Rhys Davies Lands His First Group CFO Role In a PE-Backed AutoTech Business

“GrowCFO helped me to understand the skills required to become a successful Group CFO and to appropriately prepare myself to step up into the role for the first-time when the opportunity arose.”

The Marque Group initially recruited Rhys Davies into the European Finance Director role with additional corporate and statutory responsibilities at the Group level. Rhys spent 16 months reporting into the Group CFO, prior to being internally promoted into the top role on the same day as the birth of his first child!

The Marque Group is a leading automotive technology collective, focused on linking every step of the automotive data chain. The group was acquired by private equity firm Pemba Capital Partners in 2017 and its portfolio of companies operate in Australia, UK, Germany and New Zealand.

A demanding role

Marque Group’s unique position enables their companies to collectively act on their exciting vision for the automotive industry, which is currently evolving at a significant pace. The company has a clear strategic plan for continued growth across its entire portfolio.  The dynamic nature of the company and its global reach requires a strong and agile CFO who will ensure that the finance function properly supports the growing needs of the Group. This requires a strong combination of leadership, technical and commercial skills.

The ideal candidate

When the Group CFO role became available, Rhys was the obvious choice. He has strong automotive sector experience, robust technical skills given his Big Four audit and transaction background, and first-hand experience of working in several of The Marque Group’s core territories including the UK and Australia.

Why Rhys joined GrowCFO

Rhys is somebody who takes learning and development very seriously and proactively joined GrowCFO to help prepare himself for landing his first Group CFO role. The mentor-led workshops have provided Rhys with lots of insights to prepare for his transition into the role and are helping to develop the necessary skills required. Rhys now looks well-placed to make the most of this exciting opportunity and support The Marque Group leadership to deliver the business plan.