CFO Practice.”
Roland Wessell
CEO – Synergia Energy Plc
“We managed to find a great replacement for our departing CFO with Rob’s help. We didn’t start with the clearest brief either, but he helped us come up with a plan. Every person he put forward for interview fit the bill, and it was such a hard choice to narrow them down to one. The process was seamless, and the communication was brilliant throughout. I would definitely use Rob again (though hopefully not for quite a while!).”
Kelly Preston
Managing Director – 118 Group
“We had the pleasure of working with Rob from The CFO Practice to fill a senior critical level position within our business. From the outset Rob, demonstrated an exceptional understanding of our needs and bespoke requirements. His dedication to finding us the right candidate was evident in the thorough selection process and in the high calibre shortlisted professionals he provided us. The successful candidate has had a significant positive impact on our team. We would highly recommend using The CFO Practice and couldn’t be more satisfied with the outcome.”
Sian Williams, HR Director & Joe Pace, CEO
MS-RT