Hiring a CFO for a battery storage developer

Many battery storage developers reach a point where their portfolio has outgrown their finance function. Projects are approaching consent and connection, investors are asking harder questions, and the business needs to raise significant capital. The appointment of a chief financial officer at this point is one of the most consequential decisions a founder or board will make.

Why the role is different in storage

A CFO in a storage developer is rarely just a financial controller with a bigger title. The role sits at the intersection of development economics, project finance, revenue strategy and investor relations. In Great Britain, the revenue model itself has become more structured: Modo Energy describes how owners are using revenue floors, tolling agreements, insurer backed floors and day ahead swaps to reduce merchant exposure and support financing at lower costs of capital.

Gresham House Energy Storage Fund, for example, announced long term floor agreements in July 2025. It said that once all the floors were in force and its existing tolling agreements had expired, 789 MW, or 74% of its 1,072 MW portfolio, was expected to have minimum annual contracted revenues. Decisions of that kind sit squarely with the finance leader, and they shape both risk and value for a decade.

What a strong storage CFO brings

Capital raising experience. Ideally at the stage the business is entering: platform equity, development capital, construction debt or portfolio refinancing. Each is a different discipline with different counterparties.

Revenue literacy. A credible CFO must understand how batteries earn money, how optimiser agreements are structured and how contracted and merchant revenues combine. They need to challenge revenue forecasts rather than simply consolidate them.

Development economics. Knowing when to spend, when to stop and how to value a project at each stage of consent and connection.

Investor communication. The CFO is often the person investors trust most. Clarity, consistency and candour matter as much as technical ability.

Building the function. Most developers need their first CFO to build systems, controls and a team, not just inherit them.

Common mistakes

Hiring for the last phase rather than the next. A finance leader who is excellent at managing development budgets may not have the experience to lead a debt raise. Define the next two to three years of financing activity before defining the person.

Overweighting sector familiarity. Energy storage experience is valuable, but the pool of finance leaders who have closed storage specific financing is limited. Strong candidates from adjacent infrastructure, renewables or project finance backgrounds can be excellent, provided they have the commercial curiosity to learn the revenue model quickly.

Under specifying the role. "CFO" can mean anything from a part time adviser to a board level partner for the chief executive. Clarity on reporting lines, board membership, equity participation and decision rights improves both the shortlist and the candidate's decision.

Waiting too long. The best time to appoint a CFO is before a capital raise begins, not during it. Investors notice when finance leadership is assembled under pressure. See building an executive talent pipeline before a funding round.

Permanent, interim or fractional?

For early stage developers, a fractional CFO can provide senior judgement at a manageable cost while the business prepares for a raise. Interim CFOs are well suited to defined transactions such as a refinancing or a portfolio sale. A permanent appointment becomes essential once the business is raising repeatedly and building a long term relationship with capital providers.

A practical brief

Before starting a search, it helps to agree answers to five questions:

• What capital will the business raise in the next 24 months, and in what form?
• Which revenue and contracting decisions will the CFO own?
• Will the CFO sit on the board?
• What finance team exists today, and what must be built?
• How will success be measured at twelve and twenty four months?

A brief built on those answers attracts stronger candidates and makes assessment far more objective. Our energy storage CFO search is structured around exactly that discipline.

Last reviewed 8 October 2026. Figures are correct to the cited sources at that date.