Meet the leaders behind our vision

Ian Young

Managing Director US Northeast

Ian is Managing Director US Northeast since 2020 and CEO Canada which he launched in 2011. The combined region has grown into one of the largest operations in the global network, with more than 130 CFOs across 12 regions. With over 25 years of experience as CFO for leading retailers, he brings deep expertise in strategy, funding, and turnaround leadership. Ian’s purpose is twofold: to give SMEs access to world-class financial leadership on flexible terms, and to provide experienced CFOs with independent, fulfilling careers. A proud father of two sons, he believes that family and legacy sit at the heart of all meaningful work.

Debbie Benger

Head of Group Operations

Debbie Benger is the Head of Group Operations for The CFO Centre Group.  She works with Group CEO, Sara Daw, to bring new countries into the Group and support their growth. Working at The CFO Centre since 2008, Debbie designed and implemented many of the HR processes still used in the business today in the areas of recruitment and learning and development and was instrumental in the growth of the company from 20 people when she joined, to 240+ CFOs in the UK before moving to a Group Operations role.

Sara Daw

Group CEO

Sara is Group CEO of The CFO Centre and The Liberti Group, having joined as a CFO in 2005. She’s one of the pioneers of fractional and part-time executive leadership, helping thousands of C-suite professionals build portfolio careers in the access economy. Sara is the author of Strategy and Leadership as Service, and Executive Freedom, and holds an MBA from London Business School. She’s also a Chartered Accountant and an Oxford Chemistry graduate. She brings commercial insight, academic rigour, and a transformational mindset to her leadership of The CFO Centre.

Beth Farnham

Marketing Executive

Troy Humol

Marketing Support

Cheryl Salmero

Marketing Support

Cheryl supports The CFO Centre’s marketing efforts by managing LinkedIn, email, and digital campaigns through LeadLab. She focuses on campaign delivery, accurate reporting, and data management, helping ensure smooth and effective marketing activity across the business.

Hayley Harrison

Finance Business Partner

Hayley has been with the CFO Centre for 5 years now, joining the company over Teams during the COVID pandemic for her first year! Hayley is a qualified chartered management accountant with 15 years' experience in finance leadership roles. Hayley overseas Finance for several of our global entities including the USA, Germany, Hong Kong and Singapore and also supports the Group Finance assistants. Outside of work Hayley enjoys live music, swimming and reading at least 1 new book a month!

Aly Vesdekis-Ballingall

Group Financial Assistant

Aly is Group Financial Assistant for The CFO Centre. She started off her journey assisting with Group finance and the sectors growth, later expanding her remit to include assisting with financial tasks for the USA, Germany, Hong Kong and Singapore. Aly’s journey as an individual has also continued to grow and now includes further support within the team where she is training under Hayley Harrison. Aly is very passionate about what she does. Outside of work, Aly loves to spend time with her family and pets and never likes to be bored; she always needs to find something to do.

Lynn Gentry

Team Support USA

Lynn has been with the CFO Center since September 2020.  She began assisting in Team Support for the US division and later took on a role in the Finance Department, focusing on US-related matters. Her background as a paralegal and accounting administrator gives her a keen sense of the written word and the ability to keep track of ever-evolving day-to-day duties. Her secret power lies in reading articles in newspapers and magazines and happily discovering spelling and grammatical errors. When outside the office, her happy place can be found around white sand, warm, clear water, and tropical fish.

Yasmeen AlSaad

Talent Acquisition Partner Northeastern USA

With extensive experience in executive recruitment across professional services, fintech, and the financial industry, Yasmeen plays a key role in building The CFO Centre’s network of exceptional finance leaders across Canada and the Northeastern United States. Since joining in 2023, she has interviewed and evaluated hundreds of accomplished CFOs, identifying those who not only bring financial expertise but also demonstrate strong cultural alignment with the firm’s values and client-focused approach. Yasmeen works closely with the leadership team to ensure new CFOs who join the organization strengthen The CFO Centre’s mission of delivering world-class fractional CFO support to growing businesses. Outside of work, Yasmeen enjoys learning about human behavior and psychology, bringing the same curiosity and analytical mindset to her recruitment work.

Jeannie Johnson

Group People & Team Support Executive

Jeannie has been part of The CFO Centre for over a decade. She began her journey in South Africa as Business Support Manager for The FD Centre. After relocating to the UK , Jeannie supported Group Learning and Development, later expanding her remit to include recruitment, first in the UK, then the USA, and eventually Germany. Jeannie’s scope has continued to grow and now includes marketing support for Germany and the UAE. She is passionate about supporting the Group’s international footprint and thrives on the opportunity to collaborate with the team across the globe. Outside of work, Jeannie is most at home in the water, pursuing open water swimming as a way to explore and experience new places.

Eliza McIntyre

Group Operations Executive / People Specialist

Eliza has worked at The CFO Centre for over 6 years, initially in recruitment for the UK business. She moved over to a Group role during the German set up phase, then to CFO recruitment for the USA. As the company has expanded into new territories, Eliza has added CFO recruitment in the UAE to her remit. Additionally, she supports the Head of Global Operations in her activities from an operational perspective, as well as facilitating the New Joiner Mentor Program, (our proprietary method of teaching all new CFOs and RDs all our tools, methodologies and IP) across our incubator countries. Eliza’s background is in headhunting and recruitment for large and small search firms, private clients and in-house, across a broad range of industry sectors spanning consumer goods, retail, government organisations and technology. There is nothing she enjoys more than listening to or interviewing people, finding out what makes them tick – she even used this in a former career as a ski instructor!