Robert Montgomery

Finance Director CIMA Chartered Manager (CMgr FCMI) Commercial & Operational Leader M&A • FP&A • Transformation

Glossop, England, United Kingdom

About

Senior finance leader with 20+ years’ experience driving commercial performance, operational excellence and strategic transformation across major consumer and service brands including FirstPort, British Gas, Umbro and Vodafone. CIMA qualified and a Chartered Manager (CMgr FCMI) with a Distinction‑level Level 7 Leadership & Management qualification from Imperial College London. I specialise in turning complex financial and operational data into clear, actionable insight. My career spans financial control, FP&A, large‑scale planning, M&A integration, customer operations, and leading multi‑disciplinary teams of up to 300 colleagues. I am known for combining strong financial governance with pragmatic commercial judgement, enabling organisations to improve profitability, strengthen controls and deliver outstanding customer outcomes. I thrive in consumer‑focused, operationally complex environments where finance plays a central role in shaping strategy, driving performance and enabling sustainable growth.

Experience

  • FirstPort (UK) (Hybrid)
    • Head of Finance
      Apr 2023 - Mar 2026 · 3 yrs

      Led the FirstPort finance team with responsibility for preparing accurate, timely financial results and reporting financial performance.

    • Director of Operational Excellence
      Jun 2022 - Mar 2023 · 10 mos

      Led a diverse portfolio of teams providing support to frontline operations. 7 direct reports overseeing a department of more than 300 colleagues including Customer Service, Service Charge Accounting, Compliance, Performance & Insights, Marketing and Operations Support

    • Head of Service Charge Accounting
      Jul 2021 - May 2022 · 11 mos

      Led the Service Charge Accounting team at FirstPort with 5 direct reports and over 100 accountants. Responsible for ensuring accurate and timely production of development accounts and budgets in line with ARMA and ARHM guidelines and with reference to the RICS Service Charge Residential Management Code.

  • British Gas (Manchester, England, United Kingdom · On-site)
    • Head of Strategic Planning & Forecasting
      Jan 2020 - Dec 2020 · 1 yr

      Responsible for demand and capacity planning for 9,000 engineers completing 8M customer visits per year leading the monthly British Gas sales and operational planning process (S&OP). This involved coordinating inputs from sales, commercial, field leaders and finance teams to create the plan to meet our customer and commercial objectives and then effectively communicate this plan to all stakeholders. Led and developed my team of 34 planning and forecasting analysts. Coached the team to develop business partnering skills with a focus on analysis and story telling rather than simply presenting tables of figures.

    • Finance Business Partner
      Jul 2014 - Dec 2019 · 5 yrs 6 mos

      Finance partner to the Service and Repair director with responsibility for strategic finance support, financial reporting and analysis and development of business cases for investment.

    • Finance Manager
      Feb 2013 - Jul 2014 · 1 yr 6 mos

      Finance business partner to the Head of Area Operations responsible for review and challenge of financial performance to ensure financial and operational performance targets were achieved.

  • Commercial Finance Manager at Umbro
    Mar 2009 - Feb 2013 · 4 yrs

    Responsible for managing the monthly forecast, and annual budget and five year strategic plan processes, consolidating the submission to Nike and ensuring accuracy and timeliness of segment submissions.

  • Commercial Decision Support Manager at Sodexo
    Apr 2008 - Mar 2009 · 1 yr

    Responsible for managing the budget and three year plan process, consolidating the submission to Sodexo Group and ensuring accuracy and timeliness of segment submissions.

  • Vodafone (Newbury, England, United Kingdom · On-site)
    • Business Analyst
      Aug 2006 - Mar 2008 · 1 yr 8 mos

      Part of the central governance team reporting to the Southern Europe Financial Controller. Responsible for reviewing performance of the Spanish and Portuguese subsidiaries to support the European Region CEO and CFO.

    • Vodafone Finance Graduate Scheme
      Sep 2003 - Aug 2006 · 3 yrs

      Completed twelve-month placements in three different teams across the Group and a series of soft-skills development courses including presentation skills, meeting facilitation and influencing with impact.