How do you rebuild a heritage automotive brand, manage risk through volatility, and keep finance close to the factory floor?

Is there someone you’d like to see on The CFO Playbook? Email us at: pr@soldo.com

In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Andy Mullineaux, CFO at MOKE International, the British automotive brand reimagining the iconic MOKE as a fully electric, modern vehicle built in the Midlands.

Andy shares what it takes to build a lean finance function inside a niche automotive business, from keeping teams small and data clean to making sure finance processes are embedded across operations, manufacturing, supply chain, and risk management. He explains why good inputs matter more than trying to predict the future of AI, and how preparing data properly today can make finance teams more effective tomorrow.

In his conversation with David McClelland, Andy reflects on his journey from PwC to McLaren and then MOKE, including the lessons learned from scenario planning through crisis, navigating funding gaps, and working with world-class engineers. He also discusses the challenge of scaling a beloved heritage brand, the impact of US tariffs, why CFOs need to get out from behind the spreadsheet, and how asking “stupid” questions can be one of the smartest things a finance leader can do.

Andy’s CFO Playbook principle: Get yourself a rubber duck, explaining the problem out loud might just solve it.

Chapters:

(00:00) Intro: from supercars to a heritage electric automotive brand

(04:15) The story of MOKE, from failed military project to holiday icon

(10:58) Building a lean finance function from a blank sheet of paper

(14:00) AI, clean data, and preparing finance for future tools

(20:30) Lessons from McLaren and the challenge of independent automotive brands

(24:21) Why Andy’s CFO role is deeply embedded in operations

(38:35) Scenario planning, funding gaps, and the arrival of the pandemic

(46:11) Risk management, curiosity, and asking the obvious questions

(59:31) MOKE’s US ambitions, tariffs, and market diversification

(01:09:08) Rubber duck programming as a CFO leadership principle

About Soldo

Soldo is the proactive spend management solution that frees progressive businesses to accomplish more.

Over 25,000 organisations across 31 countries use Soldo to end slow, messy, and inefficient spending, bringing financial agility and control over every expense.

Soldo frees finance with a uniquely proactive approach to managing decentralised spending with real-time expense reporting. By combining a powerful spend management platform, a user-friendly mobile app, and prepaid and virtual cards, Soldo automates expense administration to eliminate inefficiencies in managing business spending.

By proactively managing decentralised spend, organisations empower employees to spend when and where it's needed, keeping productivity high while avoiding month-end surprises.

Founded in 2015 by Italian digital innovator Carlo Gualandri, Soldo is headquartered in London, with offices in Dublin, Milan, and Rome.

Learn more: https://www.soldo.com/en-gb/

Useful Links 🔗

MOKE International – https://mokeinternational.com/
Andy Mullineaux – https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-mullineaux-aca-27b32060/

How does a CFO help turn startup chaos into scale-up structure, translate numbers into action, and support growth across every part of the business?

In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Brad Channer, CFO at UBIO, the automation company helping businesses connect systems that were never designed to work together.

Brad shares why the CFO role in a startup or scale-up is far broader than finance alone. At UBIO, that means working across fundraising, sales, legal, HR, operations, board reporting, and exit planning — often all at once. He describes the CFO as the “glue” in a business: the person who connects teams, brings clarity, and helps turn data into decisions.

A key theme in the conversation is Brad’s idea of “narrating the numbers.” He explains why finance leaders must do more than report figures — they need to communicate them in ways that founders, boards, and investors can understand and act on. For Brad, strong finance leadership combines technical accuracy with empathy, storytelling, and an understanding of what matters most to each audience.

Brad also reflects on his unconventional route into finance. Before becoming a CFO, he trained as an actor, worked in hospitality and street sales, launched startups, and learned fundraising and resilience through experience. That background still shapes how he leads today, particularly in communication, confidence, and understanding motivation.

The episode also explores fundraising, founder-CFO relationships, and the future of finance in an AI-driven world. Brad argues that early-stage fundraising is often about belief in the founder as much as the business, and that AI will increasingly automate junior finance work — making judgment, adaptability, and communication even more valuable.

Brad’s CFO Playbook principle:

Communicate clearly, know your objective, and make sure the numbers tell a story people can act on.

Useful Links 🔗

UBIO – https://ub.io/

Brad Channer – https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradchanner/

About The CFO Playbook

The CFO Playbook is hosted by David McClelland, exploring how world-class finance leaders use technology, set goals, plan, lead teams, and drive growth.

How does a CFO help a business stand out in a crowded market, execute a bold AI strategy, and lead the company through acquisition without losing focus?

In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Tom DiDesidero, CFO at SmartRecruiters, the hiring platform focused on making recruitment easier and more effective for enterprise customers.

Tom explains why the most effective CFOs are deeply operational, not just financial stewards. He reflects on joining SmartRecruiters at a pivotal moment, partnering closely with CEO Rebecca Carr, and helping the company sharpen its strategy in an increasingly commoditised HR tech market. That meant narrowing the product focus, moving decisively on AI, and building belief across the organisation that the business could move faster than bigger competitors.

Tom shares how SmartRecruiters differentiated itself by simplifying its offering and investing in an AI-powered platform, including its agentic system, Winston. He discusses the importance of making bold decisions early, aligning teams around a clear direction, and turning strategy into execution through disciplined sequencing, milestones, and focus.

The conversation also explores what SAP saw in SmartRecruiters, and what it really takes to prepare a company for acquisition. Tom breaks down the finance leader’s role before, during, and after a deal: getting the data right, creating a credible story, managing confidentiality tightly, supporting teams through uncertainty, and adapting from a fast-moving independent company into a much larger, more matrixed organisation.

Tom also reflects on his wider career journey across software, e-commerce, payments, IPO environments, and transformation moments, and shares his view on AI in finance: use it to automate lower-value work, free up time, and help teams focus on better decisions and more valuable analysis.

Tom’s CFO Playbook principle: move quickly, be decisive, communicate clearly, and keep repeating the why until people understand their role in it.

Useful Links 🔗

SmartRecruiters - https://www.smartrecruiters.com

Tom Di Desidero - https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasdidesidero/

About The CFO Playbook

The CFO Playbook is hosted by David McClelland, exploring how world-class finance leaders use technology, set goals, plan, lead teams, and drive growth.

Brought to you by Soldo.