tml Partners are proud to have partnered with Finatal in the appointment of their Marketing Director.

Finatal is a trusted search partner for private capital investors and their portfolio companies, recruiting world-class talent across international markets. Since 2015 the firm has sustained average annual growth of 38%, and its team of 85 consultants now operates from London, New York and Frankfurt, with clear ambitions to become the number one executive search firm globally for private equity and its portfolio businesses within the next decade.

The Challenge

Reporting to Group CEO Paul Blant and sitting on the management board, the Marketing Director would take ownership of Finatal’s next phase of brand and growth evolution: transforming a capable but reactive marketing function into a proactive growth engine across the UK, US and Europe. The mandate covered defining and executing a three-to-four-year marketing roadmap, sharpening the brand proposition, and building a thought leadership and content strategy centred on ‘fewer, bigger, better’ campaigns that would set Finatal apart from traditional professional services marketing.

The role carried a wide remit: overseeing multi-channel campaign design across digital, events, content, PR and sponsorships, evolving Finatal’s US marketing playbook, and embedding a results-driven culture with clear KPIs linking activity to pipeline health and ROI. tml Partners was briefed on the need for a leader who could optimise a substantial budget, champion martech and AI adoption, and manage external agencies, all while leading a small, lean team and directly influencing a confident, entrepreneurial leadership group.

Finatal wanted experience from outside traditional recruitment or professional services: a proven challenger-brand builder with a track record in investment-backed or fast-growth businesses, comfortable linking marketing investment directly to client acquisition, pipeline health and value creation.

The Solution

David Zaranka, Associate Director and Head of Technology and Consultancy at tml Partners, led the search. David specialises in marketing, commercial and go-to-market appointments across technology, consultancy and professional services businesses, giving him direct access to challenger-brand marketing leaders who combine creative ambition with commercial rigour.

Working closely with Paul Blant, David built a shortlist of leaders who had genuinely built and scaled brands within lean, fast-growth environments, rather than candidates whose experience was confined to running an established marketing function. Each candidate was tested against Finatal’s need for both strategic roadmap-setting and hands-on delivery, and for the stakeholder skill to engage and influence a senior, entrepreneurial leadership team.

Testimonial

Paul Blant, Group CEO, Finatal commented:

We’ve known the tml team for years and they were our first thought when we needed a new marketing director. David and the team ran a good quality process and we’re delighted with the outcome – our new Marketing Director has helped upgrade our marketing output in a short space of time.”

About tml Partners

tml Partners are specialists in Executive Search and Professional Recruitment, with access to a global network of marketing, communications and commercial leaders. Our Consultancy and Professional Services team works with recruitment and consultancy businesses on senior marketing, commercial and go-to-market appointments across the UK, Europe and the US.

Whether you’re seeking interim or permanent solutions, or building an entire function from the ground up, our team has the expertise to support across sectors and locations.

To learn how tml Partners can help you, get in touch.