CFOs in High Demand: Entrepreneurial Leaders Take Center Stage

A CFO must be able to identify opportunities in the numbers and translate them into business opportunities. Where should we invest? How can we achieve profitable growth? Which risks can we consciously take? A CFO cannot answer these questions from a distance or in isolation. They need to understand customers, markets, and operational realities while incorporating different perspectives from across the organization.

The more complex and dynamic the environment becomes, the more important it is to develop solutions that extend beyond individual functions. In other words, companies need CFOs with an entrepreneurial mindset.

From CFO to Entrepreneur

Many clients already see their new CFO as a potential future CEO. And for good reason: someone who understands the company’s value drivers, resources, and risks across the entire business already brings important qualities needed for broader leadership. But financial expertise alone is not enough.

Future Readiness requires the ability to collaborate across functions and hierarchies, embrace and leverage different perspectives, and take responsibility even in uncertain conditions. Preparing CFOs to think and act entrepreneurially, while progressively broadening their responsibilities, can therefore be an important step towards a future CEO role.

Experience is proof of past performance. But is it enough for the challenges of tomorrow?

This question is at the heart of our Future Readiness approach. A strong track record tells us what a CFO has achieved so far. But past success alone does not tell us whether someone can lead effectively when faced with new, uncertain, and unfamiliar conditions. For me, the key question is: Does someone draw on experience as a resource — or rely on it as a blueprint?

That is why, in our search mandates, we look closely at the capabilities that enable candidates to succeed in the future: their ability to learn and adapt, their willingness to challenge their own assumptions, and their capacity to let go of established ways of thinking when circumstances demand it.

Strategic foresight and sound judgement are equally important. Can someone anticipate change, consider different scenarios, and make well-founded decisions even when there is no clear precedent? This also requires a strong understanding of digitalization and AI, and the ability to assess the opportunities and risks they create for the business.

Finally, Future Readiness is also about bringing people along. The ability to engage teams across the organization in times of change, rather than simply imposing decisions from the top down, is essential.

What does this mean for our search mandates?

We work with our clients to define not only what a CFO needs to deliver today, but also the challenges and responsibilities they may face tomorrow. This enables us to identify the Future Skills that will matter most in the specific context of the organization.

Simply asking candidates about these capabilities is not enough. We look for concrete examples:  When have they challenged their own assumptions? How have they made decisions when there was no precedent to rely on? Just as revealing is how they have led people through difficult periods of change and how they apply lessons from past experience to the unresolved challenges our clients face today. We assess not only what someone has achieved, but also how they think, learn, decide, and lead.

Not every CFO needs to be a future CEO. But when CEO potential is part of the mandate, it should shape both the search and the assessment from the outset.

And what applies to CFO appointments applies to every executive-level search we conduct: Future Readiness is not an add-on. It is a core part of how we identify and assess leaders.