CFO North America After a US Acquisition

Appointing a CFO North America after the acquisition of a US firm serving as the growth platform for the Americas — for one of the leading international planning and consulting groups.
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    CLIENT CONTEXT

    Global Company Profile

    Company type

    International planning and consulting group, construction and real estate

    Legal form | Ownership

    Stock corporation (SE), partner-led, not exchange-listed

    Global revenue

    over EUR 1.0 billion group revenue (2025)

    Employees

    more than 6,500 worldwide

    Projects

    approx. 6,900 projects per year

    Locations

    more than 80 offices internationally

    Recognition

    consistently listed in the renowned international ENR ranking of leading design
    and consulting firms since 2021

    US Organization

    US market entry

    Acquisition of an established US consultancy from its founder

    Acquired firm

    Project and cost management consultancy, founded 1994 in New York, coast-
    to-coast presence

    US employees

    approx. 120
    Location

    Downtown Manhattan, New York City

    Strategic objective

    Platform for an extensive expansion across North and South America

    Leadership situation

    Building group-level finance leadership after the change of ownership

    Timeline

    Commissioned January 8, 2026 – contract signed February 23, 2026 (46 days)

    The Situation

    The Situation: Acquisition as Entry, Integration as the Task

    The group entered the US market not organically but through an acquisition: a profitable, founder-led consultancy with roughly 120 professionals, headquartered in Manhattan, was acquired to serve as the platform for expansion across the Americas.

    The transaction created a leadership gap critical to the success of the entire investment: a finance leader able to connect a founder-shaped US business to the structures of a billion-euro group — consolidation, reporting standards, governance — without damaging the entrepreneurial culture that made the acquisition valuable in the first place.

    The group faced several requirements at once:

    • Building a group-ready finance function in the newly acquired US operation
    • Connecting the platform to group consolidation and reporting
    • Retaining the confidence of the selling founder and the US leadership team
    • Creating the financial steering foundation for the planned expansion across the Americas
    Six Voices on Two Continents

    Six Voices on Two Continents

    What made the mandate demanding was the decision structure. The selection committee comprised six voices:

    • the Group Chief Human Resources Officer
    • the Group CFO
    • the group’s senior M&A executive
    • the CEO of the US operation — the founder who had sold his firm
    • two senior US executives whose retention was essential to the integration

    Any appointment had to satisfy group requirements and win the confidence of the American leadership team at the same time — the classic tension of post-acquisition integration.

    The Search

    The Search: Two Requirement Profiles, One Shortlist

    TH Bender staffed the mandate with two senior consultants plus the founding partner.

    Core elements of the process:

    • Systematic market mapping across the greater New York area, focused on finance executives with group and integration experience
    • Discreet direct approaches, including executives not actively considering a move
    • Structured assessment against both requirement profiles — the group’s and the founder-shaped US organization’s
    • Moderation of the six-member selection committee across two continents
    • Management of the contract negotiation as balancing intermediary between company and candidate, through to signature

    The successful candidate was approached out of a world-renowned technology group — an executive who did not initially appear available for a move.

    The Result

    The Result: 46 Days from Commissioning to Signature

    • 46 days elapsed between commissioning (January 8, 2026) and contract signature (February 23, 2026)
    • The CFO North America position was filled successfully — with a candidate from a top-tier corporate environment
    • The US platform is integrated into group reporting and consolidation
    • Both business-critical US executives remained on board
    • The founder handed over financial responsibility to the new structure in an orderly transition
    • The financial steering foundation for the Americas expansion is in place

    “This appointment was decisive for the integration of our US acquisition. TH Bender ran a structured process
    across a six-member committee on two continents and introduced a candidate we could not have reached
    otherwise.”

    Common Questions About Leadership Appointments After a US Acquisition

    The finance function is the first connection between the acquired firm and the group: consolidation, reporting standards and forecasting determine whether the parent gains transparency without overwhelming the operating culture.

    Beyond the professional profile, candidates must fit a post-acquisition situation: a selling founder, an established leadership team, and a parent company with its own standards. The appointment has to be carried by all sides.

    We structure the process so each voice owns defined assessment dimensions, and we moderate the decision across time zones and corporate cultures — through to a decision all parties support.

    Yes, when they are business-critical — such as a finance leader integrating a newly acquired platform into the group. The measure is the strategic weight of the role, not the title.

    Facing a key appointment after a US acquisition?

    A confidential conversation can help structure integration requirements, the role profile and the search approach.

    Schedule a Confidential Discussion

    Response within one business day. Complete discretion.

    All company and candidate details have been anonymized for reasons of confidentiality.

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