Chief Financial Officer

Zanda is an Executive Search partner who works exclusively with high-growth start-ups and scale-ups as they look to strengthen their organisations with senior talent. Zanda partners with VCs, Founders, CEOs and CFOs to deliver key leadership appointments at pivotal moments of growth.Who’s the BusinessWe’re supporting an international technology company at Series C with a strong digital backbone and a clear objective: to prepare the business for a strategic sale process. Operating across nearly 20 markets and serving millions of users monthly, the company has multiple revenue streams, strong fundamentals and a data-rich product used by major global organisations.The leadership team is focused on sharpening commercial performance, improving strategic clarity and elevating operational discipline. You’ll be joining a high-performing environment where finance sits at the centre of value creation, exit readiness and long-term planning.What You’ll DoAs Chief Financial Officer, you’ll take the lead on shaping commercial strategy and preparing the business for a successful sale. You’ll work closely with the Founder/CEO and executive team, strengthening the company’s financial story, unlocking commercial levers, and ensuring the organisation is operationally and strategically ready for a transaction.Running the strategic planning cadence with the CEO and leadership team.Managing investor and board relationships and shaping a clear, compelling financial narrative.Owning the financial plan, forecasting model and commercial drivers behind valuation.Leading sale-related preparation and processes, working closely with external advisors and stakeholders.Acting as a highly commercial partner across product, operations and commercial teams.Challenging performance, spend and growth plans to strengthen unit economics and ROI.Identifying and driving the value-accretive improvements that support a strong exit outcome.Ensuring KPIs, reporting and forecasting tell a coherent and compelling story to potential buyers.Leading and mentoring the finance team to ensure clean, efficient and well-controlled operations.Simplifying and streamlining finance processes to ensure the business is fully audit-ready.Experience RequiredThey’re looking for a CFO (or strong number two) with experience in strategic transactions, commercial leadership and value creation within a scaling technology environment. A consulting, banking or strategy background is highly desired.You’ll also need:Experience preparing a business for sale, diligence or a strategic transaction.Strong commercial acumen with the ability to sharpen positioning, metrics and valuation drivers. A track record executing M&A, exits or large strategic programmes. Strong modelling, forecasting and long-term planning capability.Familiarity with marketplace/adtech/B2B2C style economics (beneficial).Enough depth in operational finance to lead and develop the team effectively.Experience managing key external advisors including bankers, lawyers and consultants.International exposure with the ability to support multi-market operations.A hands-on, analytical, commercially minded approach.Strong influencing skills and the ability to partner closely with founders and leadership.A resilient operator with a growth mindset and the ability to drive change at pace.Please note that due to the expected volume of applications, we will only be able to respond to those candidates whose experience matches the requirements of our client. If you have not heard from us within the next ten days, please assume you have been unsuccessful on this occasion.