The Finance Seat
The Finance Seat is Headstar’s practical podcast for ambitious finance leaders who want to learn more from straight-talking conversations with CFOs and Finance Directors. In each episode we’ll be discussing how they build strong teams, manage uncertainty and deliver change - so you can do the same. Check out www.headstar.co.uk for more information about specialist finance recruitment.
Episodes
The difference between a successful transformation and one that drifts often comes down to what happens before anything really starts.
In this episode of The Finance Seat, Headstar Managing Director, James Roach, speaks with Laura Beane, Finance Leader, about why finance transformation programmes struggle and what leaders tend to underestimate.
They explore the importance of the early stages, the role of consistent engagement, and wh...
The CFO role in a VC-backed business looks very different to what many expect.
In this episode of The Finance Seat podcast, Headstar Managing Director, James Roach, speaks with Adam Uttley, CFO at Wayland Additive, about what it really takes to operate in a high-growth, deep tech environment.
They explore how the focus shifts away from traditional reporting towards understanding key value drivers, how to balance innovation with comm...
The CFO role is changing, and expectations are broader than ever.
In this episode of The Finance Seat podcast, Headstar Managing Director, James Roach, speaks with Kate Cooper, CFO at the Institute of Directors, about what leadership looks like beyond the numbers.
They explore the transition from technical expert to strategic leader, the importance of flexibility and inclusion in modern finance teams, and how CFOs play a key role in...
Fractional CFO roles are talked about more than ever, but what does the reality actually look like?
In this episode of The Finance Seat, Headstar Managing Director, James Roach, speaks with Rachel Smith, Fractional CFO at RLS Finance, about her journey from corporate finance into a portfolio career and what that shift really involves.
They explore how fractional careers develop over time, the challenge of managing multiple clients an...
Interim roles don’t give you time to ease in - you’re expected to deliver almost immediately. In this episode of The Finance Seat, Headstar Managing Director, James Roach, speaks with Claire Tisch, Director at Unity Advisory, about how to deliver change at pace while bringing people with you.
They explore what it takes to step into a business and quickly understand its dynamics, how interim roles allow leaders to challen...
In this episode of The Finance Seat, Headstar Managing Director James Roach is joined by Ross MacGregor, Finance Director at Axiologik, to talk about what it really takes to scale a consulting business sustainably.
Ross shares his experience of joining a growing digital consultancy with no formal finance function, navigating an early period of decline, and rebuilding towards stable, long-term growth. The conversation explores the re...
In this episode of The Finance Seat podcast, Headstar Managing Director James Roach speaks with Mike Sprot, CFO at IDHL, about scaling a digital agency under private equity ownership.
Mike reflects on joining IDHL during COVID, completing a PE deal remotely, and helping the business grow from 200 to 400 plus people through organic growth and acquisitions. They explore what successful integration really takes, why culture is often un...
In this episode of The Finance Seat podcast, Headstar Managing Director James Roach is joined by Mel Ross, an experienced CFO with a career spanning corporates, private equity-backed businesses and early-stage startups.
Most recently Mel works as a CFO at pubX - an innovative business that helps organisations deploy generative AI with clarity and governance.
Mel shares how she moved into startup and fractional CFO work, and what she...
In this episode of The Finance Seat podcast series, Headstar’s Managing Director, James Roach, speaks with Fiona Roberts, former Finance Transformation Director at TalkTalk Group - a major UK telecoms and connectivity provider. Fiona explains what finance transformation really is in practice, why strong initiation prevents scope creep, and how to keep momentum over multi-year programmes.
They explore people vs. systems, the wa...
In this episode of The Finance Seat podcast series, Headstar’s Managing Director, James Roach, sits down with Emma Dutton, CFO at myenergi, to discuss how finance leaders can build teams that can scale with the business and how she recruits and retains the best finance talent.
Emma explains how she has personally built a finance function that keeps pace with the hypergrowth of the business, her top tips for hiring for characte...
In this first episode of the new The Finance Seat interview series, Headstar’s Managing Director, James Roach interviews Ciara Allan, CFO at ARC Inspirations, a high performing, commercially successful bar group in the North of England operating 3 brands with 17 venues in total.
Ciara explains how a hospitality CFO stays on top of cash control, costs and managing the leadership team’s confidence when demand can fluctuate...
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