Paul Freear Email & Phone Number

As an experienced, CIMA qualified, Finance Director I have a track record of driving business improvement as a commercially focussed, influential business partner, and as a trusted finance leader operating at a strategic and board level. I have played key roles in achieving successful PE backed business sales, led and supported commercial initiatives, and identified and delivered cost rationalisation to turnaround, protect and drive profitability. I set up and led FP&A with a focus on performance optimisation, meaningful business insights and business process improvement. Supported by quality business partnering, this achieved real and lasting change to reporting and influence on performance. Through a range of Group, Site and Business Unit finance leadership roles I have developed strong and broad financial skills and experience. With this experience spanning FMCG, Brand, Private Label, Foodservice, multi-site and complex matrix organisations, along with M&A in PE backed companies, I am adept at managing complexity and change and in meeting a broad spectrum of stakeholder needs. Excellent stakeholder management is central to success. Operationally and through to the Board level, as well as externally, I am an effective influencer, working cross-functionally to achieve financial engagement and ownership with colleagues and stakeholders in order to maximise business performance, evidenced in the numerous profit improving initiatives I have led and supported. With solid business and strategic planning experience, and strong process management as my foundations, I get to the heart of issues with a high level analytical capability to achieve meaningful, actionable, and aligned information, enabling decisions and actions to drive results and enhance competitiveness. As a driven, ambitious individual, I always strive for progress and success but am not afraid of tough decisions or driving tough actions. I have led and supported a variety of optimisation and cost rationalisation initiatives to help turnaround, sustain and drive businesses.I take care to recognise the value of colleagues. As a finance leader I strive to provide structure, coaching and support to enable finance colleagues to succeed, and am proud of numerous colleagues I have helped progress in their work and careers. As a business influencer I also invest in engaging, informing and empowering non-finance colleagues to understand financial context to align decision making and maximise their contribution to financial success.

Listed skills include Leadership, Cross Functional Alignment, Presentation Skills, Stakeholder Management, and 29 others.