Spencer Stuart Selected by Blue Apron to Find Next CFO
December 15, 2020 – According to recruiters, the pressure on chief financial officers during the pandemic has been significant. That has made finding the best ones big business for executive recruiters. Just recently, Blue Apron Holdings retained Spencer Stuart to replace its outgoing CFO, Timothy S. Bensley, who resigned to pursue another opportunity. Mr. Bensley will continue to serve as an advisor to Blue Apron through the middle of the 2021 first quarter to assist with transitioning his role.
“I’ve enjoyed my time at Blue Apron and I am proud of all of the progress we have made in improving the company’s financial flexibility and operations, and positioning it for the future,” said Mr. Bensley. “There’s a strong team in place across the entire organization to help lead the company as it continues to execute on the growth plan.”
“We have an experienced finance and leadership team, and I am confident in the continuity they will provide as we recruit a new chief financial officer,” said Linda Findley Kozlowski, CEO of Blue Apron. “Reflecting the company’s improved cost structure, operational execution and financial flexibility, we are seeking a successor who has a demonstrated record of growing and scaling consumer businesses as we continue to focus on the successful execution of our growth strategy.”
Blue Apron is an ingredient-and-recipe meal kit service which exclusively operates in the U.S. The weekly boxes contain ingredients along with suggested recipes that must be cooked by hand by the customer using the pre-ordered ingredients. The company, which is based in New York, was founded in 2012.
Spencer Stuart has conducted more than 1,200 senior-level finance searches over the past 24 months for clients that include Fortune 500, FTSE 100, DAX 30 and HS 100 companies, as well as private equity firms and their portfolio companies, emerging companies and non-profit organizations. The firm has experience finding the finance leaders required to succeed in a variety of capacities, including chief financial officer, accounting, audit, controls, corporate development, financial planning and analysis (FP&A), investor relations, risk, tax and treasury.
New Pressures on CFOs
Immediate concerns around cash flow, liquidity and the bottom line are taking precedence at many companies due to continued fallout from the pandemic. But there are high-value lessons emerging from the current health and economic crisis that chief financial officers should bear in mind, according to recruiters specializing in finding talent for finance functional roles.
Executive Search Review Special Issue: Financial Services Recruiting
Hunt Scanlon Media has just released our latest special issue of ESR. This time around we take an in-depth look at the challenges financial services firms are facing in their hunt for new talent.
We cover it all: How CFOs are confronting new layers of risk in the pandemic era; the rapid and dramatic change coming at the CFO; using people analytics to acquire top talent, predict performance & reduce turnover; and why banks are turning to search firms. We even provide our latest “Financial Fifty Recruiters” ranking of financial services search firms! In this special issue of ESR, Hunt Scanlon editors take an extraordinary inside look at recruiting during these unprecedented times. Click here and enjoy.
This COVID-19 crisis has thrust CFOs into the spotlight as never before, they report, while the pandemic itself has also created a business environment in which CFOs are uniquely positioned to drive business value during the recovery phase, which is expected to come in 2021 and 2022.
All too many companies today are desperate to get as much cash on their balance sheets as possible in order to ride out the storm of COVID-19, say recruiters. Bottom-line pressures are forcing many businesses to shift their forecasting strategies, explore new products and services — or even expand into alternative sales and delivery channels. The best CFOs are spearheading that effort.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
