How to Scale Without Slowing Down: Lessons from Motorway CFO Liz Kistruck

How do you build a finance organisation that fuels rapid scale without losing agility and clarity of purpose?

In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Liz Kistruck, Chief Financial Officer at Motorway, the UK’s largest consumer-to-dealer used car marketplace and one of the country’s fastest-growing unicorns. Liz shares how Motorway has transformed a fragmented offline industry into a digital platform that creates value for both sellers and dealers, and how the company is preparing for its next chapter as it approaches profitability. 

Listeners will hear Liz break down the CFO remit -within a high-growth scale-up, from saying yes faster with confidence to knowing when to hit the brakes. She explains the discipline required to avoid the trap of doing too much, why organisations should only pursue slam-dunk initiatives, and how finance can be a force for clarity, conviction, and forward momentum rather than the office of no. 

We also explore the evolution of hybrid work, scaling communication muscles as companies grow, the realities of navigating regulation as a disruptive business model and the mindset needed to push through uncertainty. Liz reflects on her path from engineering jet engines to building finance functions at Expedia, fashion marketplaces, and now Motorway, sharing insights on problem-solving, leading change, and staying curious across an entire business. 

Liz’s contribution to the CFO Playbook centres on the power of confident decision-making. Her guiding principle is that if it has to be now, it has to be no. This helps finance leaders resist pressure, create space for better choices, and lead with calm clarity.