The challenge
The lender had outgrown its founding finance team. Its private equity owner wanted a CFO who could lead a refinancing within the year, build reporting fit for institutional investors and earn the trust of a founder-led management team. The search had to stay confidential: the incumbent finance lead was staying on in a new role.
Our approach
We mapped finance leaders at lenders and fintech businesses of a similar size, then spoke in confidence with those who had led a capital raise. Each candidate met the sponsor and the founder separately, so both could judge fit without the other in the room.
The outcome
The new CFO started within twelve weeks of the first briefing and led the refinancing the following spring. Three years on, the finance team has doubled and the business is preparing for its next stage of growth.
They understood what the sponsor needed and what the founder needed, and found someone who could earn both.
Operating Partner, private equity firm
