How Premier Businesses Fill the Finance Role with Chris Gaunt, CFO Practice Leader at Spencer Stuart
The CFO PlaybookShow Notes
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Chris Gaunt. He is the CFO Practice Leader for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Spencer Stuart, an executive search, board, and leadership advisory service. In his role, Chris works on a variety of Group CFO appointments for many of the world’s largest publicly traded companies, as well as for private equity-backed portfolio companies. He has a strong international focus, often for clients in emerging economies who wish to access the global executive talent pool. Prior to joining Spencer Stuart, Chris worked with another leading international executive search firm, most recently serving as the Managing Partner of its UK CFO practice. He began his career in the financial leadership search field in the firm’s New York office. Earlier, Chris worked as a management consultant for the Washington, D.C.-based Advisory Board Company. In that capacity, he led consulting teams working with senior executives across industries on their human resources strategy and operations. Chris holds a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University. In this episode, Chris talks about the ever changing role of the CFO, the modern challenges of headhunting, leadership as a whole, and the steps you can take to reach the top. -------- Guest Quotes: “You need a certain stiffness, a certain toughness, of character to survive the sort of constant battering and the loneliness that is involved in being a CEO. I won't dispute that. I would say that we're seeing, again, an evolutionary change where the command control type of the CEOs of yesteryear are simply no longer in vogue. What we've seen, and the Covid crisis amplified this, is that CEOs today, more than ever, have to demonstrate real empathetic and inclusive leadership." - Chris Gaunt -------- Topics: 02:08 Introducing Chris 03:11 Current state of CFOs 06:30 Challenges in headhunting 10:11 The skill set of a modern CFO 16:21 Prerequisites for becoming a CFO 22:53 The process of CFO headhunting 27:45 Examples of successful CFO searches -------- Sponsor: This show is brought to you by Soldo, the brighter way to manage business spending and expenses. With Soldo, you can control every expense, track spend in real time, automate financial reporting, and then use those insights to fuel growth. Learn more at Soldo.com -------- Links: Connect with Chris on LinkedIn Connect with Fran on LinkedIn The CFO Playbook Listener Survey
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from The CFO Playbook
What does it take to become the kind of CFO who can turn fast growth into disciplined, sustainable progress? Want more insights from finance leaders? Subscribe to Progressive Finance, Soldo’s new newsletter featuring practical leadership insights, finance trends, and conversations with CFOs and industry experts: https://substack.com/@progressivefinance
What does it take to become the kind of CFO who can lead through hypergrowth, change and uncertainty?
Is the future of finance full-time? Or are the best CFOs increasingly working across multiple businesses?
How do you lead finance in a global human rights organisation, protect independence, and make sure every pound supports the mission? Is there someone you’d like to see on The CFO Playbook? Email us at: [email protected] In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Rohan Hewavisenti, CFO at Amnesty International, one of the world’s most recognised human rights organisations. Rohan shares what financial discipline looks like when the stakes are not measured in profit, but in people’s lives. He explains how Amnesty International’s International Secretariat operates as a £100 million organisation, working as part of a wider €400 million global movement, and why preserving independence shapes everything from funding decisions to resource allocation. In his conversation with David McClelland, Rohan reflects on his career across the not-for-profit sector, from ActionAid and Breast Cancer Care to the British Red Cross, RNIB and Amnesty International. He discusses managing volatility, rebuilding from a £20 million deficit, investing in future areas of human rights work, and keeping finance closely connected to mission impact. Rohan also explores the role of generative AI in a human rights organisation, from the ethical questions around bias, data, and autonomous weapons to the internal opportunities for improving efficiency and accessing decades of research. He explains why CFOs need to understand the cost of AI, build data skills across their teams, and stay open to technology by using it regularly. Rohan’s CFO Playbook principle: Understand the organisation deeply, from what drives income and costs to what drives good performance in mission-related work.
How do you rebuild a heritage automotive brand, manage risk through volatility, and keep finance close to the factory floor?