Inside FWB’s CFO & Senior Finance Leadership Practice

Market insight, leadership trends and succession priorities for 2026

For over three decades, FWB’s CFO & Senior Finance Leadership Practice has sat at the core of the firm’s proposition – in fact FWB’s very first placement — with SVM Asset Management — established a foundation that has evolved into the firm’s largest and most established functional practice, now accounting for around 25% of business activity, with FWB recently appointing 2 new senior consultants.

Having significantly scaled and embedded into the UK Finance Community since then, FWB today advises on both CFO and senior finance leadership appointments [CFO-1] across UK-listed PLCs; US- and European-owned private companies; scaling and founder-led businesses; private equity-backed portfolio companies; family enterprises; and major public and third-sector institutions.

The breadth of ownership models and sectors we support gives us a clear vantage point on how the CFO role is evolving — and, critically, how finance teams are being constructed for long-term resilience.

High-profile appointments during 2025 reflect both the diversity and strategic importance of the mandates we support, including:

Key Appointments in 2025

Murray Steele, formerly of ISG and Shell, appointed Chief Financial Officer of UK infrastructure business Robertson Group.

Tanya Smith, former CFO of Nous Group, appointed Chief Financial & People Officer of high-growth fintech Legado.

Michelle McGavin, previously Finance Director at Peak Scientific, appointed Group Finance Director of UK Logistics services business Russell Group.

Euan Forbes, joining from the Commonwealth Games Federation, appointed Finance Director of Heart of Midlothian Football Club.

Nicola Mills, joining from The Royal Academy of Arts in London, appointed Director of Finance & Corporate Services at The Royal National Orchestra.

These appointments all demonstrate a consistent theme: the CFO is no longer solely the financial steward; the modern CFO operates at the centre of strategy, capital allocation, governance, transformation, and succession planning. In the private sector, particularly in high-growth environments, the CFO was often described in the briefing as the principal partner to the CEO and board in driving value creation.

Market Dynamics Shaping 2026

Through our engagement with boards, owners and investors, it is apparent that several key themes are continuing to shape the finance leadership market as we look ahead to 2026:

• Value creation discipline: Whether in investor-backed environments preparing for exit or in family-owned businesses focused on long-term, sustainable growth, CFOs are increasingly measured on their ability to translate strategy into measurable value creation. Capital allocation, margin architecture, commercial insight and scenario modelling are central components of the role.
• Systems and data leadership: ERP transformation, data integrity and AI-enabled insight remain firmly on board agendas. The expectation has evolved beyond implementation to enterprise-wide data stewardship, predictive analytics and finance operating model redesign. CFOs are expected to sponsor digital capability that materially enhances decision quality and business performance.
• Risk, governance and resilience: Heightened regulatory scrutiny, macroeconomic volatility and cyber risk are reinforcing the importance of governance maturity and financial resilience. Liquidity discipline, covenant headroom, integrated risk management and credible board-level reporting remain essential, particularly in listed and investor-backed environments.
• Succession readiness: CFOs continue to represent one of the primary succession routes to CEO. As a result, boards are assessing finance leaders on enterprise leadership capability, stakeholder management, and external orientation, while also placing greater emphasis earlier on CFO-1 development pipelines and succession depth.
• ESG integration: Sustainability considerations are increasingly embedded within financial planning and capital allocation decisions rather than treated as a standalone reporting requirement. More and more Boards expect CFOs to understand transition risk, regulatory exposure and the commercial implications of ESG positioning.
• Geopolitical and macro agility: Persistent inflation, supply chain recalibration and geopolitical uncertainty are increasing demand for CFOs capable of navigating cross-border complexity, optimising working capital under stress and maintaining lender and investor confidence through periods of volatility.
• Stakeholder narrative and capital markets credibility: The modern CFO is central to shaping the organisation’s financial narrative. From refinancing processes and funding rounds to internal and external communication and forward guidance, boards increasingly view the CFO as a key steward of confidence and strategic credibility, both inside and outside the business.

We have also observed a steady improvement in gender diversity in senior finance appointments across our portfolio, with 62% of the Board and Executive-level finance appointments we advised on in 2025 being female, reflecting a sustained and deliberate focus by boards and investors on strengthening leadership pipelines and widening access to executive roles within finance.

Insight Through Finance Leadership Networks

Our visibility of the finance leadership market is underpinned not only by search delivery but by active engagement within the profession.

FWB is closely connected to senior finance leaders through the Scottish Finance Leaders Network, co-founded with EY – now comprising more than 400 CFOs and senior finance professionals – and through the Scottish CFO Awards alongside Grant Thornton, Addleshaw Goddard and Barclays, which recognise and celebrate leadership excellence across the profession.

These platforms provide real-time insight into evolving capability requirements, succession challenges, leadership transitions and emerging talent. They allow us to identify high-potential CFO and CFO-1 candidates earlier, to understand succession readiness across sectors, and to support more informed conversations with boards around finance team design and long-term leadership strategy – rather than focusing solely on individual appointments.

This unique combination of search execution and embedded market presence is one of our key differentiators in the CFO and Finance Leadership Practice.

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The Rise of CFO-1: Developing the CFOs of Tomorrow

Alongside sustained demand at CFO level, we have seen marked growth in CFO-1 and senior finance leadership mandates — roles that sit immediately beneath the CFO and form the backbone of future succession.

As finance functions undergo rapid transformation — automation of core reporting, ERP modernisation, AI-enabled analytics and increasingly real-time performance insight — the technical foundations of finance are becoming more streamlined. In parallel, expectations of Director and Head-of-Function roles have expanded. Positions such as Director of FP&A, Financial Controller, Head of Tax, and Head of Finance Transformation are increasingly becoming enterprise leadership roles, requiring commercial acumen, systems fluency, broader stakeholder management, and board-level credibility.

These individuals are, increasingly, the CFOs of tomorrow. Boards and investors are placing far greater emphasis on succession depth, leadership continuity and bench strength within finance teams. The market at this level is highly competitive and tightly networked; high-potential finance leaders are rarely active in the open market and are often well supported and well retained. Securing them requires retained executive search, deep sector credibility and long-term relationship-led engagement — not transactional recruitment.

Strengthening the Practice

Reflecting sustained demand and increasing mandate complexity, the CFO & Senior Finance Leadership Practice has been further strengthened by the appointments of Daryl Harper and Walker Wares, who work alongside Board Director Michael Dickson.

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Looking Ahead

As organisations continue to navigate transformation, growth, succession and increasing stakeholder scrutiny, demand for high-calibre CFOs and senior finance leadership teams will remain strong into 2026 and beyond.

FWB’s CFO & Senior Finance Leadership Practice continues to support boards, investors and executive teams across a broad spectrum of sectors and ownership models. We combine heritage, retained search expertise, and deep market connectivity to help organisations build finance leadership capability not only for today’s requirements but also for long-term resilience and succession.

A selection of CFO and senior finance appointments made over the past six months can be viewed [here], or you can speak directly with the CFO & Senior Finance Leadership Practice team to discuss how we support organisations in building finance leadership capability for the long term.