Erik Gruwel – strategic CFO, operator and value-creation specialist

Founder of CFO Excellence with 20 years of finance leadership across consumer, FMCG, tech and industrial companies. Experienced in listed, PE-backed, founder-led and family-owned environments, Erik helps leaders turn strategy into EBITDA, cash and execution – particularly in high-growth, transformational and post-merger situations.

Book a 30-minute conversation

A direct conversation with Erik – no sales team, confidential, no obligation.

View Erik’s Group CFO Profile →

Portrait of Erik Gruwel, strategic CFO and founder of CFO Excellence

Trusted by leaders from

Danone Mars Landal GreenParks Roompot HousingAnywhere

CFO scale snapshot

Erik’s experience spans organisations between roughly €50m and €1bn+ revenue, leading finance in global, multi-country and multi-entity environments.

Experience at scale

  • 20+ years in senior and executive finance leadership roles.
  • Leadership of 30+ FTE across Finance, Legal, Procurement, Tax and IT.
  • Global exposure across Europe, US, China, LATAM, the Middle East, South East Asia, China and Africa.

Business & ownership models

  • Experience across consumer, FMCG, tech, platform and industrial sectors.
  • Listed, PE-backed (including KKR), founder-led and family-owned organisations.
  • Hands-on during integrations, transformations and post-merger scaling.

Core finance strengths

  • Deep commercial finance grounding: pricing, margin, profitability and portfolio decisions.
  • Performance rhythm, planning, forecasting and executive reporting.
  • Hands-on with systems: NetSuite, SAP, OneStream and data & digital platforms.

Career highlights

Erik has held finance leadership roles at Mars, Danone, HousingAnywhere and Landal & Roompot. Across these environments he has combined strategic and hands-on work: value creation, integration, performance management, commercial finance, data and systems.

HousingAnywhere – Group CFO

GMV > €0.5bn · 300+ employees · investor-backed platform

  • Group CFO for Europe’s leading booking platform for rental accommodation during a transformative growth phase.
  • Implemented a Zero-Based Growth approach and redesigned the organisation, lifting revenue growth from single digits to >30%.
  • Improved EBITDA from –20% to +20% through cost optimisation and operational efficiency.
  • Secured €26m in debt financing for acquisitions and successfully integrated multiple acquired businesses.
  • Built a high-performing Finance, Legal & IT team, established internal controls and achieved the first successful EY audits.

Landal & Roompot – Business Control & Value Creation

€1.2bn platform · KKR-backed · post-merger integration

  • Served as interim Finance Director / Director Business Control & Value Creation in a complex post-merger environment.
  • Worked across multiple legacy entities, systems and operating models following the combination of Landal & Roompot.
  • Focused on business planning, performance management and delivery of EBITDA and cash across the platform.
  • Designed scalable finance and reporting foundations, including operating rhythm and value-creation dashboards.
  • Partnered closely with CEO, CFO and private equity owners on execution of the value-creation plan.

Danone and Mars – global finance leadership

Global corporates · €7bn+ portfolios · €2bn+ procurement

  • Held global finance leadership roles at Danone and Mars, supporting CEO- and ExCom-level decision-making.
  • Global Finance Director for Data, Digital Transformation & Business Performance at Danone, delivering a unified data layer and performance framework.
  • Global Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB) Director – accountable for €400m in savings on indirect spend, delivering €50m above target.
  • FP&A and growth roles with exposure to €7bn+ net sales portfolios across categories and geographies.
  • Global operations and procurement controlling with €2bn+ procurement budgets.
  • Plant controller for Mars’s largest European food factory, plus early-career graduate rotations across Europe.

How Erik works

Erik begins with the business model, ownership context and value-creation plan, then designs the finance operating model that enables delivery — roles, processes, data, systems and governance.

Strategic + hands-on

He works across both levels: from M&A and post-merger integration to EBITDA and cash performance, forecasting, systems and team design.

Outcome-driven engagements

Assignments are built around practical outcomes — whether as interim CFO, fractional CFO or focused advisory work alongside an existing CFO and finance team.

What to expect

  • Clear framing of the situation, constraints and ambitions.
  • Focus on a small number of high-leverage changes shifting earnings and cash.
  • Attention to both numbers and the operational levers behind them.
  • Structured yet pragmatic approach to data, systems and reporting.
  • Direct, constructive style with honest sparring on trade-offs and leadership decisions.

Values & approach

Operator mindset

Finance is only valuable when it improves decisions and execution. Models and reports matter when they change behaviour — not just describe the business.

Clarity and candour

Complex situations need clear language and honest conversations. Erik reduces noise, makes trade-offs explicit and helps leadership choose a path they can commit to.

Partnership with leadership

Good outcomes come from shared ownership. Erik works with CEOs, CFOs, boards and operating partners as peers — not as auditors or report producers.

Discipline with flexibility

Strong performance comes from a consistent operating rhythm — but within it there must be room for judgement, context and adaptation as the business evolves.

Who Erik works with today

Through CFO Excellence, Erik supports leaders who are accountable for performance and want finance to play a central role in value creation. Typically, that means:

CEOs & founders

Leaders scaling or transforming their business, where finance must drive execution.

PE-backed portfolio companies

Management teams and operating partners focused on value creation and performance improvement.

Corporate platforms

Organisations integrating acquisitions or reshaping business models.

CFOs & senior finance leaders

Executives who want a sparring partner on transformation, performance and value creation.

Erik also considers permanent Group CFO roles in organisations between €200m and €1bn+ revenue, particularly in consumer-focused, PE-backed or transformational contexts.

→ View Erik’s Group CFO Profile

What leaders say

PE Operating Partner / Board Member
“Erik helped us move from reacting to numbers to steering with a clear plan, sharper board discussions and far fewer surprises.”
CEO
“I was impressed to meet such a business-oriented finance leader. I trusted his judgement and consistently appreciated his pragmatic decisions.”
C-level Executive
“He brings the discipline of a blue-chip background and combines it with a very practical, fast-moving approach. Our performance management and decision-making both improved.”
Group CFO
“He combines a strong grip on the numbers with a clear view on value creation. Our portfolio steering and execution discussions became clearer, and execution accelerated.”

Summary for search and selection

Erik Gruwel is a strategic CFO with experience across consumer, FMCG, tech and industrial companies (€200m–€1.2bn+). He has operated in listed, PE-backed, founder-led and family-owned environments, delivering EBITDA growth, cash performance, M&A and post-merger integration, global ZBB savings, performance management and data & digital transformation — with leadership across Finance, Legal, Procurement, Tax and IT.