ICAEW.com works better with JavaScript enabled.
Academy of Professional Development

Network of Finance Leaders (NFL)

NFL is a global business leadership programme designed to get aspiring and new Finance Directors ready for the reality of operating at the director level. The Network of Finance Leaders programme supports businesses to develop future FDs and individuals to achieve their career ambitions.

Register your interest

What past delegates have to say about the programme

This has been the most life changing course I have ever been on. I have taken so much from the day - I can’t wait to get back to the day job and start to use the new skills and techniques to drive my team forward.

Programme overview

Overview

The Network of Finance Leaders programme consists of four key elements, which run concurrently over five months. This guarantees that participants will have the necessary time to learn, reflect, and apply their knowledge and skills with support from fellow participants, their mentor, sponsor, and our expert facilitators. The primary focus is to develop the ‘value-added’ skills crucial for securing an Finance Director role—all designed to deliver evidence of the participant's progress and adding value within their organisation.

NFL gives participants the unique opportunity to be mentored by an experienced finance leader from a large listed or private company. Our mentors have been selected for their extensive business experience, leadership capability and commitment to people development.

This programme will give you 46 CPD hours in total.

  • Key details
    • Duration: Six months
    • Location: London and online
    • Date: April 2024 cohort now fully booked
    • Please enquire for the 2025 cohort
  • Participant profile
    Participants are typically senior finance managers, finance business partners, or newly promoted Finance Directors (less than 18 months in the role).
  • 360 assessment
    Participants will complete an online 360 assessment that captures their peers and managers' feedback on their strengths, weaknesses, and personal brand and compare the results against their self-assessment. 
  • Practical workshops

    NFL workshops simulate the core challenges Financial Directors face – enabling participants to prepare and practise in a consequence free environment. 

    There are four workshops:

    1. Developing a leadership mind-set
    2. Driving the performance of your finance
    3. Beyond finance - influencing the broader business
    4. Career transforming conversations

  • Peer learning groups

    Throughout the programme, participants will share their challenges with their peers in a confidential, supportive environment. Peers provide participants with insightful, objective viewpoints that will allow them to tackle the problem from a different perspective.

  • External input from an experienced finance professional

    Throughout the programme participants will learn from CFOs and Financial Directors across various industries. Our accomplished experts will share their experiences and examples of how they have overcome some of the challenges participants will face in their career.

  • Personal one to one guidance from a professional coach or mentor

    Throughout the programme you will have six 60-minute sessions, booked around your schedule with an experienced coach or mentor. 

    These professionals are there to impart their invaluable wisdom and help you navigate current and future work challenges. 

    You will choose who you partner with, with the guidance of the ICAEW programme manager.  

Coaches and mentors

Below is just a small sample of the high-calibre coaches and mentors available on the NFL programme. Participants choose who they want to partner with on their NFL journey. 

Oliver deacon
Oliver Deacon Former Finance Director at Microsoft

Oliver is an accredited business and personal coach (ACC) certified with the ICF. He has coached Finance Directors and aspiring finance leaders from a number of tech companies, including Microsoft, Google, Amazon, smaller start-ups, and Big 4 accountancy firms (Deloitte, PWC). Before coaching, Oliver was a Finance Director at Microsoft and led numerous international teams for FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies.

Helene Brichet Herbinet
Helene Brichet Herbinet Former UK CFO, Capital One

Helene is the former CFO of Capital One UK and EVO Payments. She brings three decades of senior experience in blue-chip multi-nationals such as PWC, Barclays and Visa, in Finance and commercial functions including corporate strategy and investments & partnerships. She also led strategic programmes, including the first-ever external acquisition by Visa Europe. Her credentials cover delivering business transformation to support organisation growth, building value-add finance teams, leading through change and investing in people’s growth and development. Helene is currently a NED on the Board of Financial Services firms and a Trustee. She is an accredited Executive coach and mentor.

Andrew Clark
Andrew Clark CFO, Revolution Beauty

Andrew is the CFO for Revolution Beauty, a rapidly growing PE-backed multi-brand and multi-axis cosmetic business trading in more than 50 countries worldwide. Previously, he worked for Shiseido Group, a leading global makeup, skincare and fragrance business, as CFO for UK & Ireland region. For eight years, Andrew also worked for Costa Coffee and was part of the leadership team, responsible for seven-fold growth.

Marie Holive
Marie Holive Former MD and CFO, NBC Universal UK

Marie is currently a NED and Senior Advisor for various companies, from start-ups to big tech and banks. Previously, she was the former MD and CFO of NBC Universal UK. During her eight-year tenure, she delivered the digital transformation of a global business, successfully led culture change, and drove double-digit profit growth of a £0.5Bn business. Before joining NBC Universal, Marie worked for GE and McKinsey & Company.

Benefits

Benefits for organisations

Facilitate the mind-set change from tactical manager to strategic leader
Develop finance leaders who can motivate, inspire and empower large teams
Implement succession plans and promote future business leaders
Attract, retain, and develop finance talent
Drive operational efficiency by bringing new ideas back into the business

Benefits for participants

Gain a network of like-minded individuals across a diverse range of industries
Strengthen your communication skills to drive team performance and influence stakeholders
Create the space to generate new ideas and to concentrate on commercial and strategic priorities
Understand and develop your own strategic leadership style
Realise your career ambitions with support from a current Financial Director

Hear from Network of Finance Leaders (NFL) Graduates

Image of Mark Cummings

Interview with an NFL participant

Read Mark Cummings', Head of Regulatory Reporting at XL Insurance account on why he enrolled on NFL.

Read the case study

Image of Andrew Haven and Phillip Gregory

Interview with an NFL participant and their mentor

Read Andrew Haven's, Vice President - Equity Propriety Trading at Deutsche Bank account on why he enrolled on NFL and how his NFL Mentor Philip Gregory, Independent Non-Executive Director at Hansard Global helped him with his challenge.

Read the case study

Image of Aaron Beck

Interview with an NFL participant

Read Aaron Beck's, Financial Controller at Seajacks UK Ltd account on how he has benefitted from NFL.

Read the case study

Barclays logo Capital One logo Costa logo Mclaren logo Rio Tinto logo Aspen insurance Plus Net logo McCarthy Stone logo

Get in touch

To find out more information call us on +44 (0)20 7920 3509 or register your interest below.

Register your interest

You may also like...

Icon representing a lightbulb
Coaching and mentoring

Enhance your career in finance with a bespoke coaching and mentoring programme from ICAEW Academy.

Wolf
Leading change in the finance function

Gain a deeper understanding of the emotional responses to change and how to cope better with them – for yourself and for your team.

Bees
NEW - finance business partnering

Learn how to be a world class finance business partner,. in your own-time with bite-sized on-demand videos.