CFO & Finance Director
Retained search for CFOs and FDs who can create investor-grade visibility, strengthen controls, and support the CEO through value creation.
Private equity finance search
CFO & finance
leaders for portfolio companies.
FVK Search Partners helps private equity firms and portfolio companies appoint CFOs and senior finance leaders who can strengthen reporting, cash visibility, controls, and commercial decision support.
The firm
We are engaged when the finance appointment is consequential and the search must remain quiet. FVK is finance-specific, industry-agnostic, and built for investors who value judgement over volume.
Practice
Senior finance search, mapped to the ownership context.
Senior Finance Leadership
Controllers, Heads of Finance, FP&A, commercial finance, and transformation leaders for portfolio-company finance teams.
Portfolio Talent Mapping
Market visibility before a mandate: candidate availability, compensation signals, geography, motivation, and likely fit.
Market context
After acquisition, finance must become the system that makes value creation visible.
In a portfolio company, the CFO sits where investor expectations, CEO priorities, cash discipline, and operating reality meet. The role is not just to report performance. It is to create the cadence by which performance can be managed.
- Earlier visibility on cash, working capital, margin, and forecast quality.
- Board packs that become decision tools, not accounting summaries.
- Controls and reporting discipline that improve confidence without slowing the business.
- Finance leadership that can challenge and support the CEO with clarity.
01Define
Mandate, ownership context, team gaps.
02Map
Comparable companies and candidate pools.
03Approach
Discreet outreach to passive candidates.
04Assess
Track record, motivation, style, risk.
05Deliver
Evidence-led shortlist and process support.
Approach
A retained process built for confidentiality and candidate conviction.
The strongest finance candidates are usually passive, discreet, and already performing well elsewhere. FVK defines the role around the value-creation context, maps the market, approaches candidates carefully, and presents a shortlist with clear rationale.
The shortlist should teach the client something about the market, not simply show who happened to be available.
Candidate access
Strong shortlists start with mapped finance leaders, not active applicants.
FVK combines a curated finance leadership network with direct market mapping. The aim is to reach candidates who fit the mandate before they are visible to the wider market.
CFOs & Finance Directors
Board-facing finance leaders for cash visibility, reporting discipline, and CEO partnership.
Portfolio company CFO
Controllers & Heads of Finance
Leaders who can strengthen reporting, controls, and systems without slowing the business.
Finance function upgrade
FP&A & Commercial Finance
Decision-support leaders for forecasting, margin, performance, and commercial insight.
Planning and performance
Transformation & Integration
Finance leaders with post-acquisition integration, systems, and change exposure.
Value creation support
Candidate thesis
The PE-ready CFO is part operator, part controller, part strategic partner.
FVK screens for evidence of finance transformation, not just title progression or polished interview performance.
Cash visibility
Practical insight on cash, working capital, and risk.
Investor reporting
Monthly packs that support board decisions.
Controls discipline
Governance upgrades without unnecessary drag.
Commercial judgement
Support for margin, operations, investment decisions, and strategy.
Integration muscle
Acquired entities brought into one finance rhythm.
CEO partnership
Challenge and support delivered with clarity.
Selected experience
Relevant CFO search experience in a portfolio-company context.
Selected prior experience includes CFO search work connected to Meridian Adhesives, including the placement of a CFO for one of its portfolio companies.
The proof point is deliberately concise: it demonstrates relevance to senior finance search in a portfolio-company environment without overclaiming a broader case study.