2025 was a busy year for the appointment of senior finance leaders in global energy, mining and adjacent industrial sectors.
Gerard Daniels continues to support diverse clients across the UK, North America and Australia to appoint high performing Chief Financial Officers (CFOs). With each assignment, our consultants continue to build their practical understanding of how Boards and CEOs define senior finance roles and how expectations shift depending on growth stage, capital requirements and company strategy.
Growing influence
The energy, mining and industrial sectors are inherently asset heavy and capital intensive. As a result, the CFO mandate often extends beyond reporting, with Boards expecting disciplined capital allocation, balance sheet strength, funding strategy, project evaluation and risk oversight.
“In many cases, the CFO operates as the CEO’s closest commercial partner, particularly where growth capital, refinancing or portfolio optimisation are under consideration,” says Geoff Curran, a Partner for Gerard Daniels in Sydney.
High value capability
Capability priorities and base remuneration considerations vary between junior developers, mid-cap producers and larger organisations.
According to Geoff, senior finance opportunities currently show significant variation in capability priorities between junior developers, mid-cap producers and larger organisations.
“Some mandates demand deep technical finance capability and systems maturity, while others place greater emphasis on capital markets credibility and external engagement,” he says. “Increasingly, the most effective CFOs combine operational discipline with commercial judgement and resilience in cyclical conditions.”
Portfolio breadth
In recent CFO appointments, Kester Guy-Briscoe, Associate Partner for Gerard Daniels in London, also notes the significance of portfolio breadth in the energy, mining and industrial sectors.
“Around 90% of most CFO roles share similar responsibilities. It is within the remaining 10% that CFOs face the greatest opportunity and challenge,” says Kester. “For example, CEOs in these sectors may be tasked with an ERP implementation or other operating model transformation. These major change programs – which in larger organisations might sit with dedicated transformation leaders – increasingly fall under the CFO’s mandate in mid-cap companies as organisations seek to streamline costs.”
Leaning on global talent networks and expertise
The ability to combine local presence with deep sector experience and global talent networks, offers substantial value to clients and candidates in executive search, particularly in sectors where capital, ownership and executive talent routinely cross borders.
With established offices in Sydney, Perth, London and Houston, Gerard Daniels brings a wealth of experience advising on the appointment of senior finance leaders in the UK, North America and Australia.
Recent success stories include
