CFO Succession in France: Why the Safest Choice Isn't Always the Right One

This article is part of our CFO succession series, examining the distinct succession challenges facing boards and finance leaders across EMEA and APAC.

In France, CEO succession planning is typically structured, resourced and well established. CFO succession rarely receives the same rigor. French organizations appoint internally more often than most markets, but the planning behind those appointments often begins later than it should. Even with average CAC40 tenures of seven years, that time passes quickly when development is required.

CFO turnover across the CAC40 is rising, consistent with the broader trend captured in RRA's Global CFO Turnover Index. Yet the response in France remains largely reactive, and the pattern is predictable. A CFO leaves for a bigger mandate and the board, caught off guard, defaults to searching externally for an experienced Group CFO. Experience reassures markets, signaling stability, but it also narrows the field and can mean making concessions on the things that matter most.

We spoke with Julie Rullier, Country Lead of Russell Reynolds Associates in France, about what is holding French organizations back on CFO succession, and why the instinct to prioritize experience may be part of the problem.

The reassurance trap

The CFO occupies a distinct position within the Executive Committee. Unlike most C-suite roles, it carries an explicit obligation to protect the financial integrity of the company.

For the chair, the CEO and the head of the audit committee, this makes the CFO appointment a different kind of decision. The margin for error is narrower, and therefore the instinct to reach for proven experience is understandable.

That weight explains why, when faced with an unplanned departure, French organizations so often default to candidates who have already held the Group CFO title. But when prior experience becomes the primary selection criterion, it can crowd out other qualities that are equally decisive, such as cultural alignment and industry depth.

"Sometimes putting experience as the first criterion means you put other important criteria, like cultural fit or industry knowledge, lower down the list. And they shouldn't be."

— Julie Rullier

A leader first, an expert second

Julie's search for the Group CFO of a major CAC40 industrial group brought this tension to life.

The business carried significant cross-border complexity, spanning France and Germany with constant negotiation required across stakeholders and cultures. The chair and CEO were initially clear: they wanted a candidate who had already served as Group CFO, with experience at scale and immediate credibility with investors.

Julie's team presented a strong shortlist of experienced candidates. They also put forward an external candidate who had not previously held a Group CFO title, but who brought deep industrial knowledge from a comparable long-cycle, project-based sector, language and cultural fluency across France and Germany, and the ability to manage by influence across a matrix of stakeholders and cultures.

Julie's argument to the board was direct.

"What you are looking for in a Group CFO of a €40 to 50 billion company is, first and foremost, a leader. Boards tend to think of the Group CFO as a finance expert first. But at this scale, the role is not an expert role anymore. It is a leadership role. The technical expertise sits within the team. What you need is someone who can influence, manage complexity and shape direction at Executive Committee level."

— Julie Rullier

Several of the experienced candidates brought strong technical credentials and prior CFO titles. What differentiated the step-up candidate was not the absence of experience, but the relevance of his leadership to the specific demands of the role.

The board appointed him — not because experience didn't matter, but because this particular combination was decisive for the business.

Appointments like this are the exception. Most external CFO hires at CAC40 scale go to candidates who already hold the Group CFO title, or to internal successors developed over time. Step-up external hires tend to happen only when a specific industrial background or cultural fit is required.

A development gap, not a capability gap

If external searches carry the risk of over-indexing on experience, the internal pipeline presents its own challenge.

Most large French companies have strong finance leaders running major business units. They are skilled in FP&A, controlling and operational finance. What they typically lack is exposure to corporate finance at the group level: investor relations, treasury financing, debt agency relationships and capital markets communication.

"Companies lack internal options when they have not anticipated a change in leadership early enough. They haven't given their heads of finance in the big business units the chance to develop the corporate finance skills they will need to become Group CFO."

— Julie Rullier

This is not a capability gap. It is a development gap.

Preparation has to start well before a departure is on the horizon. That means two things in parallel: developing finance leaders in the major business units so they build the corporate finance experience a Group CFO role demands, and engaging early with the external market so that, when the moment comes, the search begins from a position of knowledge rather than urgency.

A role that keeps expanding

The case for starting early becomes sharper when you consider what the role now demands.

Financial discipline and execution remain foundational, but the expectations placed on the Group CFO have expanded well beyond them. Boards increasingly look for a strategic partner to the CEO, the confidence to engage investors directly, and the judgment to navigate the competing pressures of the Executive Committee while protecting the company from financial risk.

"The relationship and influence skills are more and more important. The CFO needs to understand how the Executive Committee works, what matters to each of its members, and how to keep everyone aligned while still protecting the business."

— Julie Rullier

These qualities take years to build. The capacity to influence, to lead at Executive Committee level, and to co-build strategy with the CEO all come from sustained exposure to complex environments. AI and digital transformation are accelerating the shift further — most Group CFOs now oversee automation, data and process transformation — which means the next generation of CFOs will need to be as comfortable with operational change as with capital markets.

The organizations that will have strong candidates ready are the ones investing in that exposure now, not the ones waiting for a departure to force their hand.

From reassurance to readiness: what organizations should be doing now

French boards understandably default to proven experience when appointing a Group CFO. The stakes are high and the role carries real risk, but that instinct should not come at the cost of looking ahead.

With the average CAC40 CFO staying in seat for seven years, organizations have the time to prepare. The key is using it.

This means starting three to five years before an anticipated departure, identifying two to three internal successors, and assessing them against a success profile that reflects where the business is heading, not just where it is today.

It also requires investing in structured development — giving candidates early exposure to corporate finance at the group level. And it involves running a dual track: benchmarking internal candidates against what the external market can offer, so that when a decision comes, it is made from a position of knowledge rather than urgency.

The conversation in France is beginning to shift. The question is whether it shifts fast enough — because the safest choice is not always the best one.