October brought another month of senior movement across finance teams. Honch tracked 6,574 new hires and 2,481 promotions across the UK, US, and Europe, signalling new decision-makers and upcoming supplier reviews for 2026 planning.

Each change represents new priorities, new budgets, and clear routes to market for accountancy firms, fintech companies, and other providers to CFOs and FDs.

🌍 Regional snapshot

• United Kingdom: 3,742 new hires, 1,587 promotions
• United States: 1,952 new hires, 591 promotions
• Europe: 880 new hires, 303 promotions

NB: For US and EU, Honch tracks moves in organisations with 200 or more employees to focus on roles with real strategic influence.

United Kingdom: leadership depth and financial control focus

The UK remains the most active market, led by finance leadership and and growing demand for financial control and reporting expertise.

Notable senior hires (examples):

• ALDI - Hayleigh Lupino, Chief Financial Officer
• Gallagher - Andrew Bowman, Chief Financial Officer
• The University of Edinburgh - James Gray, Chief Financial Officer

‍For providers: Prioritise offers around close and consolidation, audit readiness, and tax efficiency, with modular pathways to analytics and FP&A. UK teams are reviewing year-end and 2026 now, so case-study led outreach will land well.

United States: leadership plus FP&A scale

US finance hiring is concentrated in enterprise leadership and scaling FP&A.

Notable senior hires (examples):

• Wells Fargo - Agnes Hadhazy, CFO for Global Operations
• U.S. Bank - Nick Wilson, Division CFO, Treasury and Payment Solutions
• Pair Eyewear - Andrew Heath, CFO

‍For providers: Lead with planning accuracy, scenario modelling, treasury visibility, and payment reconciliation. Enterprise buyers want faster monthly cycles, cleaner data into planning, and tight links between banking, ERP, and BI.

Europe: controllership strength and group CFO moves

Europe shows a balanced mix of group-level CFO hires and strong controllership needs across multi-market operations.

Notable senior hires (examples):

• Siemens - Chun Xia, Chief Financial Officer
• Allianz Commercial - Hyeji Kang, Chief Financial Officer
• Saab Surveillance - Emil Johnsson, CFO

‍For providers: Emphasise multi-entity consolidation, intercompany, statutory and ESG-linked reporting, and integrations that respect local requirements. Show you can standardise processes across countries without ripping out existing ERPs.

📈 Promotions: fast action, fast reviews

Honch recorded 2,481 promotions across the three regions. Promoted leaders typically move quickly to rationalise tooling and advisory partners within their first quarter.

For providers: Promotions are a live buying signal. Offer a low-risk diagnostic or pilot tied to one outcome, for example close acceleration or forecast accuracy, then expand.

🔎 What job titles clearly signal right now

Only themes that are obvious from titles and seniority:

• Finance Leadership (CFO, Finance Director, VP Finance) remains the largest driver of supplier reviews.
• Controllership & Accounting shows persistent demand for close, consolidation, reconciliations, and controls.
• FP&A activity is rising in the US and present in the UK and EU, with interest in driver-based planning and rolling forecasts.
• Tax and Treasury appear consistently, opening targeted opportunities for automation, visibility, and compliance.
• Risk, Compliance, and Audit are present but smaller in volume, suitable for value-led, problem-specific outreach.

⏱️ The 100-day window

Around 70% of newly appointed senior finance leaders spend most of their first-year budget within 100 days. For October’s appointments, that window runs through November, December, and January.

Action for providers: Be specific, be timely, and lead with a single measurable outcome. The shortlist is being set now.

🚀 Stay ahead with Honch

Honch tracks every senior finance move across the UK, US, and Europe, so you know who changed seats, where budgets are opening, and when to engage.