Chief Financial Officer / United States · Global perspective
DavidEllis
Capital discipline. Strategic clarity. Sustainable value.
I work with boards and executive teams to connect financial discipline with strategic possibility.
- Board appointments
- Advisory roles
- Speaking invitations
04
Mergers & acquisitions
$2.4 bn
Capital raised
Equity, debt and a cross-border listing
380 bps
Margin expansion
Over four reporting years
0
Qualified audit opinions
Across twelve reporting periods
11
Transactions closed
Acquisitions, divestments and JVs
I believe
Finance earns trust by making the economics of a choice visible. I combine discipline in cash, controls and reporting with constructive challenge on investment and growth. A clear explanation of uncertainty is more valuable than precision that the underlying assumptions cannot support.
— David Ellis
The work
Decisions that moved the needle.
- 01
Capital allocation
Competing business proposals were being evaluated on inconsistent assumptions. I introduced a shared investment framework that made strategic fit, cash requirements, downside exposure and decision ownership explicit. The board could compare opportunities on a common basis, and business sponsors retained responsibility for the assumptions that underpinned their cases.
- 02
Finance transformation
Finance reporting had become a collection of local processes rather than an enterprise view. We redesigned the reporting calendar, reconciled key definitions and separated repeatable production work from commercial analysis. The programme brought finance and operating leaders into a shared discussion of performance, with clearer controls around the underlying information.
- 03
Value creation
During a portfolio review, I worked with business leaders to distinguish reported growth from the quality of the economics behind it. We examined resource intensity, working-capital patterns and the capabilities required by each strategic option. The resulting conversation gave the board a more considered basis for deciding where management attention and capital belonged.
Boardroom
Seats at the table.
Calder Logistics
Independent Director
Audit (Chair) · Risk
2021 — Present
Westmoor Housing Finance
Non-Executive Director
Audit · ALCO
2018 — Present
The Lakeshore Foundation
Honorary Treasurer
Finance & Investment
2016 — 2022
Others say
Word from the boardroom.
Turns a complex balance sheet into a decision the whole board can own. Investors trusted the numbers because they trusted the person.
Discipline without rigidity. The finance function became a partner to the business, not its referee.
An invitation
Let's talk properly.
Bold mandates, difficult turnarounds, board seats that need conviction — I want to hear about them.
- Board appointments
- Advisory roles
- Speaking invitations
office@davidellis.example