Valentina Giglio ACMA, CGMA is a CIMA-qualified finance leader, former Group CFO/COO, Board Advisor and Fractional CFO who helps founders make clearer decisions when growth, cash, operations and investor expectations start becoming harder to manage.
She works best with founder-led businesses and early-stage VC or angel-backed companies that have early traction but need more structure around the numbers: cash, runway, margin, forecasting, pricing, hiring, funding, operations and investor expectations. Her style is calm, direct and practical. She helps founders understand what the numbers are really saying, what needs attention now, and which decisions will matter most next.
Valentina has spent 12+ years in senior finance roles across media, hospitality, consumer, beauty, retail and eCommerce. She began her career in media at Sky in Milan and Discovery Networks in London, working across forecasting, budgeting and commercial planning during a period of major industry disruption as TV moved from traditional models to digital and streaming.
She later joined itsu, where she progressed across FP&A, commercial finance and financial control during a period of growth, COVID disruption, CVA negotiations, restructuring activity and new investor backing. Her work covered site-level economics, cost control, forecasting, investment planning, franchise expansion and the financial foundations needed to support scale.
Most recently, Valentina was Group CFO/COO at Waldencast, an incubator and operator of beauty brands, where she stepped into a complex environment with tight runway, underdeveloped systems and investor confidence to rebuild. She led a financial and operational reset, improving cash visibility, strengthening reporting and governance, resetting priorities and supporting a £3.5m capital injection from existing shareholders.
She is particularly strong in high-pressure moments where founders need someone to bring structure, commercial judgment and clear thinking - not more noise.
More recently Valentina moved into the FMCG and eCommerce space, joining Waldencast - an incubator of beauty brands - at a point when runway was tight, systems were underdeveloped and investor confidence needed rebuilding. As Group CFO/COO, she led a fast operational and financial reset - improving cash visibility, restructuring priorities, strengthening reporting and governance, and securing a £3.5m capital injection from existing shareholders. She is particularly strong at helping founders and leadership teams face financial reality, rebuild trust with investors, and turn complexity into clear decisions.
Valentina is best suited to founders from Seed to Series A, especially those with early traction who need to turn activity, ambition and pressure into a clearer operating and financial plan.
She is particularly interested in B2C and consumer-led businesses - including eCommerce, food and beverage, beauty, wellness, fitness, hospitality and lifestyle brands - but her work is not limited to those sectors. The common thread is a founder who needs better commercial clarity, cash visibility and financial control.
A 1:1 session with Valentina is practical, focused and decision-led. Founders do not need perfect financials to get value from the conversation. She can start with the founder’s most urgent questions, such as:
Typical session themes include:
Turning a messy business into a clearer plan
Identifying what matters now, what can wait, what should stop, and what needs to be true for the plan to work.
Cash and runway
Understanding what is creating pressure, where cash is going, and what actions could extend runway without damaging the business.
Business modelling and forecasting
Building or improving forecasts around real business drivers rather than generic growth assumptions.
Investor readiness
Pressure-testing the story, forecast, use of funds, financial model and likely investor questions before a raise.
Financial foundations
Creating lightweight reporting, rhythms, roles and responsibilities so founders are not flying blind.
Commercial decision-making
Connecting pricing, margin, channel strategy, hiring, marketing spend and growth plans back to financial reality.
Valentina typically works with founders as a Fractional CFO, mentor or Board Advisor, as well as through focused workshops, office hours and short diagnostic sprints. She enjoys working closely with a small number of businesses at a time - enough variety to stay energised, but close enough involvement to make a real difference.
