Thomas L.-Interim Finance Director / Transformation CFO CFO Office | PE Portfolio Finance | Liquidity & Stakeholder Reporting |
Check rate
Experience
Interim Finance Director - CFO Office, Liquidity & Performance Steering
PE-Owned Portfolio Company
Selected Mandate - PE-Owned Portfolio Company
CFO Office execution mandate with Transformation CFO scope after CFO transition. Reporting directly to the combined CEO/CFO role, with one individual holding both CEO and statutory CFO responsibility.
- Managing liquidity forecasting, cash management and short-term cash visibility; preparing investor and lender reporting.
- Stabilizing finance operations, reporting cadence and finance interfaces across HQ and subsidiaries.
- Providing extended finance leadership, people leadership and hiring support for the finance function.
- Supporting budgeting, forecasting, FP&A cadence and management reporting.
- Restoring finance cadence across liquidity, reporting, stakeholder communication and management decision support.
- Leading performance recovery support for a US subsidiary.
CFO Office / Interim FP&A Setup Lead - Sponsor-Quality Planning, Lucanet & Liquidity Modelling
EQT Portfolio Company, Energy
Selected Mandate - EQT Portfolio Company, Energy
- Led end-to-end planning reset post-acquisition across 14 departments, including governance, assumptions framework and decision forums.
- Built planning operating model and integrated departmental strategies into one sponsor-grade plan.
- Delivered sponsor-ready financial statements in Lucanet across P&L, balance sheet and cash flow.
- Built integrated liquidity model covering current-year forecast and 12-month budget horizon, including financing sources, capital injections and timing.
Sales Effectiveness / In-Field Intelligence Lead - Transformation Governance & KPI Steering
Roche Pharma AG
- Led 5-person team across a 20-workstream environment with direct CFO / COO interface.
- Established governance cadence through weekly steering and bi-weekly sponsor touchpoints.
- Delivered measurable throughput with 90+ fixes implemented and improved transparency, prioritization and execution governance.
Interim Head of Margin Management & Commercial Controlling - PE-Backed Performance Steering
Pfleiderer Group - PE-backed
Lead commercial controlling team (3 direct reports) and ensure ongoing department operations such as sales reporting, planning and budgeting, ad-hoc business analyses on improvement potentials and business partner role to address strategic challenges as well as sales steering and sales management setup (e.g. sales incentives definition and monitoring, definition of key sales processes driving performance, tracking and reporting of strategic sales initiatives)
Collaborate with key stakeholders including PE investor, P&L owners (management board, head of sales) and functional heads (head of controlling, head of SCM, head of IT)
Provide functional leadership of commercial excellence team (department head and 6 direct reports) to define, further develop and execute commercial excellence roadmap as well as critical commercial operations such as long-term transformation agenda, price steering, CRM operations, EDI system, strategic customer planning process
Founder & Managing Director - Interim Finance & Transformation for PE-backed Companies
StrategyDigitized
Help clients to improve profitability and revenue by conducting optimization and transformation consulting projects predominantly in the areas of strategy, marketing, sales, pricing, controlling and digitization of processes
Ensure customer satisfaction
Define company strategy and manage finances, steer implementation
Manage client and business partner relationships, drive business development and contracting activities, HR
Develop consulting portfolio and conduct consulting projects
Current client mandate: Roche Pharma
Director Margin Management & Pricing - Pricing Governance & EBITDA Improvement
Haniel Group
Reorganized divisional pricing team setup (15 direct reports) and established line management and process setup
Identified short-term profit upsides for various channels (online and offline) and brands and business segments
Defined and drove excellence projects (partly in-house, partly with an external consultancy) to transform company operations in line with set goals and area of responsibility including culture, business processes, IT tools, quality and effectiveness, speed and efficiency as member of the corporate executive staff
Lead Strategic Pricing - Global Pricing Governance for Adhesives
Henkel AG & Co KGaA
Conceptualized and further developed processes regarding pricing strategy definition and price operationalization for the adhesives business (~$10 bn sales, 11 SBUs globally)
Drove excellence projects to transform company operations in line with set goals and area of responsibility including culture, business processes, IT tools, quality and effectiveness, speed and efficiency as member of the corporate executive staff
Lead Pricing & Tender Management DACH - Pricing Discipline & Tender Governance
Baxter International Inc.
Led and further developed pricing and tender management activities for the DACH business (~$0.5 bn sales, 4 direct reports, 5 SBUs across 3 countries)
Drove projects and initiatives to transform company operations in line with set goals including culture, business processes, IT tools, quality and effectiveness, speed and efficiency as part of the commercial excellence leadership team
Director Commercial Planning & Pricing EMEA - Pricing CoE & Commercial Performance Steering
Merck & Co. / MSD Animal Health
Shaped and further developed commercial policy for the veterinary business in the EMEA region including management processes, tools and IT systems
Developed best practices for commercial planning and sales controlling
Conducted transformation and optimization projects in the areas of pricing and commercial and financial planning (internal and with external partners)
Head of Pricing CoE across approximately US$1.7bn sales; managed 3 direct reports and functional leadership for 100+ people
Pricing Manager
Novartis Group
Identified price potentials and coordinated implementation for a generics business unit (global, ~$0.7 bn sales, 1 direct report, functional lead >35 people)
Led business franchise pricing board and acted as sparring partner for important price decisions and further development of the pricing setup
Recommended price methodology and supported price decision-making with price and simulation models, price corridors and price differentiation criteria
Conducted profit optimization projects
Key Account Manager
Novartis Group
Managed all sales operations, led negotiations and managed customer relationships for a major global business unit key account
Held business unit country responsibility for Italy and Benelux with direct sales responsibility of ~$40 m
Manager Commercial Strategy
Novartis Group
Coordinated and supported selected strategy initiatives for the business division and strategic planning within the business unit
Developed and implemented price policy for major business unit segments and acted as second-level price approver
Further developed the price management setup including skills, processes and systems via internal and external projects
Manager Marketing Consulting (Inhouse Consulting)
Wacker Chemie AG
Shaped and drove strategic pricing program on corporate level across all hierarchy levels (corporate board to business team, corporate sales ~$5 bn)
Led internal consulting projects majorly in the areas of pricing (~80%), strategy (~10%) and market research (~10%)
Coordinated external consulting projects
Acted as trainer and management coach
Junior Leadership Program
Wacker Chemie AG
Inhouse consulting: Developed concept and tools to implement price differentiation strategy (group project) including thesis
Marketing: Conducted market study and developed strategic plan on pyrogenic silica
Global sales and distribution: Analyzed market potentials for distributor network and performed mass maintenance of SAP price conditions for global distributors business
E-Business: Conducted customer and market segmentation for silicones division and created central data pool using SAP master data management
Technical procurement: Automated purchasing processes
Industry experience
See where this freelancer has spent most of their professional time.
Experienced in Pharmaceutical, Chemical, Healthcare, Manufacturing, and Energy.
Business area experience
See which departments and functions this freelancer has contributed to most.
Experienced in Strategy, Marketing, Sales, Finance, Customer Service, and Human Resources.
Summary
Transformation CFO execution for PE portfolio companies requiring liquidity visibility, stakeholder reporting and performance steering
Interim Finance Director / Transformation CFO for PE-backed and performance-critical companies where CFO Office execution, liquidity visibility, stakeholder reporting, FP&A and performance steering need to improve quickly.
I step into portfolio-company environments during CFO transitions, finance leadership gaps, post-acquisition phases, liquidity pressure or finance operating-model challenges. My focus is to restore reliable finance steering across liquidity forecasting, cash management, investor and lender reporting, budgeting, forecasting, management reporting, finance operations and EBITDA steering.
Current PE portfolio-company mandate reports directly into the combined CEO/CFO role, with one individual holding both CEO and statutory CFO responsibility. The mandate includes hands-on CFO Office execution across liquidity, stakeholder reporting, lender reporting, finance operations, people leadership, FP&A cadence and subsidiary performance recovery.
Differentiator: Transformation CFO orientation, hands-on CFO Office execution and commercial performance expertise, complemented by pricing, margin management, commercial planning and EBITDA improvement experience. Leadership includes teams up to 15 direct reports and functional leadership of 100+ people.
- Took over CFO Office responsibilities in a PE-owned portfolio company following a CFO transition, reporting directly to the combined CEO/CFO role.
- Managed liquidity forecasting, cash management, investor reporting and lender reporting in a performance-critical finance environment.
- Provided extended finance leadership across HQ and subsidiaries, including operating cadence, hiring and people leadership.
- Restored finance cadence across liquidity, reporting, FP&A, stakeholder communication and management decision support.
- Supported performance recovery of a US subsidiary, improving financial transparency, steering and performance follow-up.
- Led post-acquisition sponsor-quality budget cycle across 14 departments for an EQT portfolio company and built an integrated liquidity model covering current-year forecast and 12-month budget horizon.
- Delivered pricing and margin initiatives with EUR 10m+ annual profit impact.
- Led teams of up to 15 direct reports and functionally led 100+ people across international finance, commercial and transformation organizations.
Skills
Transformation Cfo / Cfo Office Execution
- Finance Leadership Transition
- Cfo Office Execution
- Finance Cadence Restoration
- Management Decision Support
- Stakeholder Communication
- Finance Operating-Model Stabilization
Fp&A & Performance Steering
- Budgeting
- Forecasting
- Management Reporting
- Variance Analysis
- Ebitda Bridge
- Kpi Cadence
- Decision Packs
- Performance Transparency
Commercial Margin Recovery
- Pricing
- Discounting
- Gross-To-Net
- Customer/Product Profitability
- Margin Governance
- Sales Effectiveness
- Ebitda Improvement
Liquidity & Stakeholder Reporting
- Liquidity Forecasting
- Cash Management
- Short-Term Cash Visibility
- Investor Reporting
- Lender Reporting
- Lender-Facing Routines
- Stakeholder Communication
Pe Portfolio Finance
- Sponsor-Ready Reporting
- Post-Acquisition Planning
- Board / Investor Reporting
- Value-Creation Tracking
- Portfolio-Company Finance Professionalization
Leadership
- Direct Leadership Up To 15 People And Functional Leadership Of 100+ People Across International Finance, Commercial And Transformation Settings.
Languages
Education
Harvard University
Master of Liberal Arts, Harvard University Extension School · Finance
DHBW Heidenheim University
Diploma Business Economics, minor Computer Science · Business Economics
BOS Traunstein
University-Entrance Diploma
Certifications & licenses
Harvard Kennedy School Leadership & Transformation Management
Harvard Kennedy School
Corporate Finance Graduate Certificate
Harvard University Extension School
Credential HBX Core
Harvard Business School
Real Estate Investment Graduate Certificate
Harvard University Extension School
Statistics
Experience
Global experience
Expertise
Qualifications
Profile
Frequently asked questions
Have questions? Find more information here.
Thomas is based in Munich, Germany.
Thomas speaks the following languages: German (Native), English (Advanced), Spanish (Elementary), French (Elementary).
Thomas has at least 20 years of experience. During this time, Thomas has worked in at least 14 different roles and for 11 different companies. The average length of individual experience is 1 year and 5 months. Note that Thomas may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.
Based on recent experience, Thomas would be well-suited for roles such as: Interim Finance Director - CFO Office, Liquidity & Performance Steering, CFO Office / Interim FP&A Setup Lead - Sponsor-Quality Planning, Lucanet & Liquidity Modelling, Sales Effectiveness / In-Field Intelligence Lead - Transformation Governance & KPI Steering.
Thomas's most recent position is Interim Finance Director - CFO Office, Liquidity & Performance Steering at PE-Owned Portfolio Company.
In recent years, Thomas has worked for PE-Owned Portfolio Company, EQT Portfolio Company, Energy, Roche Pharma AG, Pfleiderer Group - PE-backed, and StrategyDigitized.
Thomas is most experienced in industries like Pharmaceutical, Chemical, and Healthcare. Thomas also has some experience in Manufacturing and Energy.
Thomas is most experienced in business areas like Strategy, Marketing, and Sales. Thomas also has some experience in Finance, Research and Development, and Customer Service.
Thomas has recently worked in industries like Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, and Chemical.
Thomas has recently worked in business areas like Finance, Sales, and Customer Service.
Thomas attended Harvard University for Finance.
Thomas has 4 certificates. Among them, these include: Harvard Kennedy School Leadership & Transformation Management, Corporate Finance Graduate Certificate, and Credential HBX Core.
Thomas is immediately available full-time for suitable projects.
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Calculated based on our freelancers’ daily rates as of 18 Oct 2026. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
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