In this article, Fi explores how record CFO turnover is reshaping CFO-1 roles across Tax, Treasury and Corporate Finance. As new CFOs face economic uncertainty, regulatory pressure and digital disruption, expectations of their direct reports are shifting toward strategic partnership, resilience and transformational leadership. These dynamics are driving new hiring priorities and accelerating the evolution of tax and treasury into strategic centres of excellence.
This surge has been driven by record levels of CEO turnover, particularly within the S&P 500 and ASX 200, with a significant concentration of changes in the heavy industry sector. This level of movement has created a ripple effect across senior finance leadership teams worldwide, particularly across the specialist functions that sit directly beneath the CFO.
The trend continues from recent years, with 2024 recording 25 CFO appointments in the FTSE 100, 89 in the S&P 500, and 36 in the ASX 200. In addition, private equity has experienced a notably high volume of CFO changes, further underscoring the breadth of leadership change across global markets.
As CFO turnover accelerates, the immediate downstream impact is being felt most visibly within CFO-1 positions. Consequently, 2024 and 2025 have been particularly active years for Head of Tax, Corporate Finance, and Group Treasurer mandates, many of which are subject to NDAs. These functions are closely aligned with the CFO’s strategic vision and encompass critical areas such as risk management, tax planning and strategy, capital markets, banking relationships, deal execution, and transformation leadership. As CFOs transition into new roles, these adjacent leadership positions are often among the first to be reassessed.
As organisations and newly appointed CFOs navigate not only their new companies but also external economic and political challenges, digital disruption, and regulatory tightening, they are increasingly required to evolve quickly into strategic enablers. This shift has elevated expectations of their CFO-1 leaders, who are now expected not only to execute but also to challenge, advise, and anticipate.
These heightened expectations reflect the macroeconomic and regulatory realities CFO-1 leaders must now navigate.
Key areas of focus and potential risk include:
● Rising and fluctuating interest rates
● Debt management experience
● Increased global tax scrutiny (e.g., Pillar 2)
● AI and automation agenda, often accompanied by an urgent need for digital transformation
● Political instability and uncertainty
Reassessments of teams and CFO-1 leaders are often required within 6–18 months to ensure that corporate finance, tax, and treasury functions are strategically realigned. This is especially critical when CFOs face pressure to deliver on capital efficiency, transformation, and investor trust. Realignment also allows new CFOs to embed their operating model, cultural expectations, and performance framework across these specialist teams.
Such realignment enables CFO-1 leaders to support corporate strategy better, strengthen risk controls, boost stakeholder confidence, and modernise and centralise critical functions.
These shifts are not only reshaping organisational design – they are redefining what ‘good’ looks like in CFO-1 hiring. These shifts are reshaping leadership hiring priorities:
● Demand for treasury leaders with global capital markets expertise and the ability to manage complex, multi-currency environments.
● Tax leaders with deep regulatory insight and the ability to anticipate and influence policy changes.
● Hybrid skill sets that combine technical mastery with strategic advisory capabilities.
● Leaders who can embed digital transformation into tax and treasury, ensuring technology adoption is enterprise-wide.
In practice, this means organisations are increasingly favouring candidates who demonstrate both depth and breadth – technical excellence supported by commercial judgement, communication strength, and cross-functional impact.
Taken together, these patterns indicate a clear evolution in both capability requirements and functional purpose.
We predict that tax and treasury will continue to be strategic centres of excellence, not just compliance functions. The remit of these teams is expanding, touching everything from capital allocation to ESG reporting to scenario planning.
● Treasury as a resilience hub: Managing liquidity, hedging volatility, and optimising capital structures will be central to navigating uncertainty.
● Tax as a transparency driver: With global regimes tightening, tax leaders will play a pivotal role in shaping corporate reputation and investor confidence.
● Digital-first operations: Automation, AI, and advanced analytics will redefine forecasting, reporting, controls and risk management.
● Cross-functional influence: Tax and treasury leaders will increasingly collaborate with strategy, investor relations, and technology teams to embed financial resilience across businesses.
The organisations that invest early in these capabilities will be better positioned to withstand geopolitical shifts, regulatory change, and economic volatility.
With these trends accelerating, finance leaders are reassessing how tax and treasury must be positioned to meet the demands of the next decade.
As CFOs face increasing pressure to deliver clarity, resilience, and forward-looking financial leadership, tax and treasury functions must evolve in parallel. Many organisations recognise the challenges but have not yet taken the proactive steps needed to future-proof these critical areas. Our guidance focuses on helping clients anticipate change rather than respond to it, ensuring their CFO-1 leaders are equipped for both current demands and those on the horizon.
● Reassess tax and treasury leadership structures regularly to ensure alignment with evolving global regulations and capital priorities.
● Prioritise succession planning for tax and treasury roles, recognising their growing strategic importance as these functions continue to evolve.
● Invest in digital capabilities within these functions to future-proof operations.
● Build diverse leadership teams that bring global perspectives to complex tax and treasury challenges.
Increasingly, boards and CFOs are treating these functions as strategic assets – requiring forward-looking planning rather than reactive hiring.
Our work across global markets reinforces these themes. We have supported CFOs, CEOs, and boards worldwide in building resilient tax and treasury leadership teams. Our approach includes:
● Partnering with executive teams to define future-ready capabilities in tax and treasury.
● Leveraging our global network to identify and place leaders who combine technical expertise with strategic vision.
● Providing ongoing advisory support to ensure tax and treasury functions remain aligned with shifting market realities.
Today, this means helping clients position tax and treasury as strategic enablers – functions that not only safeguard compliance and liquidity but also actively drive transformation, capital efficiency, and investor confidence.
For over 25 years, Pure Search has supported CFOs and CEOs worldwide in building leadership teams across Tax, Treasury, and Corporate Finance – spanning the FTSE 100 and 250, private equity-backed firms, and financial services.
As the pace of change accelerates across global finance leadership, the need for strategically aligned CFO -1 talent has never been greater. Whether responding to a recent CFO appointment, preparing for transformation, or reassessing your leadership structure, Pure Search is uniquely positioned to support your journey.
With deep expertise, global reach, and a proven track record, we are the trusted partner for building resilient, future-ready specialist finance leaders and their teams. If you would like to discuss how these market shifts may impact your tax, treasury or broader CFO-1 leadership planning, please get in touch for a confidential conversation.
