Chief Financial Officer (CFO) / Future CEO

Salary: basic salary + meaningful equity / long-term upside
Position: Full-time, office-based

The Opportunity

We are recruiting on behalf of an ambitious, entrepreneurial and growing hospitality group looking to appoint an exceptional Chief Financial Officer to work directly alongside the Founder/CEO.

This is far more than a traditional CFO appointment.

The business is looking for a genuine No. 2 and future co-pilot – someone who can bring institutional-quality financial expertise into an entrepreneurial environment, help professionalise and scale the organisation, support future investment and M&A activity, and ultimately develop into someone capable of leading the wider business.

For the right individual, there will be a meaningful equity opportunity and the ability to create significant personal value alongside the growth of the group.

The Role

Working closely with the Founder/CEO, the CFO will take ownership of the financial strategy and infrastructure of the business while becoming increasingly involved across the wider commercial and operational agenda.

You will lead across financial modelling, forecasting, cashflow management, management accounts, tax, banking, debt and funding, while providing the financial insight required to support major strategic decisions.

The role will also play a central part in acquisitions, investment opportunities, due diligence, corporate finance activity and the future capital strategy of the group.

However, the successful individual cannot simply be a technical finance professional.

You will need to understand how the whole business operates, developing a strong appreciation of operations, sales, people, marketing and technology and using that understanding to influence strategy and performance.

The longer-term ambition is for this person to become a genuine business leader who can challenge the Founder/CEO, take increasing ownership of major decisions and potentially develop into a future CEO.

Key Responsibilities

The successful individual will take responsibility for the financial leadership of the group, including financial planning, modelling, budgeting, forecasting, cashflow and management reporting.

You will manage relationships across banking, debt providers, investors and professional advisers, while supporting future fundraising, refinancing and capital allocation decisions.

You will lead and support M&A activity, including financial modelling, valuation, due diligence, deal structuring and post-acquisition integration.

Alongside this, you will work closely with operational and commercial teams to understand performance, identify opportunities and ensure financial decision-making supports the wider growth strategy.

The CFO will also help develop the systems, processes, controls and reporting infrastructure required to support a significantly larger organisation.

Technology will be an important part of that journey, with the successful individual expected to embrace AI, automation and data to help create a more efficient, intelligent and scalable business.

The role will involve working across UK and international operations, including collaboration with teams in India.

The Person

We are looking for a highly accomplished finance professional with a strong UK track record combined with international exposure.

You will be CIMA or ACCA qualified, ideally complemented by a Master’s, MBA or equivalent postgraduate qualification.

Experience within, or significant exposure to, a reputable Private Equity, Investment Banking or Corporate Finance environment is important, alongside evidence of operating successfully within a commercial business.

Technically, you will be exceptional across financial modelling, cashflow, management accounts, taxation, banking, debt and M&A.

Just as importantly, you will be commercially minded, operationally aware and comfortable being hands-on. You should be equally capable of discussing a complex financing structure with investors and rolling your sleeves up to solve an operational problem within the business.

Previous experience working with India or managing teams across the UK and India would be particularly valuable.

A strong network across banking, private equity, investment and corporate finance would also be advantageous.

Leadership & Mindset

Personality and ambition will be critical to this appointment.

We are looking for someone entrepreneurial, commercially hungry and motivated by the opportunity to build genuine long-term value through ownership, rather than simply move into another CFO position.

You will be low ego, down-to-earth and able to build relationships with people at every level of an organisation.

You will also have the confidence to challenge the Founder/CEO when required, bringing independent thinking and sound judgement to major decisions.

Intellectual curiosity is essential. The successful individual should have a genuine desire to continue learning, developing and understanding new areas of business, technology and investment.

You should also be comfortable with emerging technology and AI and excited by the opportunity to help build an increasingly AI-enabled organisation.

Why Join?

This represents an opportunity to become a central figure in the next stage of an ambitious group’s development.

Rather than inheriting a narrowly defined finance function, you will work directly alongside the Founder/CEO, influence the direction of the organisation and help build the financial, operational and strategic platform required for future growth.

With a package basic salary plus meaningful equity and long-term upside, the opportunity is designed for someone who wants their contribution to translate into genuine ownership and wealth creation.

Ultimately, we are looking for an institutional-quality finance brain with an entrepreneurial and operator mentality – someone with the ambition and capability to become a genuine co-pilot to the Founder/CEO and potentially lead the business in the future.