Ref: CR1127
Role: Group CFO
Location: Stuttgart Region (Travel across Germany)
Compensation: €180,000 - €220,000 fixed + bonus and equity
Company Overview:
Finatal is retained with a dynamic, Private Equity-backed Retail/Manufacturing group poised for significant growth. With operations across Europe, the company generates annual revenues of c. €100M. As they continue their aggressive expansion, they are seeking a strategic and driven Group CFO to lead the financial transformation and support their ambitious international growth strategy.
The Role:
As Group CFO, you will be a pivotal partner to the CEO, responsible for driving financial performance, enhancing operational efficiency, taking full ownership of finance, IT, and controlling functions, as well as oversight of budgeting, reporting, and compliance.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Business Partnering:
- Act as the CEO’s key financial partner and primary strategic counterpart to the private‑equity owners, embedding financial intelligence across production, operations, sales, procurement, and commercial decision‑making. Drive business performance by integrating financial insights into product costing, margin improvement, pricing, inventory, capacity planning and cross‑brand optimisation.
- Translate the European growth and integration strategy into actionable financial roadmaps focused on value creation, operational excellence, and disciplined cash management.
- Support the CEO and Executive Team in evaluating market opportunities, supporting buy‑and‑build execution, modelling synergies, and leading financial workstreams during post‑merger integration.
Finance Transformation:
- Lead the transformation of a multi‑entity finance landscape into a cohesive, scalable Group finance platform with harmonised processes, roles and reporting standards.
- Establish PE‑grade forecasting, budgeting and planning disciplines grounded in cash flow, operational KPIs, and scenario analysis instead of reactive, sight‑based management.
- Create a transparent and integrated finance environment capable of supporting multi‑market growth, acquisitions, ERP modernisation and operational scale.
Operational & Sector Excellence
- Bring strong financial and operational acumen across manufacturing, premium consumer products, multi‑brand portfolios and European retail/B2B/B2C models.
- Drive production‑finance excellence by improving product costing, cost transparency, BOM/control processes, factory reporting, and plant‑level KPI management.
- Improve working‑capital performance through inventory discipline, production planning alignment, credit management, and cross‑entity cash optimisation.
Performance Driven Leadership
- Build and lead a high‑performing finance organisation that is analytical, hands‑on, and aligned with operational and cultural values.
- Enhance dashboards, KPIs, and data‑driven decision frameworks to improve transparency and accountability across all brands.
- Champion the adoption and stabilisation of the ERP, elevating data quality, automation, production controlling, and Group‑wide reporting maturity.
- Foster a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement, and operational excellence across finance, operations, and commercial teams.
Key requirements
- Industry Knowledge: Experience in manufacturing, premium consumer goods, multi‑brand or retail/wholesale environments.
- Strategic Acumen: Track record in scaling businesses, optimising financial performance, and PE environments.
- Technology-driven:Passion for automation, AI, ERP, and data analytics in finance to help upskill teams and enable growth.
- Leadership Excellence: Demonstrate success in creating leading high‑performing teams in complex, multi‑entity environments, with the ability to collaborate across operations, production, commercial, and executive teams.
This is a rare opportunity to lead the financial transformation of a fast-growing, European business with robust Private Equity backing. As Group CFO, you will be at the forefront of driving strategic growth, operational excellence, and financial innovation in a dynamic, high-impact environment.
