Darren Williams

Finance Director with Board-level leadership experience across finance transformation, cash control, commercial reporting and stakeholder management in operationally complex, multi-channel businesses. Recognised for anticipating commercial and financial risks early, creating practical options and helping leadership teams act before issues become critical. Works alongside Boards, owners and senior leadership teams, translating strategic ambition into funded, controlled and commercially realistic plans.

Experience spans finance transformation, cash and liquidity management, forecasting, pricing, commercial decision support, systems improvement and operational problem-solving. Understand the realities of SME and investor-backed businesses, together with group reporting, supply chains, SKU-level planning, multi-channel trading, brand development and margin control. Co-developed the Polari charitable beer initiative, combining financial governance, commercial partnerships and brand development to help raise over £130,000 for charity to date.

Finance Director - Portobello Brewing Company Ltd

(2015-01)

Finance Director with full ownership of the finance function for an independent multi-channel brewing SME, later operating within an investor-backed group, improving business performance through clear reporting, commercial insight and financial leadership.

• Designed and rebuilt finance reporting, controls and month-end processes, reducing reporting from 15 working days to within 5 and restoring reporting integrity and confidence in financial information.
• Built integrated P&L, balance sheet and cash-flow forecasts so the business could model trading, funding and margin scenarios more quickly.
• Created Excel-based KPI dashboards, forecasts and decision-support tools, translating complex or unusual business questions into clear, reliable reporting.
• Developed business plans, financial forecasts and commercial analysis that supported debt and equity funding, investment decisions and shareholder discussions.
• Provided commercial finance leadership across on-trade, wholesale, events, online and direct-to-consumer channels, balancing financial control with a practical understanding of how revenue is generated.
• Tightened working capital control, supplier payment discipline and cash collection priorities, reducing avoidable friction and protecting trading relationships.
• Strengthened pricing governance and customer profitability, helping protect margins across major national customers including Greene King and Stonegate.
• Reduced commercial leakage by challenging supplier, lease, utility, banking and FX costs, using practical operational fixes as well as financial negotiation to reduce avoidable spend.
• Implemented practical finance systems, reporting processes and remote-working arrangements that allowed the wider business to operate reliably across locations and periods of disruption.
• Partnered with Boards, owners, investors, financial partners, suppliers and national customers while leading the finance team, supporting confidence and commercial decision-making through periods of change.
• Embedded governance, controls and decision support during organisational change, standardising reporting and balancing SME agility with wider group requirements.

Commercial Finance Manager - Bravura Foods Ltd

(2011-01 - 2014-12)

Commercial finance partner in a branded FMCG business, working closely with sales, operations, supply chain and finance colleagues across a multi-channel customer base.

• Supported supply chain and inventory planning across imported and contract-manufactured products, improving purchasing visibility, stock control and working capital discipline.
• Worked with supply and procurement to align forecasting, service levels and stock availability, including container planning and ingredient-level ordering for key product lines.
• Rebuilt sales reporting across Sage 50 and Sage 200 using macro-enabled Excel reporting, giving faster visibility of customer, product and channel performance.
• Led the move to Sage 200 and turned a complex system into practical reporting and day-to-day control for the business.
• Partnered with commercial teams to improve visibility of product, customer and channel profitability.

Retail Accountant / Financial Controller - Hyper Value Holdings & Buyology Ltd

(2005-01 - 2011-12)

Finance lead across a high-volume retail estate during expansion and restructuring, supporting cash control, reporting discipline and operational decision-making.

• Built integrated forecasting models across 30+ cost centres, supporting store-level analysis, estate decisions and cash planning.
• Maintained cash control, reporting accuracy and financial discipline within a lean finance structure during a difficult trading period.
• Led end-to-end finance operations, including audit, statutory reporting, banking relationships and the day-to-day management of the finance team.

BTEC National Diploma - Business and Finance