Lisa is an experienced, multi-sector Finance Director (FD), with a track record of successfully managing complex financial functions, projects, and transactions, but also a hands-on reputation for doing whatever it takes to get the basics right.
At one level, she works across functions to rigorously put finance fundamentals in place and turn businesses around where needed – a skill that has served her well in her dealings with SMEs and larger organisations alike. On the other, she works closely with CEOs and MDs to understand their thinking, and model business impacts and outcomes through continual forecasting and financial planning.
Lisa is very much a people person and enjoys building relationships across functions to empower allies and cultivate teams, and to achieve what she sees as her principal goal: seeing the business change and growth narrative evolve for the better.
Whilst her “back to basics” approach and insistence on sound reporting and impact modelling deliver a safe pair of hands day-to-day, she also has a history of leading and managing complex and challenging finance initiatives to deliver transformational outcomes – whether in demanding timescales or sustained over several years.
Lisa has almost 30 years’ experience in both managerial finance and FD roles across sectors as diverse as healthcare, not-for-profit, construction, fire and rescue, telecoms infrastructure, retail and leisure, and Government.
Her career has seen her take responsibility for literally every phase and level of finance leadership, from putting in place accounting systems and finance processes from scratch, to identifying and remedying financial underperformance through changes to strategy and product/service offerings, to managing resources for a billion pound-plus construction Joint Venture (JV) in the defence sector.
Lisa’s focus on forecasting, planning, and impact modelling has enabled her to steer businesses successfully through periods of turnaround, high growth, and steady-state performance, whilst her expertise in acquisitions, MBOs, and business restructures has positioned many businesses to begin a new chapter in their development.
Over the course of her career, Lisa’s experience has included:
- Large capital projects – Leading the Finance function in a £1.6 billion MOD PFI construction JV contract. Included the design, procurement, and management of new build, demolition and refurbishment, across multiple military accommodation, training, operation, and rehabilitation facilities.
- Positioning businesses for investment – Consolidation and streamlining, acquisition; creating holding companies, fair value adjustments and hive ups for new investors.
- Major transactions – Managing IPO,MBO and exit, including forecasts and reports to Board, bank, investors, and regulators.
- Turnaround and crisis resilience – Mitigating insolvency, securing new funding/support, and restrategising failing and Covid-hit businesses; reducing liabilities, turning debt around, strengthening and reshaping revenue streams through analysis and impact modelling , and holding businesses to account for their budget, strategy, and sales.
- Troubleshooting and education – Identifying and remedying historical accounting and Scheme errors impacting profitability, assets, compliance, and risk, and communicating Finance best practice to teams across the business.
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