Portrait of Erik Gruwel, CFO

Erik Gruwel — Executive CFO

Commercially driven CFO with a track record of improving earnings, strengthening cash and scaling finance functions in PE-backed platforms, scale-ups and multinational consumer businesses.

Trusted by CEOs, boards and investors in situations where the business model must evolve and the numbers must move — and where finance must quickly catch up with complexity.

Executive profile

Erik operates best where there is both ambition and pressure: businesses that need finance to support real change – growth, integration, turnaround or building a scalable platform. He combines PE-backed operator experience with senior roles in global FMCG, specialised nutrition, hospitality and digital marketplaces.

His natural “zone” is a company between roughly €200m and €800m revenue, often multi-country and multi-entity, entering a phase of growth, integration, transformation or performance reset.

Based in the Netherlands; fluent in Dutch and English. Open to CFO and executive finance roles across Europe and internationally.

Core CFO capabilities

Value creation & performance

  • Value-creation planning aligned with investors and boards.
  • EBITDA uplift through pricing, mix, productivity and cost discipline.
  • Cash, working capital and liquidity steering.
  • Commercial finance partnership with CEOs, CMOs and CSOs.
  • Design of leadership cadences and performance rhythms.

Scaling finance & transformation

  • Finance operating model and organisation design.
  • Building and leading high-performing finance teams and SSCs.
  • M&A, integrations and post-merger value delivery.
  • Data, digital, ERP/EPM and BI implementation leadership.
  • Debt financing and stakeholder management with lenders and investors.

Career overview

Interim Finance Director Business Control & Performance – Landal

KKR portfolio company (c. €1.2bn company) · 2025

Right hand to the CFO in a complex post-merger, PE-backed environment. Strengthening Business Control & Performance across forecasting, cash visibility, cost discipline and performance management, while building team capability and supporting the implementation of NetSuite and OneStream as a scalable finance backbone.

Group CFO – HousingAnywhere

Digital marketplace (GMV > €0.5bn) · 2023–2025

  • Expanded EBITDA from roughly –20% to +20% through Zero-Based Growth, cost optimisation and organisational redesign.
  • Accelerated revenue growth from single digits to >30% by aligning strategy, pricing, sales and operating model.
  • Secured €26m in debt financing to support acquisitions and expansion.
  • Integrated acquired businesses and built Finance, Legal & IT functions from the ground up.
  • Established internal controls and delivered the first successful EY audits.

Global Finance Director Data, Digital & Business Performance – Danone

Danone · 2021–2023

  • Finance lead for Danone’s global data and performance backbone.
  • Designed a unified data model and reporting architecture integrated into core systems.
  • Developed dashboards and performance frameworks for global and local leadership.
  • Enabled sharper, faster decision-making across categories, regions and executive committees.

Global Sales, Category & Brands Finance Director – Danone Specialised Nutrition

Danone · 2020–2021

  • Partnered with the global CMO/CSO on a >€7bn revenue portfolio.
  • Steered brand, category and channel strategies from a financial and value-creation perspective.
  • Supported innovation, portfolio and resource allocation decisions for profitable growth.

Global ZBB Director – Danone Specialised Nutrition

Danone · 2019–2020

  • Accountable for €400m of structural productivity in indirect spend.
  • Over-delivered by around €50m vs. target through cost discipline and operating model changes.
  • Embedded ZBB routines and cost visibility with GMs and functional leaders.

Senior finance roles – Danone

2015–2019

FP&A Manager, Global Growth Controlling, Senior Global Procurement Controller and Regional Operations Controller – combining exposure to supply chain, procurement, operational performance, growth steering and global FP&A across Danone’s value chain.

Finance roles – Mars

2010–2015

Site & Supply Finance Manager, P2P Manager and Financial Analyst in a global blue-chip FMCG environment – building a solid foundation in operations finance, cost discipline, supply chain performance and core financial processes.

What CEOs, PE partners and boards value

  • Operator mindset – balances strategic clarity with hands-on execution and real-world constraints.
  • Calm in complexity – stabilises first, then upgrades; effective in restructurings, integrations and post-merger situations.
  • Commercial orientation – understands the full P&L and the operational levers behind earnings, cash and growth.
  • Credibility with boards – direct, transparent and evidence-based communication.
  • Builder of teams – develops finance leadership benches across Business Control, FP&A, SSCs and specialist areas.
  • Cross-cultural experience – effective with international teams, sponsors and stakeholders.

For CEOs, PE partners and executive search

If you are working on a CFO search or considering how to strengthen the finance agenda for a platform, scale-up or consumer business in this range, I am happy to discuss fit, context and constraints directly.

Book a 30-minute conversation