Ellie Heanue

My specialist area is Accountancy & Finance

Ellie is an Associate Director, specialising in permanent CFO search, Finance Director recruitment and senior finance hiring for private equity-backed businesses in London and the UK.

She partners with investors, CEOs, CFOs and Finance Directors to appoint finance leaders and build high-performing finance teams. Her core market is PE-backed portfolio companies, alongside VC-backed scale-ups and listed businesses.

Since joining Cedar in November 2021, Ellie has supported businesses through organic growth, acquisitions, integration and the development of their finance functions. Her experience spans UK and international appointments, including mandates in Benelux and North America.

Ellie’s recruitment specialisms include:

• Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and Finance Directors
• Heads of Finance and Financial Controllers
• Group Financial Controllers and Group Reporting Managers
• Heads of FP&A, FP&A Managers and Analysts
• Commercial Finance and Finance Business Partnering
• Technical Accounting

Ellie works with ACA, ACCA and CIMA-qualified professionals, from mid-senior through to the C-suite, through retained executive search, targeted headhunting and wider finance team builds.

Private equity-backed businesses need finance teams that can deliver strong control, sharp commercial insight and investor-grade reporting, often at pace. Whether it’s a first CFO hire after investment or building out a function to support a value creation plan, she takes the time to understand the business, its ownership structure and what each appointment needs to achieve. For candidates, she focuses on finding roles that fit their experience and long-term ambitions.

Ellie is passionate about helping more women reach C-suite positions in finance. In 2023, she founded Cedar’s Women in Senior Finance Leadership business breakfast series, which has since brought together more than 100 female CFOs. The series creates space for candid conversations about leading with impact, navigating workplace dynamics, advocating for fair compensation, and supporting the next generation of female finance leaders.

Outside work, you’ll find Ellie travelling, trying new restaurants, or cooking for friends and family, usually with her cat, Beans, supervising from the kitchen.

If you’re hiring permanent finance talent or considering your next move, please get in touch.

Testimonials

It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Ellie! She takes the time to understand what you are looking for and keeps you up to date throughout all stages of the process. = Hamehrah Parveen, Finance Manager

Ellie is very professional. She handled my recruitment session with so much professionalism, she was very approachable and gave timely feedback. She was also able to communicate the requirements of the role and the step-by-step process as well as handle the negotiation discussions. She is the ideal recruiter.  – Tiwaloluwa Olowu, Finance Manager