GrowCFO
GrowCFO

Unlock your full potential with an experienced and trusted advisor

Our mentors are experienced CFOs who have made the journey before and understand the challenges that you will face next. A mentor can help you accelerate your personal and professional development, offering specific guidance on your goals and desired outcomes.

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Lead Mentor, Catherine Clark FCA FIOD

The best CFOs ask for help and support.

Many successful executives attribute part of their professional success to having a mentor. Because of the breadth of knowledge and evolving responsibilities required of a CFO, an experienced mentor at your side can help you navigate leadership, governance, specific strategic issues and more:

Leadership  |  Imposter Syndrome  |  Feeling Overwhelmed  |  Prioritisation  |  Thinking and Acting Strategically  |  Gravitas  |  Stakeholder Management  |  Problem-Solving  |  Relationship-building  |   Influence and Impact  |  Conflict Resolution  |  Board Management  |  Career Planning  |  Performance

Think of us as your motivator, sounding board and biggest supporter.

Mentors are invested in your progress and achievement. They’re committed to helping you succeed, so you’ll grow faster. Our Mentoring is fully personalised and adaptable to your needs and will provide a safe confidential environment and quiet focused space for you to explore your thoughts and tap into the knowledge and experience that is on offer to fully support you.

How will I benefit from regular mentoring sessions with an experienced CFO?

Knowledge and Experience

We will maximise the value you deliver to your business and help you overcome the key challenges within your role. We bring to you our wealth of financial, strategic and life experience to make your life easier.

Accelerated Development

We will motivate you to identify and deliver your career development plan, holding you accountable for your actions. We will help you to explore your mindset, to achieve your potential using proven tools and techniques to support this process.

Independent Support

We provide an independent point of contact and listen actively and objectively to enable you to talk through sensitive matters in private. We will act as a sounding board, and provide someone to think through problems, issues and challenges.

How GrowCFO Mentoring Works

Individual mentoring starts with a free chemistry call to discuss your needs and find the right mentor you feel confident will help you achieve your outcomes. We will work with you to create a tailored mentoring programme.

Book a free 30 minute chemistry call

The first step is to choose a mentor; one you have chemistry with and you feel confident will help you achieve your outcomes.

Decide on your priorities for discussion

Agree on what you want to achieve from each session.

Progress on your action plan

Start your sessions and move forward on your goals.

Structure your sessions

Choose the best format for you. We recommend 60 or 90 minute sessions once a month.

Book a Chemistry Call

Your Action Plan

Our mentoring is fully personalised and adaptable to whatever your needs may be. Your sessions with your mentor need to focus on what’s important for you right now.

Sample Action Plan

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Ambitions and goals

Personal strategy session: an honest discussion as to where you are now and what your future goals and desired outcomes are so we can identify the actions needed to close the gap.

Your goals: a chance to explore the leader you want to become, with a focus on strengths and limiting beliefs.

Financial and/or career strategy: review your progression strategy, explore how to show your strengths and your value at their best, and close any skills gaps.

Mindset and high-performance habits

Growth and agile mindset: How you can look after your mind to increase resilience, performance, productivity, motivation and energy.

Performance: Looking at how to drive business change and key decision making and how to deliver the business plan.

Focus and clarity: Taking your goals to a more specific and measurable level with a focus on supporting habits and routines.

Behaviours and traits for success

Leadership styles: looking at how to become an externally-facing leader. The team needs to support you as a CFO, and you need to support their development.

Behaviours and key skills for success: looking at the key behavioural skills needed at CFO level with a focus on leadership, influencing, critical thinking and stakeholder management and communication.

Executive presence and impact: Looking at how you can leverage your personal leadership style and brand to increase engagement and credibility.

Trusted and vital Executive and Board member

Strategy and decision making: the importance of developing and setting strategic direction for Finance and the company, and how to challenge the Board and influence strategy.

Growth: the financial responsibilities of growth and the role a CFO should play. Looking at the business drivers of value.

C-Suite and the Board: Looking at what a CFO should bring to the Board to enable the right decisions to be made, how to best present data, and how to be become a critical and influential voice.

Our Mentees Say

“I now have a very clear picture of where I want to go and I’m working on the plan that will get me there. Where I lacked clarity and was too focused on one end goal, I had actually lost track of what would make me happy in the longer term. That is more important than any promotion or pay rise. Most importantly, I feel better in myself. I have a lot more control over my situation and the outcome.”
Katharine O’Farrell
Katharine O’Farrell ACA FBP
Head of Finance
“Thanks to the mentoring I received, I have been able to identify my strengths, skills and recognise my value. I feel I am finally living up to my potential and continue to grow.”
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J Jones
Inclusion London
“My mentoring is also having a positive and cumulative impact on the people I manage. We have better engagement and projects are more efficient due to better communication”
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Finance Leader
TPA-Global

Meet the GrowCFO Mentors

Catherine Clark

I am a Chartered Accountant (FCA) qualified at KPMG and a fellow of the Institute of Directors. I have over 20 years of experience in senior finance roles in growth-focused multinationals and I was Group CFO for nine years of a global consultancy, the first female on the board.

The reason I mentor is because I love helping people to see their own potential more clearly and for their confidence to build so they achieve what they want to achieve. My philosophy in life is to keep teaching what I learn. I will bring simplicity and clarity to situations or decisions that may feel complicated or overwhelming. View Profile

Ian Simpkin

I’m a Chartered Accountant (FCA), trained at KPMG, with over 20 years of finance director level experience. Besides mentoring new CFOs I work on a freelance basis helping SME’s grow their businesses. The goal is to provide high-level finance expertise to companies to help enable them to achieve profitable growth and build value for successful exits.

My specialties: Financial management, exit strategy US/UK GAAP/IFRS accounting, business mentoring, mergers and acquisitions, exit planning (IPO and trade sales), and general management and strategic advice to entrepreneurs and SMEs. View Profile

Susana Serrano-Davey

I support my clients in their change journeys with a focus on their business and also career development. I aim to help them reach their full potential in their work environment whilst taking care of themselves.

I’m a natural entrepreneur and during my career have made the most of change and evolution, taking steps to develop and reach the CFO role, before becoming a consultant and mentor. I’m a great communicator and leader of people with a collaborative and approachable style. I have worked within multicultural teams in several countries in multinational companies. View Profile

Paul McKoen

I am a highly experienced CFO across various different sectors. I have worked in small start-ups as well as large mature businesses, and am comfortable in different cultural environments.

Previously I authored “The Finance Manual for non-Financial Managers” (FT Prentice Hall) and have always enjoyed sharing knowledge, including running training programs. Now pursuing a plural career, I look forward to mentoring young and aspiring CFOs across the GrowCFO network, perhaps even “helping others to learn from his own mistakes!”

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Tony Shafar

I am a Chartered Accountant, with 20+ years of experience in Senior Finance positions in large multinationals, SMEs and technology start-ups. I spent 10 years as a Finance Director with the marketing agency WPP.

I believe much of what prevents us from achieving our goals is our mindset. I coach people to help them understand what is holding them back, giving them clarity and confidence to move forward in their careers. I also mentor clients. My experience from my own career allows me to provide strategic and practical advice to people progressing their careers within Finance.

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Hugh Watchorn

Hugh is an energetic, positive business leader. He believes that fulfilling, purposeful work can and should contribute to a sense of achievement and wellbeing.

Time spent at diverse businesses including Bonhams, Rotary Watches, and Bibendum Wine Ltd has taught Hugh a lot: working with, managing, and influencing all kinds of people; dealing with fast track growth; building high functioning finance teams; the vital importance of cash, what great comms look like; working “across the business” and helping develop people.

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