Commercial Controller for UK arm of a Global Consumer Products business

This has been a long standing client of Hunter Jameson. Its brands are often associated with adrenalin-fuelled sports and globally recognised entertainment events which has undoubtedly contributed to the creation of a business culture that it very unique. Hunter Jameson has been tasked with supporting the UK Finance Director to hire in a Commercial Controller who could build a commercial finance function underneath themself that would develop a close and collegiate relationship with the commercial teams whilst also proactively challenging and educating them to think differently about how they evaluate deals and follow more standardised processes.   

Whilst commercial finance skills were a given; our brief was to find someone who would instil discipline but not in a style that could be overtly associated with that of a traditional accountant. Our resourcing strategy therefore started by pooling together individuals from our database whom we had previously assessed and rated as being strong finance operators with high levels of charisma and energy. However we also needed to ensure that we did not allow ourselves to be blinded by effervescent personalities overshadowing the importance of finance acumen, sound judgement skills and substance. Realising that our  database contained some but not all constituents of a well rounded short-list we also embarked upon a retained search exercise to target individuals within organisations known for operating similar cultures. The successful candidate was a New Zealander with a strong pedigree gained in the consumer products industry and who also had a passion for travel and extreme sports. His authentic communication style and commercial instincts have ensured that he’s made quite an impression on the business in a very short space of time.