Meet Our Principals: Scott Mason

What do you do at Altima?

As a Principal at Altima, I identify the best candidates in our ecosystem to ensure that they meet our client’s requirements and the role's demands. Most recently, I’ve been working across a range of later-stage European FinTech searches, so keeping candidates engaged in this tight talent market is crucial to succeed. Once we have identified them, I oversee their candidate journey, liaising with them and our clients to deliver a positive hiring experience for all.

How did you find your way into executive search?

I studied Human Geography so you could say that a career that involves research, mapping and moving people is a good fit! I  joined Altima as a graduate and have spent the last 10 years immersed in the technology ecosystem and the world of CFOs. What attracted me to Altima was not so much ‘search’ itself, but their specialism and focus on tech and people. Every time someone new joins our team, or we work with a new founder, a new investor or take on a new hiring challenge, we get a buzz. 

What do you think is the biggest misconception about the CFO seat?

I imagine most of us at Altima will say this, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all policy when hiring a CFO. The background, skills and experience you’ll need for your CFO seat massively varies from business to business. Variables include how the current finance function & team looks today, the wider senior team, the business’ strategic and commercial goals of the future, there’s a reason we have at least 12 CFO archetypes! Gone are the days of finance and a CFO being a bean-counting back-office function, they play an integral and strategic role in driving a business forward. 

What advice would you give to founders looking for a CFO in today’s market?

One piece of advice would be to ensure you have an attractive and well-structured equity or stock options setup allocated to the role. Be ready to sell the equity story with a compelling data set that clearly outlines expected outcomes in best-case and realistic growth scenarios, detailing the instruments that come into play that will impact gross and net gains for the individual. It can be the difference between landing your ideal CFO and losing them to a competing offer. Having skin in the game will bring the right person along for the journey.

That, and also a good CFO can help you restructure all of the above, if there’s flexibility to do so.

What’s the biggest win you’ve had at Altima to date?

That’s difficult to say, I’ve supported from open to close on over 100 CFO placements now, in some shape or form. Every successful close with a client, seeing a candidate flourish in their new role, is extremely satisfying. Each completion is a win in itself. 

Seeing one of your clients go through a successful exit, IPO, or grow from a startup to a market leader several years later, with the CFO you helped them find, is a very rewarding feeling.

I love it when a notification on my mobile pops up, seeing a positive news update from a former client where our candidates are having a big impact. 

What advice would you give to someone looking to join the Altima team?

I’ve been lucky to have experienced, knowledgeable and patient managers at Altima who have been willing to invest and impart their time, energy and mentorship to me through the past ~10 years, to help me progress to this stage in my career in search.

I don’t personally subscribe to the notion that you ‘should’ hop jobs every 3-4 years to be ‘more’ successful in your career. I believe that depends on the business environment you’re working in, the scale of companies you move to, and what impact your role can have on the business's overall success. 

My advice is to think about what environment best fits your personality, skills, motivations and values. Altima is the kind of place where a good attitude, patience and hard work are recognised. Those who bring these ingredients to the table can have a very rewarding journey here.

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