Hiring a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Event Summary

Posted on May 6th, 2020

Are you putting together a corporate dream team of mentors, coaches, professional advisors, and top-tier talent? Then your next hire needs to be a top-notch CFO.

Like the CEO, CFOs have a company-wide view of the business. They operate in the middle of all the data flows in and around the business. A good CFO uses this vantage point to make a good company great.

When seeking out a great CFO to join your team you should look for someone who has knowledge and passion for your company’s industry. A good CFO understands the ins and outs of your company’s industry. If the CFO candidate knows and cares about your company’s clients and stakeholders, he or she is more likely to be successful in the position. For example, if you are in manufacturing, then you absolutely should hire a CFO with plant and manufacturing experience.

Among other things, a good CFO needs to have top-notch communication skills, be reliable, a problem solver and have a good cultural fit.

If you want to search for a chief financial officer yourself, start your search by utilizing your industry networks. Utilizing your professional network is a great way to find a CFO who fits into your company’s culture and can get the job done.

What does a top CFO cost? If you want a great CFO then you should be prepared to pay at least market value plus the increase necessary to entice a person to make a move, which is often 20% for a great candidate that is not actively looking. What many entrepreneurs do not realize is the return-on-investment that a great CFO can bring to a company. They can prevent lost profits and misspending. The lack of a CFO’s direction leads to many lost opportunities to price your products and services properly, to manage your inventories better, and to separate good customers from bad customers. The greater the company’s revenue, the greater the salary must be. More company revenue means more responsibility for the chief financial officer. Therefore, higher revenue leads to a higher base salary.

If you do not have the time or inclination to conduct your own CFO search, then you can hire an executive search firm. Hiring an executive search firm to find a CFO saves you time and stress. Instead of spending your time contacting people in your network or vetting candidates, you pass this work off to a team of qualified professionals. With someone else handling the search process, you can spend more time helping your business grow and thrive. You should pick a firm that has both experience hiring CFO’s and has deep network contacts and knowledge within your industry.

CEO Search Partners has been placing Chief Financial Officers in the Food, CPG, flavor, and ingredient business for over 25 yrs. Contact our CEO Robin Copping at (773) 251-6240 to see what we can do for you.

The most experienced retained search firm in food & food-related industries

CEO Search Partners has the most experience placing top level executives in the food, foodservice, consumer packaged goods, retail grocery, business-to-business, flavor and ingredient and beverage industries.

The strongest industry knowledge

We understand your business. We attend every major food and food-related trade show and conference, providing us unmatched knowledge and credibility when it comes to industry specific knowledge.

The deepest industry relationships

Our industry relationships, built over twenty years, within the food, beverage and related industries are unmatched. CEO Search Partners is the only search firm globally belonging to thirty-four food and beverage related trade associations. There simply is not another search organization with our level of experience and relationships.

Access to the top industry’s leaders

CEO Search Partners hosts the industry’s highest attended top-to-top networking events, providing us with the greatest exposure and access to the industry’s top leaders.