CFO appointed in nine days.
No drama. How SearcHive delivered a shortlist of exceptional senior finance leaders for British Rowing, from brief to offer in under two working weeks.
I was in my first week as CEO at British Rowing when the CFO need became clear. I'd seen SearcHive deliver at UK Athletics, so the decision was straightforward. I knew the platform, I trusted the process, and I had no hesitation bringing them in from day one. I had a roadshow to get on with and couldn't afford for this to become a distraction. It didn't. The search ran seamlessly in the background, the shortlist was genuinely strong, and we had our CFO appointed within days. I had enough confidence in SearcHive to recommend them to British Gymnastics shortly after, and I'd do the same again without hesitation.
The Client
British Rowing
British Rowing is the national governing body for the sport of rowing in Great Britain, responsible for developing the sport at every level, from grass-roots participation through to Olympic and Paralympic excellence. Appointing a CFO to an organisation like this isn't simply a technical exercise. It requires someone who understands the culture, the pace, and the particular demands of leading a finance function inside a mission-driven, high-profile organisation.
Finding that person quickly takes a platform built on something that can't be replicated overnight: a deep, curated network of senior finance professionals, and the expertise to know who will fit before a CV is ever sent.
The Challenge
Urgent. Sensitive. High-stakes.
Tom Solesbury arrived at British Rowing as its newly appointed CEO and within his first week identified a clear and pressing need: a CFO. With a roadshow ahead of him and no time to manage a prolonged search process, he turned immediately to SearcHive, a platform he already trusted from his time at UK Athletics. That confidence wasn't built over years of relationship-building. It was earned through results. And it was strong enough that Tom would go on to recommend SearcHive to British Gymnastics shortly after.
The challenge was never really about finding someone who could do the job technically. Senior CFOs with the right qualifications aren't rare. The challenge was finding the right person: someone with the character, the leadership style, and the cultural fit to thrive in an organisation like British Rowing. That kind of judgement comes from a platform built on decades of senior finance expertise and a community of finance leaders that most recruiters simply don't have access to.
The brief was taken on a Tuesday. The search was already underway before the call ended.
“Speed without quality is just noise. A shortlist like this isn't built by casting wide. It's built on a platform that knows exactly where to look, and a network that senior finance leaders actually trust.”
Catherine Turner, Founder, SearcHive®How It Happened
Nine days. Every one of them counted.
Day 1: Tuesday
Brief received and search activated
SearcHive took a detailed brief from British Rowing, covering not just the technical requirements of the role but the cultural and strategic context. Understanding the organisation's relationship with UK Sport, its charity governance obligations, and the board's expectations shaped the search parameters from the outset. The SearcHive network was activated the same day.
Day 4: Friday
Shortlist delivered
Three days after the brief, British Rowing received a curated shortlist of three candidates, each individually assessed, briefed on the role, and confirmed as actively interested. No speculative CVs. No filler. Every candidate on the shortlist had been spoken to directly, their motivations tested, and their fit for British Rowing specifically, covering culture, leadership, and pace, and assessed with care. British Rowing received considered profiles, not just CVs.
Day 7: Monday
Three back-to-back first interviews
All three shortlisted candidates interviewed on the same day, back-to-back. This approach, which SearcHive coordinates as standard, allowed the interview panel to make direct, contemporaneous comparisons. No week-long gap between conversations, no risk of losing momentum or candidate interest. The panel went into the afternoon with a clear view of who they wanted to see again.
Day 10: Thursday
Two candidates invited to second interview
Two standout candidates returned for second-stage conversations. At this point the process moved into more detailed territory: strategic thinking, stakeholder engagement, and the candidate's vision for the finance function at a major national governing body. Both conversations were substantive. The decision, when it came, was a genuine one: two strong candidates, one role.
Day 11: Friday
Offer made and accepted
British Rowing made their offer. It was accepted. Nine days from initial brief to agreed appointment, with a candidate who had been thoroughly assessed, was fully prepared for the role, and had chosen British Rowing with genuine intent. No counter-offer drama. No last-minute dropouts. Just a clean, well-managed conclusion to a search that had run exactly as it should.
The Shortlist
Three candidates. All interview-ready. No passengers.
Speed is only meaningful if the quality holds. The SearcHive shortlist for British Rowing was not a product of volume searching. It was the result of a platform built on decades of senior finance expertise and a living, active community of CFOs, FDs and finance leaders across the UK. The SearcHive network isn't a passive database. It's a curated professional community, maintained through The CFO Series and ongoing engagement, which means when a role like this comes in, the right people are already known, already accessible, and already trusted. Every candidate presented met a consistent standard across three dimensions:
Known Quantities
These weren't speculative names pulled from a search engine. Every candidate came from SearcHive's active senior finance network, with track records, working style, and ambitions already understood before any approach was made.
Technical Rigour
All three were qualified, senior finance leaders with CFO or equivalent track records. The technical baseline was non-negotiable, confirmed before any CV reached the client.
The Right Fit
Cultural fit isn't something you assess on paper. It comes from knowing the candidate and knowing the client. Every person presented had been assessed not just on what they'd done, but on whether they were right for British Rowing specifically.
The Result
A CFO appointed in nine days. A process that worked.
British Rowing now has a CFO who was selected through a rigorous, structured process. Not a rushed one. The speed was a function of thirty years of preparation: a network built over a career, activated in a moment. From a standing start on a Tuesday morning to an accepted offer the following Friday: nine days, three strong candidates, two substantive second interviews, and one clean appointment.
That is what a well-run retained search looks like when the network already exists.
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