CFO Excellence – Strategic CFO Leadership for PE-Backed & High-Growth Companies

Trusted by leaders from

20+ years in finance leadership roles across listed, PE-backed, founder-led and family-owned organisations.

How CFO Excellence supports your business

Different situations require different levels of CFO ownership. CFO Excellence works through a small number of clearly defined engagement models — from full interim leadership to targeted advisory support. This decision guide explains how to choose the right model.

Interim CFO

Full ownership of the CFO seat during critical transitions — stabilising cash, restoring control, and building confidence with boards, banks and investors.

Typical situations: CFO vacancy, PE-backed transitions, integrations, restructuring, or urgent cash focus.

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Fractional CFO

Part-time CFO leadership alongside an existing finance team — combining strategic direction with hands-on execution where it matters most.

Typical situations: scale-ups, growing complexity, first CFO step-up, or preparing for PE or full-time CFO.

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CFO Advisory

Targeted support on high-stakes decisions — value creation, operating rhythm, integration economics, and finance operating models.

Typical situations: PE operating partners, boards and CEOs needing sharp CFO judgement without interim ownership.

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Not sure which model fits?

Choosing the wrong CFO setup is expensive. This short guide helps you decide between advisory, fractional, interim or full-time CFO — based on signals, not titles.

Useful if you recognise cash surprises, unclear KPIs, forecasting that doesn’t drive decisions, or stakeholder pressure.

Use the CFO decision guide →

Who CFO Excellence works with

CFO Excellence is built for leaders who carry full responsibility for performance and need finance to drive value creation – not just reporting.

PE Operating Partners & Funds

Turn investment theses into value-creation plans, operating cadences and dashboards that portfolio teams can actually deliver against.

Founders & CEOs

Move from reacting to numbers to steering with a clear plan, cash visibility, forecasting and decision-ready information – especially in high-growth or transformational phases.

Portfolio & Corporate CFOs

Complement existing CFOs with transformation capacity – business control, FP&A, SSC, ERP/EPM, performance management and integration leadership.

Boards & Investors

Sharper dialogue on EBITDA, cash, leverage and exit readiness, grounded in a single version of the truth and a credible value-creation roadmap.

From finance function to value-creation engine.

CFO Excellence works with organisations typically between €50m and €1bn+ revenue across consumer, FMCG, tech and industrial sectors. The focus: connecting strategy, numbers and execution so EBITDA, cash and valuation move in the same direction.

Engagements combine board-level clarity with hands-on operating detail – forecasting, liquidity, performance rhythm, governance, and the finance organisation and systems behind it. This reflects a clear view on what CFO excellence actually means in practice.

Core ways of working

CFO Advisory & Transformation
Design the finance operating model, planning rhythm and reporting.
Fractional CFO
Part-time CFO leadership for scaling or professionalising businesses.
Interim CFO
Full-time leadership during transition, integration, underperformance or turnaround.
PE & Investor Partnership
Align thesis, value-creation plan, KPIs and governance with execution.

Explore services in more detail →

Typical situations where CFO Excellence creates impact

Performance & financial clarity

Underperformance or unclear EBITDA and margin drivers.
Cash visibility issues, fragile liquidity and covenant risk.
Leadership gaps driving interim CFO needs.

Scaling, complexity & structural change

Growth or ownership changes outpacing the current finance setup.
M&A integrations across entities, systems and teams.
Board and investor pressure for a clearer value-creation plan and operating rhythm.
Need to build FP&A, Business Control, SSC and data foundations for scale.

How CFOs scale finance ahead of complexity →

About Erik Gruwel

Erik is a strategic CFO who builds finance organisations that scale and drive EBITDA, cash and value creation.

He has led finance across global corporates (Danone, Mars), high-growth platforms (HousingAnywhere) and PE-backed companies such as Landal & Roompot (KKR-backed). His work spans consumer, FMCG, tech and industrial sectors — always combining strategic clarity with hands-on execution.

Erik’s experience covers listed, PE-backed, founder-led and family-owned businesses. He delivers growth, financial transformation, high-impact integrations, operating model redesign, M&A support and post-merger value creation. He brings commercial finance, value creation, cash discipline, organisational design and high-performing team leadership together in one operating model.

More about Erik → View Erik’s Group CFO Profile →

Summary for CEOs, investors & search firms

CFO Excellence provides interim, fractional and strategic CFO leadership for organisations between €50m and €1bn+ revenue.

The practice focuses on value creation, EBITDA and cash performance, forecasting, liquidity, finance operating models, integrations, systems and building high-performing finance teams across consumer, FMCG, tech and industrial environments.

The underlying philosophy is explained in What CFO Excellence really means and the CFO decision guide.