Show Notes
What does it take to become the kind of CFO who can lead through hypergrowth, change and uncertainty?
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
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 Roy Hefer, CFO at Perk and a finance leader with experience taking two companies public.
Roy shares a practical leadership playbook for CFOs: build a world-class team, create leverage through delegation, and make culture and trust as rigorous a priority as the numbers. He explains why the finance team that gets a business through its early growth is not always the one that will take it to the next stage—and how leaders can make the difficult people decisions that scaling demands. In his conversation with David, Roy explores the judgement behind successful M&A, arguing that culture and values matter as much as synergy models. He shares how to assess fit through time, candour and difficult conversations, why gut instinct is informed by experience, and how to build teams where credibility, reliability, confidentiality and accountability create lasting trust.
Roy also discusses how CFOs can turn AI into real operating impact, build investor relationships long before a fundraise, and stay effective under pressure. From prioritising ruthlessly to protecting physical and mental health, his advice is a reminder that the modern CFO’s impact is ultimately defined by the people they build and the decisions they enable.
In this episode, you’ll learn: Why building a world-class finance team is a CFO’s defining responsibility How to create leverage through delegation and high-performing teams Why culture and values determine whether an acquisition integration succeeds How to test cultural fit through time, candour and difficult conversations The role of trust, ownership and accountability in effective finance leadership How CFOs can turn AI and automation into meaningful operational improvements Why investor relationships must be built long before a fundraise How to prioritise ruthlessly while protecting physical and mental health
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
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?
How does a CFO help turn startup chaos into scale-up structure, translate numbers into action, and support growth across every part of the business?