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Cowen Partners Executive Search Places First-Ever Global CFO to Lead Post-Merger Beverage Manufacturer

When two established organizations merge, the finance function becomes either the engine of integration or its biggest bottleneck. For Finlays Solutions, the global beverage manufacturing and ingredients platform formed by combining Finlays North America and Leahy IFP, the stakes were clear. The newly unified business needed its first-ever Global CFO, a leader capable of merging two legacy finance organizations into one and helping steer the company toward $1 billion in revenue. Cowen Partners Executive Search was engaged to find that leader.

Operating at roughly $400 million in revenue across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Kenya, Finlays Solutions is owned by John Swire and Sons, one of the world’s most respected privately held family-office groups, with a history dating back to 1816. That ownership shapes how the business operates: decisions are made on a long-term horizon rather than a quarterly one, and leadership is expected to earn trust over time within a values-driven culture preserved across generations. For the incoming CFO, technical excellence was the baseline. The real requirement was the range to operate with the discipline of a global enterprise and the relationship orientation of a family office at the same time.

Rather than recruit against a generic specification, Cowen Partners Executive Search began with deep discovery alongside the CEO, aligning on merger objectives, the integration roadmap, the desired future-state finance organization, and the long-term expectations around M&A readiness and scaling. The team then built a market map around a narrow and specific profile: candidates with genuine global food and beverage manufacturing experience, post-merger integration leadership at similar scale, ERP implementation expertise, and a track record of thriving inside entrepreneurial or family-owned environments where trust and cultural alignment matter as much as technical capability.

The placed executive brought nearly two decades of progressive finance leadership inside one of the world’s most respected global beverage companies, including direct experience owning multi-billion-dollar P&Ls, leading regional finance functions across EMEA and the Americas, managing multi-jurisdictional compliance, and serving on joint-venture boards across multiple countries. Critically, that career was built inside a globally sophisticated, family-influenced organization, providing exactly the blend of strategic vision, operational discipline, and cultural intelligence the role demanded.

“This was a chance to help Finlays build something lasting. The right CFO doesn’t just manage the numbers; they unlock what the combined business can become, and we’re proud to have found a leader ready to do exactly that.” – Shawn Cole, Cowen Partners Executive Search President and Co-founder.

Finlays Solutions now has the finance leadership its next chapter requires: a CFO positioned to unify two legacy organizations, drive ERP consolidation, strengthen M&A readiness, and partner with the CEO and the London board as the business pursues its path beyond $1 billion.

Cowen Partners Executive Search is a national executive search firm specializing in C-suite, board, and senior leadership placements across industries including manufacturing, consumer goods, financial services, healthcare, and private equity