When a US workplace technology company bought a Stockholm operation, its first CFO hire had to bridge two very different business cultures. The search ran quietly. The deal was still confidential and candidates were briefed in private, one-on-one conversations.
The Client
The acquisition marked the first time a Stockholm-based business was integrated into a US workplace and project management group. The Swedish business had a five-strong accounting team, none of whom had reported into a US parent before.
The CFO role was being built from scratch at the Stockholm level, where finance leadership had been in place before the acquisition. NetSuite was operational but had to be reconfigured for project-level cost control, an important requirement for a business that ran on project economics.
The Challenge
The acquisition was still low-profile at the beginning of the mandate, so the search had to be done entirely via direct headhunting. Candidates could get individual briefings on the specifics, but neither the acquisition nor the employer’s name was made public.
The position required a senior finance executive at the CFO level in Sweden, with experience in project-based businesses. Fluency in Swedish was a strict requirement, as most of the operational staff and the finance team worked primarily in Swedish. It was also expected that reporting would be directly to US leadership, with the CFO as the first point of contact for group-level discussions and future M&A conversations.
The compensation range was lower than the average in the Stockholm CFO market, which further reduced the realistic candidate pool. Long tenure was expected at previous employers, as the business had just changed hands and needed stability more than ambition.
The Solution
Since the acquisition had not been announced, direct headhunting was the only practical route. Keller Executive Search developed a long candidate list through targeted outreach. The pool of candidates underwent several rounds of assessment, with Swedish fluency and industry background given as much importance as finance credentials.
The first shortlist received specific written feedback from the client. Two candidates were passed over for moving too much between employers. Another candidate was technically strong, but the client wanted more certainty on his Swedish before committing to a formal interview.
The top candidate had accumulated extensive experience in project-based industries and had led ERP programs at similarly structured businesses. After the last call with US leadership, he sent a detailed note with his approach to the ERP and the finance team. That note came in twenty-four hours after the last call, and the offer was made before the week was out.
The Results
Background checks were done through Verifile, and the candidate started with the business on October 1, the contract having been signed with the outgoing leadership in Stockholm. The business had recently changed hands, and the finance function was still forming when he joined.
The search delivered a CFO who met all criteria at a salary most candidates at his level would pass on. Keller Executive Search ran the process to the deadline on an exclusive direct headhunt basis with no acquisition disclosure. The reporting line was changed before his start date; he would report directly into US leadership from day one.
The Impact
The CFO role didn’t exist before the acquisition, and the search ran completely through direct headhunting while the deal stayed undisclosed, landing a hire at a salary most candidates would have walked away from at this level. The new CFO is not inheriting a function; he is building it. ERP reconfiguration is underway, a Swedish-speaking team gained a leader, and the US parent has a primary contact for group-level discussions and future M&A. The acquisition demanded a finance leader with the ability to bridge two business cultures from day one, and the search yielded one without ever making the deal public.
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