Finance Directors Recruitment

Our Finance Director, Executive Search Services

A Finance Director shapes investment decisions, influences strategy, and ensures the financial discipline that enables growth. Finding the right one requires clarity on what you need and access to people who can deliver it.

Partner with Novo to appoint a Finance Director who strengthens your business and supports your objectives.

Speak with a Finance Director search expert

The Importance of Finance Leadership

The Finance Director sits at the centre of financial performance and business strategy.

Beyond reporting and financial control, today’s Finance Directors are expected to provide the commercial insight that helps Boards make better decisions. They need to understand where value is being created, where risk is increasing and how capital can be deployed to support the organisation’s objectives.

The strongest Finance Directors combine financial discipline with commercial judgement. They provide CEOs and Boards with confidence in the numbers while helping shape decisions around investment, growth, transformation and long-term business performance.

Their influence increasingly extends beyond the finance function, working alongside operational and commercial leaders to improve performance across the organisation.

FD Specialist

Matthew Searle

Director

Looking to recruit a Finance Director?

Whether you’re strengthening financial performance, preparing for growth or planning for succession, we help you identify and secure the right Finance Director for your business.

Call now

Email now

FD Specialist

Dale Perrett

Founding Director

Looking to recruit a Finance Director?

Whether you’re strengthening financial performance, preparing for growth or planning for succession, we help you identify and secure the right Finance Director for your business.

Call now

Email now

FD Specialist

Jon Hollier

Founding Director

Looking to recruit a Finance Director?

Whether you’re strengthening financial performance, preparing for growth or planning for succession, we help you identify and secure the right Finance Director for your business.

Call now

Email now

Strengthen Financial Performance with the Right Finance Director

Secure the financial leadership your business needs for its next stage of growth.

Book a Confidential Call

When Organisations Appoint a Finance Director

The requirement for new financial leadership is often triggered by a wider change in the business.

We support organisations appointing Finance Directors when they are:

Preparing for a new phase of growth
Scaling or professionalising the business
Raising investment or working with new investors
Preparing for a transaction, acquisition or exit

Integrating a newly acquired business
Expanding internationally
Improving financial controls, reporting or governance
Strengthening commercial and operational performance
Leading financial or business transformation
Introducing new systems, processes or financial infrastructure
Preparing for succession
Replacing an underperforming Finance Director
Managing an unexpected leadership departure

The requirement is not always permanent from the outset. Where immediate financial leadership is needed during transformation, investment, restructuring or an unexpected vacancy, an Interim Finance Director or CFO can provide experienced leadership while the longer-term requirement is determined.

Sensitive appointments can also be managed through Confidential Executive Search, including situations where an incumbent Finance Director is being replaced.

The Impact of the Right Finance Director

Appointing a Finance Director is a decision with long-term consequences. The right FD provides accurate reporting, robust controls and commercial insight. They support investment decisions and give the Board confidence in financial performance.

The wrong one creates risk and slows progress.

The right Finance Director can help an organisation:

Improve financial visibility and control
Strengthen forecasting and business planning
Support better investment decisions
Improve cash flow and working capital

Protect margins and profitability
Strengthen governance and risk management
Provide greater commercial insight
Support acquisitions, investment and transactions
Build an effective finance function
Improve communication with investors and stakeholders
Prepare the organisation for future growth

The requirements will differ according to your circumstances. A business preparing for private equity investment may need a different type of Finance Director from one undertaking operational transformation, international expansion or succession.

Defining what your business needs from its next stage of financial leadership is therefore an important part of the search.

Accessing the Right Finance Director for Your Business

Finding that leader brings specific challenges.

You need technical expertise but also commercial judgement. You need someone who can manage the finance function and contribute to strategy. You need a leader who communicates clearly with the Board, investors and operational teams.

Balancing these requirements is difficult. Accessing candidates who meet them is harder.

The strongest candidates are already in senior roles elsewhere.

They are not scanning job boards. They will only move for an opportunity that genuinely interests them.

This is where our approach adds value. We combine market intelligence with a network built over two decades. We assess candidates on technical competence, commercial acumen and cultural alignment. We look beyond the CV to understand how someone leads through complexity and contributes to business performance.

Testimonials

The interim MD provided by Novo was thoughtful, steady and highly effective. They handled a sensitive restructuring process with empathy and discipline, helping us stabilise performance while rebuilding trust across the organisation.

Interim Managing Director, Engineering & Manufacturing Business

Novo identified an interim CFO who combined deep sector expertise with reassuring emotional intelligence. Their impact was immediate, governance strengthened, our equity story sharpened and teams felt more prepared for the scrutiny ahead.

Interim CFO, Pre-IPO Biotech

“Novo was very professional as a Search and Selection specialist, helping support me through securing a great new position. He was very well informed about the organisation, answered all my questions and kept me up to date with progress throughout.”

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH)

We have worked with Novo Executive Search before on several challenging pieces of recruitment. Novo has provided an excellent quality of service which has led to a successful appointment on each occasion.

Glide Pharma

You have done a fantastic job. Your work gets taken for granted a lot but you really have found a special candidate for us, so really well done.

Forrester Sylvester Mackett

Many thanks for your work in finding and helping me to recruit for the position of Head of Business Development. Novo has done an excellent piece of work and I would have no hesitation in coming to you for another assignment or in recommending you for other potential clients.” Chief Executive, Commonwealth Education Trust.

Commonwealth Education Trust

How We Support Finance Director Appointments

At Novo Executive Search, our Finance Director search process helps Boards make confident decisions. It is discreet and built around your priorities.

Discovery: We work with you to understand the organisation, its strategy and the circumstances behind the appointment. This allows us to define the financial, commercial and leadership capability required from your next Finance Director.

Market Mapping: We identify relevant organisations, sectors and potential candidates, building a clear picture of the available Finance Director market.

Executive Search: Our team proactively approaches suitable executives, including high-performing Finance Directors who are not actively considering another role.

Assessment: Candidates are assessed against the specific requirements of the appointment, including technical capability, commercial judgement, leadership style and cultural alignment.

Appointment: We support the process through interviews, referencing, negotiation and final appointment, providing market insight and advice throughout.

Onboarding: Our involvement can continue through the transition, helping both the organisation and successful candidate establish the foundations for a successful appointment.

Why Partner with Novo for Finance Director Executive Search?

Selecting an FD search partner requires the same attention as selecting the FD. Clients work with us because our process delivers consistently.

Finance Leadership Expertise: Our consultants have extensive experience identifying and appointing Finance Directors, CFOs and senior financial leaders across a broad range of organisations.

Access to Senior Finance Talent: Our established executive network and research capability give us access to candidates beyond the active recruitment market.

Commercial Understanding: We recognise that the modern Finance Director role extends far beyond financial reporting. Our assessment considers how candidates influence strategy, improve business performance and contribute at Board level.

Sector Knowledge: Finance leadership requirements vary significantly between industries. Our sector expertise helps us understand the context in which your Finance Director will need to operate.

Confidential Executive Search: Where discretion is critical, we can manage the entire Finance Director search and appointment process in strict confidence.

UK and International Reach: Our network allows us to identify Finance Directors across the UK and international markets where the requirement demands broader experience or reach.

Finance Director Executive Search Across Multiple Sectors

We understand that the demands on a Finance Director vary by sector. A finance leader in manufacturing faces different pressures to one in technology. A regulated business requires different experience to a private equity-backed scale-up.

Our Finance Director search experience spans sectors including:

Accountancy & Financial Leadership
Aerospace, Defence & Aviation
Construction & Property
Consumer Products & FMCG
Energy
Engineering
Environmental & Sustainability
Financial Services
Healthcare & Life Sciences
Legal
Manufacturing & Industrial
Renewable Energy
Retail & eCommerce
Technology

Case Studies

Appointing a Finance Director to Drive Profitable Growth at Aimia Foods

Appointing a Director of Commercial Finance to Strengthen Strategic Performance Across Starbucks EMEA

Appointing a Chief Financial Officer to Support Global Growth in a Leading Architectural Practice

Identifying a Managing Director to Lead Strategic Growth for a Market-Leader in the PropTech Sector

Director of Central Services Strengthens Governance and Resilience at Southern Co-op

Appointing Leadership for Impact: Uniting Operational Excellence Across Two Businesses

Appointing an MD to Lead GCC Expansion & Strengthen Operations at Jubaili Bros (Dubai, UAE)

Appointing an Interim MD to Stabilise and Restructure an Engineering & Manufacturing Business

Appointing an Interim COO to Stabilise and Scale a High-Growth Software Business

Appointing a Head of Talent and Capability to Strengthen Leadership at Motability Operations

Appointing a Commercial Director to Drive the Next Phase of Growth

Appointing a Finance Director to Drive Profitable Growth at Aimia Foods

Appointing a Director of Commercial Finance to Strengthen Strategic Performance Across Starbucks EMEA

Appointing a Chief Financial Officer to Support Global Growth in a Leading Architectural Practice

Identifying a Managing Director to Lead Strategic Growth for a Market-Leader in the PropTech Sector

Director of Central Services Strengthens Governance and Resilience at Southern Co-op

Appointing Leadership for Impact: Uniting Operational Excellence Across Two Businesses

Appointing an MD to Lead GCC Expansion & Strengthen Operations at Jubaili Bros (Dubai, UAE)

Appointing an Interim MD to Stabilise and Restructure an Engineering & Manufacturing Business

Appointing an Interim COO to Stabilise and Scale a High-Growth Software Business

Appointing a Head of Talent and Capability to Strengthen Leadership at Motability Operations

Appointing a Commercial Director to Drive the Next Phase of Growth

Book a confidential discussion with our executive search team

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Meet Our Finance Director Recruitment Experts

Matthew Searle

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George Woodward

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Jon Hollier

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Dale Perrett

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A Global Network for FD Recruitment

We are rooted in the UK, with reach that extends internationally.

We have placed Finance Directors across Europe, North America, and the Middle East. We support UK businesses seeking leaders with international experience and global firms establishing financial leadership in the UK.

When your search requires reach beyond the UK, we access the networks needed to deliver.

Access International FD Talent

Global Presence

Discover how we can help you appoint exceptional leadership talent for your business

Book a confidential call with one of our executive search Directors

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Current Finance Director Roles

Chief Financial Officer (Manufacturing Sector)

Salary: Competitive Base + Package

Our client is a well known food and beverage sector manufacturing business based in the North West (UK) that is looking to recruit a suitably experienced Finance Director, to work closely with the Managing Director on growing the organisation.…

CFO/FD Finance/Risk
Consumer Products and FMCG
North West

Job Ref No: CFO GW 10/25
Date Added: 21-10-2025