At AKQA (part of WPP), we believe in the imaginative application of art and science to create beautiful ideas, products, and services. With an entrepreneurial and collaborative approach, we design adaptive digital solutions that capture the imagination and drive exceptional results for our clients.
We partner with our clients to solve complex challenges and shape a better future through world-leading work, constant innovation, and a commitment to excellence.
The Executive Finance Director, EMEA is responsible for defining and driving the financial strategy and operations across the region. As a commercial thought leader, you will shape the financial future of our regional operations by combining rigorous financial planning, commercial acumen, and operational excellence. You will be a trusted advisor to the executive leadership team, providing the financial insight needed to support decision-making, evaluate investments, and optimise overall financial performance.
You will nurture finance as a strategic partner to the business across EMEA, collaborating with studio finance leads to elevate our overall financial capabilities. Your role will be pivotal in strengthening financial discipline, fostering knowledge-sharing, and ensuring consistency in commercial excellence across the region.
You will also guide and mentor the finance team, ensuring best-in-class approaches to budgeting, forecasting, risk management, and commercial negotiations. Your leadership will elevate our agency’s financial capabilities, inspire our teams, and drive long-term commercial success.
ROLE REQUIREMENTS
- Financial and Strategic Leadership: Define and drive AKQA EMEA’s financial vision and strategy, developing long-term financial plans that support sustainable growth, innovation, and profitability.
- Unifying the Finance Discipline: Create direction and cohesion for the finance and accounting teams across the region, fostering a sense of collective identity and shared purpose.
- Reporting & Analysis: Monthly, quarterly and annual reporting and analysis to regional and global AKQA and WPP leadership.
- Compliance & Audit: Supporting WPPC Controllership with any analysis or context around financial statements and internal audit controls.
- Risk Management: Proactively identify financial risks across diverse markets, implementing controls and processes to mitigate risk
- Regional Performance, Budgeting & Forecasting: Provide guidance and oversight to studio leadership teams across the region, ensuring rigorous budget management, accurate forecasting, and proactive risk mitigation.
- Process Improvement: Analyze and optimize financial processes to enhance operational efficiency, strengthen controls, and leverage data automation.
- Collaboration with Executives: Partner closely with the EMEA Executive team and CEO to evaluate investments, support strategic decision-making, and optimize financial performance.
- Commercial and Client Partnering: Take an active, hands-on role in shaping commercial agreements, pricing strategies, and contract negotiations for high-profile regional clients.
- Team Leadership & Development: Lead, mentor, and develop finance teams (including controllers and accountants) across the region, fostering professional growth and a business-partnering mindset.
QUALITIES & CHARACTERISTICS
- Proven Leadership Experience: Extensive experience in senior financial leadership roles within creative agencies, digital consulting, technology, or related professional services environments.
- Strategic and Commercial Acumen: Strong understanding of agency business models, client profitability, and the levers that drive commercial success.
- Analytical and Solution-Oriented: Passionate about leveraging data to solve complex business challenges, with a track record of driving operational efficiency and margin improvement.
- Exceptional Communicator: Strong ability to translate complex financial concepts into clear, actionable insights for non-finance leaders and creative partners.
- Collaborative and Influential: A natural mentor and team builder who inspires colleagues, partners effectively with creative leads, and fosters cross-disciplinary trust.
- Entrepreneurial and Agile: Comfortable navigating regional market complexities, adapting to changing economic landscapes, and driving financial agility.
- Resilient and Adaptive: Maintain composure and precision under tight reporting deadlines and during periods of organizational change.
- Inclusive and Empathetic: Champion diverse perspectives and foster an environment where finance is seen as a supportive and collaborative partner.
- Track Record of Success: Proven success in managing multi-market EMEA portfolios, negotiating complex client contracts, and leading high-performing finance teams.
Explore our extensive range of benefits here
We believe great work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach including required in-office days. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.
AKQA is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.
About WPP
WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. For more information, visit WPP.com.
Skills Required
- Extensive senior financial leadership experience within creative agencies, digital consulting, technology, or professional services
- Proven experience leading finance teams across multiple EMEA markets
- Strong track record in budgeting, forecasting, monthly/quarterly/annual reporting and financial planning
- Experience supporting compliance, audits, controllership and internal financial controls
- Demonstrated commercial acumen in pricing, contract negotiation and client profitability management
- Experience identifying and mitigating financial risks across diverse markets
- Ability to partner with executive leadership and translate financial analysis into strategic recommendations
- Proven success managing multi-market EMEA portfolios and driving operational efficiency and margin improvement
AKQA Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about AKQA and has not been reviewed or approved by AKQA.
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Parental & Family Support — Policies include fully paid parental leave for all parents, adoption support, and family leave for caregiving needs. Additional supports such as subsidized backup childcare and regional enhancements reinforce family care.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage offers multiple plan options with full preventive care, mental‑health resources, and dental and vision coverage. Some regions provide 24/7 virtual doctor access and supplementary healthcare budgets for services not covered by insurance.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time‑away provisions include generous paid holidays with increases over tenure and a companywide year‑end closure. Special, study, and event‑based leave (e.g., weddings, moving) broaden the range of available time off.
AKQA Insights
What We Do
AKQA is the frontier agency, uniting imagination, design, craft and technology to create new forms of value. For more than three decades, we've helped brands imagine what’s next and make what matters, from pioneering digital to defining the next era of AI. Operating across 19 countries and 30 locations, we work with organisations to build intelligent systems, digital products, connected ecosystems and immersive experiences that shape culture, deepen brand relevance and unlock growth. AKQA is a WPP agency.
