Log In
Join Us

Live

Event

Finance Forum: The Agency CFO Conference

get tickets
🔗 Event details
🔗 Manifesto
🔗 Speakers
🔗 Itinerary
A colorful illustration featuring various finance-related elements such as a piggy bank, dollar signs, a calculator, and plants with coins, surrounding the prominent text "Finance Forum." Logos of Agency Hackers and Sage are also included.

topline infoRmation

The conference for
agency CFOs and FDs

  • Meet and share notes with other CFOs, FDs and agency leaders who steer the numbers
  • Learn how your peers are grappling with today’s toughest agency finance challenges
  • Make new connections, and discover fresh ideas to future-proof your agency’s finances

📅

11th November 2025

⌚

1:30 PM

📍

Shoreditch Treehouse, London

Get Tickets

Event Manifesto

The Agency Finance Conference
for CFOs and FDs

Event curated by:

  • Kirstie Sutherland

    Agency Hackers

Margins are tight, growth is unpredictable, and finance leaders are being asked to do more with less.

What used to be straightforward is now tangled up in multi-entity structures, complex revenue models, and rising client demands.

Founders want clarity, boards want strategy, teams want reassurance… and finance

is at the centre of it all! At Finance Forum, you’ll hear stories of financial turnaround, candid lessons from agency leaders, and fresh thinking on the role of finance in a changing world — from profitability and growth, to culture, leadership, and even AI.

Agencies thrive when their finances do — hear how agencies are turning numbers into real strength.

The image features the handwritten signature "Kurstie," styled in a cursive font, emphasizing elegance and personal touch.

SPEAKERS

Meet our guest speakers

A cartoonish hand holds a green money bag, while a pink piggy bank with a cap receives gold coins. The image symbolizes saving and managing money.
Graphic featuring a circular portrait of Julia Longo, with a light purple background. Below the image, a ribbon displays her name and the word "SAENTYS." An animated percentage symbol is positioned at the top left.

From Panic to Profit: How SAENTYS Rebuilt Its Finances – and Its Focus

When things slowed in 2022, SAENTYS suddenly found itself in trouble. Revenue looked healthy, but profit had disappeared, and the pipeline that once looked promising wasn’t converting.

👉 At Finance Forum, Julia shares the story of how she steered SAENTYS back to health, how she made those tough calls, kept morale intact, and helped redefine what success really looks like for a modern agency finance leader.

A circular portrait of a smiling woman with brown hair, accompanied by decorative elements like a slot machine and the name "Kim Stokes" displayed below. The background is a soft lavender color.

Beyond the Balance Sheet: How CFOs Can Shape Commercial Thinking

“Finance shouldn’t just report on the numbers; it should create value from them.”

Kim Stokes has spent her career in senior finance roles at the likes of Deloitte, Modern Citizens and De Beers, and she’s noticed a pattern: finance is treated like a back-office function rather than a growth driver.

👉 At Finance Forum, Kim will show you how to truly embed commercial thinking across your agency – turning numbers into narrative, and reporting into results.

A professional portrait of a man with glasses, short hair, and a light beard, set against a circular background. The image includes playful graphics of coins and an upward arrow, along with the name "Julian West" prominently displayed at the bottom.

When Numbers Lie: When Being Too Close to the Data Can Cloud Your Vision

Julian West has run J2 for nearly 25 years, building it into an £8m agency with 75 staff and clients across the real estate sector.

For most of that time, his formula worked: a laser focus on data, forecasts, and margins.
Until one day it didn’t.

👉 At Finance Forum, Julian reflects on how data obsession can cloud judgment, and why stepping back from the spreadsheet can be the most financially sound move a leader makes.

running order

Zero fluff, just highly curated keynote speakers & workshops.

A cartoon illustration of two white flowers with yellow dollar sign coins for centers, growing from a simple brown soil base. The background is black, highlighting the whimsical design.

Intro and welcome

⏰

13:30

Ian Harris

Ian Harris

Agency Hackers

Welcome to the event!

Hear what’s coming up, and who’s in the room, before we get on with the day.

A word from our partners

⏰

13:40

A young man with short hair smiles at the camera, wearing a dark t-shirt. The background is a plain gray wall, creating a simple and neutral setting.

Luke Murphy

Sage

Welcome to the event!

Hear what’s coming up, and who’s in the room, before we get on with the day.

When Numbers Lie: When Being Too Close to the Data Can Cloud Your Vision

⏰

13:55

🔥 Fireside chat

A mature man with short gray hair and glasses is posing confidently with his arms crossed. He is wearing a dark blazer over a white shirt, set against a light gray background.

Julian West

J2

​​“I became obsessed with the numbers. And that obsession almost broke us.”

Julian West has run J2 for nearly 25 years, building it into an £8m agency with 75 staff and clients across the real estate sector. For most of that time, his formula worked: a laser focus on data, forecasts, and margins.

And for a while, it worked – until one day it didn’t.

👉 At Finance Forum, Julian reflects on how data obsession can cloud judgment, and why stepping back from the spreadsheet can be the most financially sound move a leader makes.

Beyond the Balance Sheet: How CFOs Can Shape Commercial Thinking

⏰

14:25

A woman with dark hair smiles warmly at the camera, surrounded by softly patterned curtains. Her friendly expression conveys a sense of approachability and joy.

Kim Stokes

Rhumb

“Finance shouldn’t just report on the numbers; it should create value from them.”

Kim Stokes has spent her career in senior finance roles at the likes of Deloitte, Modern Citizens, and De Beers, and she’s noticed a pattern: too often, finance is treated like a back-office function rather than a growth driver.

👉 At Finance Forum, Kim will show you how to truly embed commercial thinking across your agency – turning numbers into narrative, and reporting into results.

Manage Your Future: How Balanced Scorecards Turn Numbers into Actions

⏰

14:55

🤘 Presentation

A middle-aged man with a bald head and a beard is sitting in a casual setting, wearing a light turquoise shirt. He looks contemplative, with a brick wall in the background.

Jason Neale

Agency Works

“It doesn’t matter. It’s in the past.” 

Jason Neale, managing director at Agency Works, believes most agencies are steering by the rear-view mirror. Profitability reports, utilisation stats, client margins – they all tell you what’s already happened. 

But what if you could see the story before the numbers land?

👉 At Finance Forum, Jason will share how to bring the balanced scorecard to life inside your agency – helping you manage the future, not the past.

Break and networking!

⏰

15:25

During the networking break, you’ll connect with other CFOs and FDs who get the pressures, wins and numbers behind agency life.

From Panic to Profit: How SAENTYS Rebuilt Its Finances – and Its Focus

⏰

15:55

🔥 Fireside chat

A woman with long dark hair stands confidently, wearing a simple gray shirt. She has a calm expression and is facing the camera, set against a light background.

Julia Longo

Saentys

When things slowed in 2022, creative agency Saentys suddenly found itself in trouble. Revenue looked healthy, but profit had disappeared, and the pipeline that once looked promising wasn’t converting.

“We had a massive pipeline, but zero conversion,” recalls Julia Longo, the agency’s group finance director. “Everybody was scared.”

In firefighting mode, she helped lead a complete financial and operational reset: restructuring teams, reducing overheads, and shifting the business from production-heavy delivery to higher-value strategic consultancy.

👉 At Finance Forum, Julia shares the story of how she steered SAENTYS back to health, how she made those tough calls, kept morale intact, and helped redefine what success really looks like for a modern agency finance leader.

A group of people are seated in a cozy, well-lit space with wooden beams and greenery, engaged in discussion. String lights illuminate the room, creating a warm atmosphere, while participants listen attentively to a speaker at the front.
Logo for the Finance Forum, featuring the text "Finance Forum" in a bold font alongside a smiling coin. The design includes elements representing the organizing entities, Agency Partners and Sage, highlighting a financial theme.
Register Now

attendees

Who else will you meet?

Here’s some other agency FDs and CFOs who are coming.

An illustration depicting a stack of gold coins alongside a bundle of cash, with a rising arrow symbolizing growth or increase.
A woman named Carol Waldron, smiling while sitting, is identified as the Finance & Operations Director at Agency Works.
A woman with long, wavy hair smiles while seated, wearing a floral blouse. The image features a circular frame and includes her name, "Kim Storey," and her title, "Partner, Finance & Operations, Pearlfisher," in a pink banner.
A professional headshot of Deep Khatkar, labeled as CFO/Consultant, with the tagline "Anything is Possible." The image features a circular green background and highlights his smiling face.
A smiling man with a beard, wearing a black shirt, is featured in a circular frame. Below the image, text identifies him as Gary Jackson-Winter, Financial Director at Captivate. The background is green with a pink banner highlighting his name and title.
Black and white portrait of a man named Alex Rowlands, identified as Managing Partner - Finance at Ear to the Ground, set against a brick background. The image features a circular frame with a green border and a pink banner at the bottom.
A portrait of Chris Chilton, a man with glasses and a beard, smiling in front of a chalkboard background with various writings. The image includes a name banner identifying him as Managing Director of Finance & Operations at Orchard PR.
A black and white portrait of Sharon Coull, Finance Director at Drummond Central, featuring her wearing glasses and a patterned shirt. The image is framed in a green circle with a pink banner displaying her name and position.
A headshot of Leona Bamford, the Commercial Finance Director at IMA, featuring her with long dark hair and a neutral expression. The image includes her name and title displayed prominently.
A portrait of a thoughtful man with light brown hair and a beard, wearing a blue shirt. He is resting his chin on his hand, indicating contemplation. Below the image, his name "Aaron Bell," title "Finance," and company "Radley Yeldar" are displayed.
A woman stands confidently in a business setting, wearing a black dress. Text below her reads "Sophie Fribbens, Finance Director, Cold Banana."
A smiling woman with shoulder-length brown hair sits on a green couch, wearing a teal patterned blouse. Below her image is a name banner that reads "Laura Aalen," along with the title "Senior Finance Manager" and the phrase "immediate future."
A smiling woman with wavy hair, wearing a striped shirt, is featured in a circular frame. Below her photo, text identifies her as Rebecca Baker, Partner & Group CFO at Milk & Honey PR Ltd. The background is green, adding a vibrant touch.
A smiling man with blond hair is shown in a circular frame. He is wearing a light blue shirt and holding something in his hand. Below the image, text reads "Felix Matthews, CFO, SINE Digital." The background is blurred with greenery.
A woman with long brown hair smiles warmly in a circular portrait. She is identified as Hannah Blakey, a Finance Business Partner at Havas, with her title displayed below her name.
The image features a circular graphic with a solid green background. Centered in the graphic is the name "Harv Nagra," with the title "Head of Brand Communications" and the word "Scoro" displayed below in a pink ribbon-style banner.
A man with glasses and short hair wears a blue shirt, smiling in front of a dark background. Below his image, text reads "Simon Durham, Finance, the7stars," styled in vibrant colors.
A professional headshot of Nina Jepson, a Finance Manager at Lesniak Swann, presented in a circular format with her name and title below. The background is green, and the text is in pink and black.
A professional portrait of Vaida Zibaite, a Finance Manager at Conscious Solutions, smiling and dressed in a white blouse. The image features her name prominently displayed on a pink banner below the circular photo.
A smiling woman with light blonde hair is featured in a circular frame. Below her photo, the text states her name, Julie Rodrigues, and her title as Head of Finance at Hallam. The background is colorful and vibrant.
Portrait of Mikhail Williams, a Senior Commercial Finance Manager at Sedulo, standing next to a window with a cityscape in the background. He has a neutral expression and is dressed in a light-colored shirt. The image features a circular border and his name and title at the bottom.
A woman with long brown hair smiles while wearing an orange sweater. She is depicted within a circular frame, accompanied by the text "Amy Hoskin" and her title "Finance Director, Gather" in pink.
A professional headshot of Paul Winterflood, a partner in corporate finance at Moore Kingston Smith. He has glasses and is wearing a black suit. His name and title are displayed beneath the image.

FAQ

Event FAQs

A stylized paper airplane icon in white and gray, set against a dark blue background. The design conveys a sense of movement and creativity.
Do I need to be an Agency Hackers member to attend?

No – anyone running or leading an agency is welcome. Members usually get discounted tickets, but you don’t have to be a member to join us.

Can I transfer my ticket to someone else?

Yes! If you can’t make it, you can transfer your ticket to another person in your agency – or another agency leader – at any time. Just let us know who’s coming in your place.

What’s your refund policy?

We don’t offer refunds, but you can transfer your ticket to another event or colleague if you give us notice.

Do you offer group discounts?

Sometimes – especially if you’re bringing your team. Drop us a message and we’ll see what we can do.

Are the sessions recorded?

Currently, we don’t record the content. The reason is, people often share confidential matters they don’t want to leave the room.

Is there a dress code?

We’re a relaxed crowd. Think “smart casual” or “agency chic”. Just wear whatever you feel comfortable in when you meet new people.