TEAM
The Peak Consulting team comprises experienced CFO's and providers of related services, including Finance and Administration Executives, Financial Modelers and Data Analysts. We are united by a common passion to make a meaningful contribution to the success of your business.
We act and work locally in addition to helping our clients with cross-border issues.
We currently cover Germany, Switzerland, UK, France, Spain, Poland, Greece and Israel.
LEIGH A. HOOPER
CFO - Germany
Leigh is an accomplished financial executive with broad management and capital markets experience across multiple industries including banking, oil & gas, IT/SaaS, law firms, healthcare, international recruitment and watersports. He has worked with companies with activities in Europe, the US, Latin America and the Middle East. Leigh is a consummate all-rounder when it comes to the art of managing the CFO function in Germany. He is committed to ensuring the smooth running of any business from the financial perspective. He quickly understands the “big picture” and where the company is going and then goes on to manage the intricacies of all aspects of the company’s financial health. With both British and German citizenship, being fully bilingual and after 30 years corporate experience in Germany, his forté is acting as the financial bridge between international operations and German activities as well as helping start-ups in all aspects within the CFO scope. Leigh has been on both sides of the fence when it comes to raising capital. In his first career in investment banking with Barclays Bank and Merrill Lynch. And in his second career as CEO/CFO of Activa Resources AG, a German listed holding company. In addition to his professional activity, Leigh has applied his abilities in voluntary activities in the local community. In particular, he acted as Treasurer of a Kindergarten for 5 years. Leigh is married and has three children, two of whom have flown the nest and are working and studying internationally. When not working, Leigh is a keen guitar player, which he likes to play simultaneously with a blues harp. Leigh is currently CFO at Uventions GmbH in Hamburg.
SOPHIE WRIGHT
CFO - UK
Sophie is a London-based accountant and owner of WrightCFO Ltd., a consultancy specialised in providing part-time CFO's (Finance directors) in the UK. Sophie and her team cover all aspects within the CFO remit for UK start-ups and SME's.
RAPHAEL BENHAMOU
CFO - Israel
Raphael is a Tel Aviv-based CFO and owner of Benhamou Consulting, a consultancy specialised in providing part-time CFO support and expert financial modelling services for solving complex operational and financial challenges. Raphael is also an expert in quantitative operation risk analytics. Raphael and his team cover all aspects within the CFO remit for Israeli start-ups and SME's.
LARS DÜNNHAUPT
CFO - Switzerland
Lars is a Zürich-based CFO who operates in the Basel-Zurich-Zug area. He is a highly experienced Head of Controlling/Finance with international experience in the Healthcare and Medtech industries having worked for leading global pharma companies as well as mid-size companies going through transformation. Fully-fledged skills in strategic and operational business planning, analysis, reporting and accounting as well as profound experiences as a proven track record in co-driving finance transformation / change at the corporate level. In 2020-2021 Lars co-managed the sell-side / DD process of the CSL Vifor acquisition ($11.7B deal value ) and supported post deal integration by capturing significant synergies. Lars provides a full range of services to CEO’s / Business Owners within the CFO domain, value creation as well as preparation for sale support for scale-up’s, small and medium enterprises, private equity or family-owned portfolio companies.
ARTHUR ESPALIEU
CFO - France
Arthur is a former CAC 40 M&A manager with 10+ years of international experience in Corporate Finance, Corporate Development and Strategy. He has broad SaaS and Fintech experience working in France and Germany. He is able to work across Europe in addition to CFO as a Service roles in France for Peak Consulting.
DR. STEPHAN HECKING
CFO - Spain
Stephan is an experienced part-time CFO for Spanish start-ups and scale-ups. He is a native German with a long history of working at German corporates in Spain. His specialities are: Cash management Financing, negotiation with banks, relations with professional investors Collaboration and coordination with agencies (accounting, labor, and tax issues) and external auditors Preparation of monthly and yearly financial statements, analysis of actual versus budget results, action plans Budgets and financial forecasts Formulation of the financial strategy Elaboration of the business plan Capital structuring Asset management and project controlling Risk management Design and creation of a cost accounting tailored to the company Development and implementation of systems, tools and processes Member of the senior executive team or recommendations to the CEO / Board / Executive Committee, input regarding the financial implications of business decisions and strategies Training in finance and controlling
SPYROS TSITSONIS
CFO - Greece
Spyros is a senior professional with solid Accounting, Finance and Controlling background in multi-cultural transnational matrix organizations, in sectors such as Automotive, FMCG, E-Commerce, Medical Devices, Facility Management and Financial Services. Member of the Board of Directors, experienced in Accounting & Management Accounting (IFRS, US GAAP), Tax, Controlling, Financial Planning & Analysis.Spyros Proven experience in restructuring, cost structure continuous improvement, processes improvement and Business Partnering. Full P&L management, financial strategic and operating leadership responsibilities. Hands-on experience in achieving sales and profit targets. Accountable that all relevant accounting, Sarbanes-Oxley and FCPA controls are operated effectively throughout the Business, providing regular training and advice to the finance and field employees in Greece. Assumed responsibilities in areas such as IT, Warehouse supervision. Key-point of contact for legal, insurance, pensions, treasury and payroll issues.
JANETTE DAOUD
CFO - Germany
Janette is a freelance CFO based in Hagen, Germany. After 10 years building businesses at the Bosch Group she today a company founder and CFO. Janette is a true allrounder when it comes to all aspects of the CFO remit with deep a deep understanding of building businesses and business units.
BARTOSZ KACZOR
CFO - Germany & Poland
Bartosz is a freelance CFO based in Hamburg. He provides strategic and operational Finance support and advisory for Start-ups, Scale-ups, SMEs and Investors in Germany and Poland. His strengths are: Financial modelling, Budgeting and Financial forecasting pre & post fundraise Investor Relations, KPI Reporting and Controlling build-up / planning Fundraising and Corporate Finance consulting for start-ups M&A and Investment support for Start-ups, Scale-ups, VCs, CVCs, Family Offices and "Mittelstand" Corporate Innovation and start-up scouting for investments and/or cooperations Bartosz is currently Part-Time CFO at Foviatech GmbH in Hamburg.
HAUKE SCHWARZ
Data Analyst
Hauke is a young but nevertheless experienced Data Analyst and Controller. He spent 5 years at Sto AG and subsequently 1 year at the Frankfurt-based start-up billwerk GmbH. He has recently begun a Masters Programme in Data Analytics in Lisbon. He supports the rest of the Peak Consulting team on a part-time basis.
CLARISSA LORTZ
Finance & Admin Executive - Germany
Clarissa provides finance team support on an as-needed basis. She efficiently executes many of the tasks that fall within the CFO space, including invoicing, payroll management, bookkeeping, liaising with accountants and executive PA work. She is also a qualified Office and Event Manager. Clarissa currently provides executive PA work to Uventions GmbH in Hamburg.
PETER MENNER
Financial Modeler
Peter supports Peak Consulting when it comes to providing financial models and business plans. He is an experienced financial controller, currently working in this position at Film- und Fernseh Synchron GmbH in Munich (not a Peak Consulting client). He also lectures on excel-based financial modeling to companies throughout Germany.
KARAN MITTAL
Data Analyst
Karan is new to our team, having joined in April 2023. Karan graduated with a Masters in Data Engineering from Jacobs University in Bremen and has gained initial work experience in Germany. He is currently supporting the finance departments of clients in Bad Homburg and Wiesbaden.
ANNE HOOPER
Wordsmith
Anne is our wordsmith. The written word is her passion. For Peak Consulting this means well-crafted translations in English/German and German/English as well as proofreading of annual reports, marketing documents and homepages for our SME and start-up clients.