Spencer Stuart: CFO Route to the Top

Spencer Stuart has spent the last five years analyzing the backgrounds and demographics of CFOs in FTSE 350 companies. Through their detailed knowledge of CFO career paths they offer a unique insight into CFO hiring trends. This report contains some of our latest findings.

Around 20% of companies change their CFOs each year. With the spotlight falling on diversity among senior executives, this year’s data shows that when hiring a CFO to sit on the main board the nomination committees of public companies remain conservative and are generally reluctant to hire promising, unconventional candidates. The balance of power between clients and candidates is changing. The market has become increasingly competitive over the past 12 months and the best candidates are often considering multiple opportunities at any one time. As a result of this shift in supply and demand companies are having to consider the trade-offs; for example, it may not be realistic for a FTSE 250 company to insist on hiring a proven plc CFO. Indeed, only 45% of FTSE 250 CFOs had CFO experience before being appointed to their current role.

Click here to read the report.