European Chapter of the CFO Leadership Network

Group Chief Financial Officer, National Grid, and Co-Chair of the A4S CFO Leadership Network Europe

Andy trained and qualified as a chartered accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers and is a member of the ICAEW. He has significant financial experience, having previously held a number of senior finance leadership roles across the Group, including Group Financial Controller, UK CFO and, most recently, Group Tax and Treasury Director. Andy’s in-depth knowledge of National Grid, both in the UK and US, and his broad experience in operational and corporate finance roles have ensured a smooth transition to his role as CFO.

Andy graduated with a BA(Hons) degree in history from University of Bristol and served in a number of roles with PricewaterhouseCoopers, including a secondment to the US, before joining the Group in 2008. 

Member of the Executive Board and Chief Financial Officer, Siemens Energy  and Co-Chair of the A4S CFO Leadership Network Europe

Maria Ferraro was appointed Member of the Executive Board and Chief Financial Officer of Siemens Energy AG and Member of the Executive Board and Chief Financial Officer of Siemens Energy Management GmbH effective May 1, 2020. Prior to her appointment, she held several senior management positions in Corporate Finance within Siemens in the United Kingdom, as well as in Canada, Germany and the United States.

Before being appointed Chief Financial Officer of Siemens Energy, Maria Ferraro held the position of Chief Financial Officer for the Operating Company Digital Industries as well as Chief Diversity Officer at Siemens AG.

Maria Ferraro was born and educated in Canada. She is a designated Chartered Accountant and spent her early career with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Nortel Networks, holding a variety of roles in Canada and on a global level whilst gaining in-depth experience in European and Asian markets.

Chief Financial Officer, Adecco Group

Coram Williams joined the Adecco Group as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and member of the Executive Committee in May 2020.

Before joining the Adecco Group he served as CFO of Pearson Plc from 2015. Prior to that Coram was CFO of Penguin Random House from 2013 to 2015, based in New York. He also held several other senior leadership positions in both finance and operations within the Pearson Group. Coram’s experience spans Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. He holds an MBA from London Business School and a BA (Hons) from the University of Oxford.

Chief Financial Officer, British Land

Bhavesh was appointed CFO and Executive Director of British Land Company PLC in 2021 and is the Board lead for Sustainability. Prior to joining British Land, Bhavesh was Deputy Chief Financial Officer at Tesco PLC. Bhavesh has previously held senior finance and strategy roles in a range of consumer-facing businesses including Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, Anheuser Busch InBev and Virgin Media. Bhavesh began his career with KPMG in Toronto, Canada and holds a Master of Accounting from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from London Business School.

Chief Financial Officer, Burberry

Kate is a highly experienced Chief Financial Officer having held roles in both public and private companies. In addition to her financial acumen, Kate has extensive experience driving business transformation and strategic development and a deep understanding of public markets. She has particular expertise in the retail sector, as well as an excellent understanding of the luxury industry.  In her early career, Kate was involved in numerous IPOs including that of Burberry in 2002. Kate is a Chartered Accountant. 

Global Chief Financial Officer, Chanel

Philippe is the Global CFO of Chanel. Based in London he oversees finance operations across the various divisions, regions, and activities of the company. He is in charge of modernizing the finance vision and skillsets, and bringing valuable insights to the business leadership of the company.

A French national, Philippe earned his MBA from Ecole de Management de Lyon and his DESCF (French Chartered Accountancy highest diploma) before starting his career with KPMG.

With the Bolloré Group for 7 years, he held positions as operational CFO of various subsidiaries of the Group in Africa before moving to Nestlé where he held different CFO positions in Ivory Coast, Pakistan, Switzerland and Russia.

As the CFO of the Nestlé Russian/CIS Region in Moscow, he partnered with the CEO to drive double digit growth in a year before being promoted CFO of Nestlé Europe where he oversaw a finance organization of 3,000 people while actively contributing to regain market share and restore profitability. As Nestlé‘s Senior VP–Corporate/Group Controller reporting to the CFO, he controlled the group strategic business units and co-piloted the group’s Strategy and Operational management along with the Group CEO, CFO, and other members of the leadership team.

In his free time, Philippe trains and runs marathons all over the world. He is currently developing his skills as a cyclist and training to compete in triathlons.

Chief Financial Officer, DHL Group

Melanie Kreis is a physicist by training and holds an MBA from INSEAD.

She began her career in 1997 as a consultant at McKinsey. In 2000 she moved to private equity firm Apax Partners.

In 2004 she joined Deutsche Post DHL Group, where she initially worked in the Corporate Development department in Bonn and later in the UK, leading the Exel integration.

In October 2006 she assumed the position of Executive Vice President (EVP) Corporate Office. In 2009 she took over as EVP Corporate Controlling and in April 2013 as CFO of DHL Express.

On November 1st 2014 Kreis was promoted to the Board of Management of DHL Group, as the Board Member for Human Resources and Labor Director.

Since October 1st 2016, she has been the Chief Financial Officer of DHL Group.

Acting Chief Financial Officer, Heathrow Airport Holdings

Sally was appointed as Acting Chief Financial Officer in April 2024. Since joining Heathrow in 2006, Sally has played a key role in shaping Heathrow’s capital structure and establishing Heathrow’s credit in the financial market.

In over 6 years as the Director of Treasury and Business Planning, Sally has driven and delivered sophisticated financing strategy during both expansion and crisis periods, as well as complicated business planning for the last couple of years to enable business recovery and accelerate growth.

Group Chief Financial Officer, NatWest Group

Katie Murray joined the Group as Director of Finance in November 2015 and was appointed as Deputy Chief Financial Officer in March 2017. She was then appointed as Group Chief Financial Officer in January 2019.

Katie has worked in Finance and Accounting for nearly 30 years with experience in capital management, investor relations, financial planning and all areas of financial services. Katie was previously the Group Finance Director for Old Mutual Emerging Markets, based in Johannesburg from 2011-2015, having held various roles across Old Mutual from 2002. Prior to this Katie worked at KPMG for 13 years.

Katie is a Chartered Accountant having trained in Scotland and is a member of ICAS.

Group Chief Financial Officer, Smurfit Kappa Group

Ken Bowles was appointed Group Chief Financial Officer of the Smurfit Kappa Group in April 2016 and was appointed a Director of the Group in December 2016. He joined the Smurfit Kappa in 1994 and has occupied a number of finance roles in various parts of the Group. Prior to his appointment as Group CFO he held the position of Group Financial Controller from 2010. He was the Group’s Head of Tax from 2007 to 2010 prior to which he was appointed as the Group’s first Head of Compliance in 2004. Mr Bowles is an associate member of the Institute of Chartered Management Accountants and holds a first class MBA from the UCD Graduate School of Business.

Chief Financial Officer, Sonova

Birgit is CFO at Sonova, a leading provider of innovative hearing care solutions, with responsibilities for Finance, M&A, Investor Relations and Information Technology.

She is also Supervisory Board member at ASML, an innovation leader in the semiconductor industry.

She was previously CFO of TUI AG, a global leader in tourism and CFO of Telenet Group, a Belgian media, cable and telecommunications company. Prior to that, she held various leadership positions in finance, strategy and business operations in the pharmaceuticals and medical devices business units at Johnson & Johnson, and in finance at Heineken, Tenneco and Reed Elsevier.

Birgit holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in the US and a Master of Science in Business Economics from the University of Tilburg in the Netherlands.

Chief Financial Officer, SSE

Barry joined SSE in 2008 and became Chief Financial Officer on the Board in December 2023. Prior to becoming Chief Financial Officer, Barry was Finance Director for SSE Renewables as well as having responsibility for corporate finance across the whole of the SSE Group. In his previous role of Director of Treasury and Corporate Finance he oversaw group funding and treasury operations. He is a chartered accountant who trained with PWC in Dublin before joining Airtricity in 2005

Chief Financial Officer, The Crown Estate

Robert Allen joined The Crown Estate as Interim Chief Financial Officer in March 2021 and was appointed Chief Financial Officer in July 2021. Robert sits on the Value Creation Committee and is a member of the Group Leadership Team.

Robert has extensive financial leadership experience, most recently in the UK property sector at Crest Nicholson as Group Finance Director and for intu plc, where he held the position of Group Chief Financial Officer. Prior to this, he had a long global finance career at British American Tobacco after having qualified as a chartered accountant at Coopers & Lybrand.

Robert’s experience spans a wide range of activities including strategy, change, mergers and acquisitions, investor relations and financial risk management.

Group Chief Financial Officer, UBS

Todd was appointed Group CFO and Member of the Group Executive Board of UBS Group AG and UBS AG in 2023. Todd previously held numerous positions in UBS including CFO, Global Wealth Management and Group Controller & Chief Accounting Officer. Prior to joining UBS Todd held various positions at KPMG in New York. Todd holds a BA in Economics from Princeton and an MBA in accounting from NYU.

Group Chief Financial Officer, Zurich Insurance Group

Claudia Cordioli, Zurich Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and a member of the Executive Committee, has served in various senior positions in insurance, reinsurance and consulting. Prior to joining Zurich as CFO on March 1, 2024, she served as Swiss Re’s group finance director from 2022 to 2024, overseeing core finance functions and the group’s transition to IFRS 17. From 2020 to 2022, she served as CFO of Swiss Re’s reinsurance business, and prior to that, held various senior positions across the group including head of Western and Southern Europe, leading its reinsurance business in 15 countries. Before joining Swiss Re in 2003, she worked in banking and consulting firms as a senior consultant, including at KPMG, Zurich (Switzerland).

Ms. Cordioli is a fellow of the Aspen Institute Finance Leaders Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Ms. Cordioli holds a degree in business administration from the University of Verona (Italy), Faculty of Economics. In 2007 she passed her certified public accountant (CPA) exam with the New Hampshire, U.S., Board of Accountancy.