Recruitment Specialists for Finance Directors and Chief Financial Officers

RECRUITMENT SPECIALISTS FOR FINANCE DIRECTORS AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERS

 

Lime Talent, based in London, specializes in recruiting finance professionals for the FMCG sector. We have an extensive network of candidates for senior finance roles, including Finance Directors and Financial Controllers.Finding a new finance leader requires candidates with industry expertise, functional experience, and strong leadership skills who also fit seamlessly into your company culture. With our wealth of experience, our team will assist in setting competitive salaries, crafting optimal talent attraction strategies, and ensuring the best candidate for your role.

Why Use Us?

Established in 2013, we have a track record of recruiting for many blue-chip businesses and fast-growing challenger brands. Our team members are FMCG recruitment specialists, ensuring you will be working with someone who fully understands your brief.

You can see some of our clients below.

For Finance Director and Financial Controller roles, we cover the following sub categories:

Food & Drink

Alcoholic Drinks

Health, Beauty & Personal Care

Consumer Products

Direct to Consumer & Subscription

What our clients say

  • “Lime Talent are responsive, flexible, honest and therefore very easy to work with. When I need support for trickier roles, then Lime are my first port of call and I always recommend them as they strike a good balance of challenge/blue chip from their network.”

    UK Country Manager | Tony’s Chocolonely

  • “Lime Talent have been a fantastic partner to me as I’ve built out the UK & Europe team for Who Gives a Crap. Their ability to get a quick understanding of our business, the needs I had for the roles and the calibre of Lime’s candidate pool has been invaluable. It’s allowed us to move quickly to build out a team from scratch, hiring roles across a range of functions including commercial, marketing, strategy & insights. I simply wouldn’t have been able to do this without Lime’s support & expertise!”

    MD UK & Europe | Who gives a crap

  • “Lime Talent have remained our trusted partners for the last 5 years. Most of our hires have come through Lime with the team clearly identifying the talent that have made the business successful so far. The candidates we receive are incredibly well filtered and we know before we meet them, that they will have the requisite calibre to succeed.”

    Managing Director | Itsu

  • “Lime Talent demonstrate a high degree of honesty and openness about the risks and considerations of placing specific people and you are continually assured they take a long-term approach to working with Ferrero. Highly recommended.”

    Customer Development Director | Ferrero

  • “Lime Talent made the process as easy as possible by providing well-screened candidates along with regular updates. They also provided clear guidance on the recruitment landscape that helped us position our role as attractive to candidates with the relevant skill set.”

    Marketing Manager | Windmill Organics

  • “Lime did a good job for us and I’ve enjoyed working with them on roles. Moved quickly and have been communicative, understanding our requirements on limited information.”

    CEO | Hackney Gelato

  • “The best recruitment business I’ve worked with. Highly recommended.”

    Founder | Holy Moly

DIRECTOR

Paul Jackson is co-founder of Lime Talent. He started his career in 2004 and has extensive experience placing senior Supply Chain, Buying, Technical and NPD candidates with some of the world’s leading consumer goods brands and exciting high growth startups.

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    Client Portfolio

    • Tony's Chocolonely
      Track Record
      We started working with Tony’s in 2018 to assist with their UK launch securing them:
      - UKI Head of Marketing
      - UK Head of Sales
      - UK Operations & Finance Manager
      Feedback
      “I used Lime Talent in the very early days of our UK launch with the team helping me hire my (now) UK leadership team who are all still with us since 2018. "
      Feedback
      "Lime Talent are responsive, flexible, honest and therefore very easy to work with. When I need support for trickier roles, then Lime are my first port of call and I always recommend them as they strike a good balance of challenge/blue chip from their network.” UK Country Manager
    • Danone
      Track Record
      Preferred supplier for roles within commercial and supply chain functions
    • who gives a crap
      Track Record
      Helping to build their EU team with roles including:
      - EU Head of Consumer
      - EU Head of Commercial
      - As well as various other roles
      Feedback
      “Lime Talent have been a fantastic partner to me as I've built out the UK & Europe team for Who Gives a Crap. Their ability to get a quick understanding of our business, the needs I had for the roles and the calibre of Lime's candidate pool has been invaluable. "
      Feedback
      "It's allowed us to move quickly to build out a team from scratch, hiring roles across a range of functions including commercial, marketing, strategy & insights. I simply wouldn't have been able to do this without Lime's support & expertise!" MD UK & Europe
    • L'Oreal
      Track Record
      Various projects from Manager to Director level within functions such as
      - eCommerce
      - Market Intelligence
      - Revenue Growth
      - Category Strategy
      - Business & Data analysis

    FAQ Section

    What does a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) do in an FMCG or consumer goods business?

    A CFO leads the full financial strategy of a business and plays a central role in shaping its long-term growth. Their responsibilities typically include:

    • Financial strategy, planning and forecasting
    • Full P&L, cashflow and balance sheet ownership
    • Working capital and treasury management
    • Investor relations, fundraising and M&A
    • Risk management, governance and financial controls
    • Commercial decision-making alongside the CEO and board
      In challenger brands and scale-ups, the CFO often drives commercial modelling, pricing, margin improvement and operational efficiency.

    What does a Finance Director (FD) do?

    A Finance Director leads the finance function and plays a key role in commercial decision-making. Responsibilities include:

    • Budgeting, forecasting and financial reporting
    • Month-end, controls, audit and compliance
    • Cashflow management and working capital improvement
    • Financial planning and analysis (FP&A)
    • Supporting strategy, pricing and margin reviews
    • Leading or building the finance team
      An FD in an SME or scale-up is typically hands-on while also acting as a strategic partner to the CEO or MD.

    What is the difference between a CFO and a Finance Director?

    A Finance Director usually oversees the internal finance function, ensuring strong reporting, analysis and control.
    A CFO operates at board level, owning broader commercial strategy, fundraising, investor management, business modelling and long-term planning.
    In smaller consumer goods businesses, the titles may overlap — but a CFO is typically more strategic, externally facing and focused on value creation.

    What salary do CFOs and Finance Directors earn in the UK FMCG sector?

    Typical ranges:

    • Finance Director (SME/Challenger): £100,000–£150,000 + bonus + LTIP
    • Finance Director (PE-backed/Growth FMCG): £120,000–£180,000 + equity
    • CFO (Scale-up FMCG): £150,000–£250,000 + equity
    • CFO (Mid-size FMCG): £180,000–£300,000 + bonus + LTIP
    • CFO (Large/Global FMCG): £250,000–£450,000 + executive benefits

    Equity participation is common for CFO roles, especially in VC/PE-backed consumer brands.

    What qualifications do CFOs and Finance Directors typically have?

    Most senior finance leaders hold a UK accountancy qualification:

    • ACA (common for ex-Big 4 and strong for strategic roles)
    • ACCA
    • CIMA

    Experience is just as important — especially in FMCG areas such as pricing, promotions, forecasting, supply chain and retailer profitability.

    What skills do FMCG businesses look for in a Finance Director or CFO?

    Key competencies include:

    • Strong commercial acumen and ability to influence decision-making
    • Experience managing cashflow, inventory and working capital
    • Financial modelling and scenario planning
    • Ability to drive margin improvement and cost control
    • Fundraising and investor management (for CFO roles)
    • Experience building or restructuring the finance team
    • Understanding of FMCG profit structures, promo mechanics and retailer terms

    Do CFOs and FDs need to come from FMCG?

    While not essential, consumer goods experience is highly valued due to:

    • Retailer commercial models and deductions
    • Supply chain complexity and stock dynamics
    • Promo and pricing strategy
    • Rapid growth and margin pressures
      However, strong commercial and operational finance experience in other product-led sectors can be highly transferable.

    When should a scale-up hire its first CFO?

    Typical triggers include:

    • Revenues approaching £10m–£30m
    • Significant growth that increases operational and financial complexity
    • Preparation for fundraising (VC/PE)
    • The need for improved modelling, forecasting and scenario planning
    • International expansion
    • A requirement for stronger governance and investor-level reporting

    How do Lime Talent recruit Finance Directors and CFOs?

    Lime Talent runs a specialist executive search process for senior finance roles in consumer goods, including:

    • Market mapping across finance, FP&A and commercial finance
    • Detailed competency, behavioural and leadership assessments
    • Salary and equity benchmarking
    • Curated shortlists with referencing and insights
    • Support through offer negotiation, onboarding and investor alignment

    We have deep experience placing CFOs and FDs into challenger brands, PE/VC-backed scale-ups and established FMCG businesses.

    Why do FMCG brands partner with Lime Talent to hire CFOs and Finance Directors?

    Because consumer goods finance leadership requires a rare mix of commercial strength, operational knowledge and strategic foresight.
    Lime Talent understands:

    • Margin management and pricing
    • Stock, supply chain and cost-to-serve dynamics
    • Promo and retailer profitability
    • Investor expectations in scaling FMCG brands
      This allows us to match businesses with leaders who can create value quickly.

    Can Lime Talent provide interim CFOs or interim Finance Directors?

    Yes — we regularly place interim:

    • CFOs
    • Finance Directors
    • FP&A professionals
    • Commercial finance consultants
      Interims are especially useful during fundraising, turnarounds, systems implementations or maternity cover.

    Does Lime Talent recruit CFOs and FDs internationally?

    Yes. While most searches are UK-focused, we support finance leadership recruitment across Europe, North America, Australia and the Middle East for brands expanding internationally.