We've placed 340+ financial leaders into the firms whose logos you just read.
CFOs who close the books on Friday and present to the board on Monday. Risk officers who've seen a cycle. Treasury directors who know the difference between duration and convexity — and why it matters at 3am.
Retained by board chairs · PE operating partners · Mid-cap CEOs
The Cost of Getting It Wrong
How much does a failed CFO search cost you?
Average cost of a mis-hire
A CFO placement that fails at 12 months costs the firm 18× the executive's base salary when you account for disrupted close cycles, re-audit costs, and the equity your replacement will demand.
— Spencer Stuart CFO Tenure Study, 2024
Days the average CFO search takes
Generalist search firms take 7+ months to shortlist. PE-backed acquisitions don't have 7 months. Catalyst's median time-to-shortlist is 19 days.
— Heidrick & Struggles Global Finance Search Report, 2024
of CFO searches fail to meet the brief
Candidates presented by non-specialist firms lack domain fluency — they can't distinguish IFRS 17 from IFRS 9, let alone articulate a hedging strategy to an audit committee.
— CFO Magazine Recruiter Satisfaction Survey, 2023
"The problem isn't finding a CFO. It's finding the right one before your competitors do — and before your board loses patience."
— Catalyst Search Methodology
How We Work
The architecture of a search that holds.
01 / Mapping
We draw the universe before you see a single name.
Our proprietary network spans 4,200+ finance executives across buy-side, sell-side, and Big Four. Mapping identifies every qualified candidate — including those not actively looking — within 72 hours of mandate receipt.
2025 Compensation Benchmark
Know what the market pays before you make the offer.
Our annual benchmark covers 18 financial services verticals, 340+ placed executives, and real comp data — not survey estimates. Two data points are visible below. The full report is yours, free, with a work email.
Free Download
2025 CFO & Finance Executive Compensation Benchmark
18 verticals · 340+ data points · Updated Q1 2025. Work email required. No spam, no sales calls unless you ask.
Your data is never shared. Unsubscribe at any time. Catalyst complies with GDPR and CCPA.
Client Results
The search was confidential. The results were not.
Catalyst presented three names in eleven days. All three were stronger than the longlist of twelve our previous firm delivered over four months. We made an offer on day fourteen.
Richard Ashworth
Board Chair · Meridian Capital Partners
CFO placement · $2.4B AUM private equity firm
We closed an acquisition on a Friday. I needed a finance leader seated before the first board meeting at the new entity. Catalyst had a shortlist by Wednesday and our CFO started in 38 days.
Dana Kowalczyk
Operating Partner · Thornfield Capital
CFO placement · Post-acquisition mandate
After two failed searches with generalist firms — one who didn't know IFRS 17 was live — Catalyst placed our Chief Risk Officer in 29 days. The candidate had worked a Solvency II implementation. Exactly what we needed.
James Osei-Bonsu
CEO · Vantage Assurance Group
CRO placement · Mid-cap insurance holding company
The folder is open. The names are ready.
340+ placements · 15-year track record · 100% retained mandates