FTSE 100 – CFO move analysis

With 31 CFO seat changes in the FTSE 100, 2023 was a busy year for the finance leadership market compared to 2022, when only 13 companies appointed new Finance leaders.

The data shows a lack of succession planning in the FTSE 100. 48% of the CFOs who left their role retired, however, only 16% were replaced by internal promotions.

In addition, it seems there is more openness to hire first-time CFOs, with an almost even balance (48% vs 52%) between established vs step-up CFOs appointed.

Another interesting data point is the lack of Investor Relations (IR) experience. Only 6% of the new CFOs appointed formally held an IR role during their career before being appointed CFOs at an FTSE 100 organization.

Diversity remains a challenge. Seven gender-diverse CFOs left their roles in 2023, and only eight new ones were appointed; however, more positive data shows that four were first-time CFOs. Ethnic diversity needs to be a key focus given only 6% of new CFOs in 2023 came from an ethnically diverse background.

Unexpectedly, a university degree remains a key requirement, contrary to the finance qualification, which is on a downward trend.

Finally, out of the 31 recently appointed CFOs, 16% were from private organizations, with one appointment without any PLC experience. This reflects the negative impact of macroeconomic factors on private companies’ valuations and reverses the trend seen in previous years, where CFOs from PLCs were looking to move into private companies.