Career

Renee Duffy is a senior CFO and commercial executive with more than 20 years’ experience leading finance, operations, corporate services and business transformation across complex organisations in Australia and New Zealand. Her career spans industrial and business services, security, facilities management, media and technology-enabled services, with experience across listed, private equity-backed, multinational and privately owned organisations.

Renee has held CFO and CFO/COO leadership roles with Chubb Fire & Security, Certis and Australian Community Media, following an extensive career with Fairfax Media. Across these organisations, she has partnered closely with CEOs, Boards, investors and executive teams on growth strategies, performance improvement, transformation and value creation.

Her experience extends well beyond traditional finance leadership. Renee has held executive responsibility across operations, IT, HR and broader corporate services, giving her a strong understanding of how financial, commercial and operational decisions interact. Her work has included establishing corporate functions following business separations, improving margins and cash conversion, leading ERP and technology transformations, supporting acquisitions and divestments, and preparing businesses for their next stage of growth or ownership.

Role at Factor

Renee brings a highly commercial and operational perspective to Factor’s Expert Advisor Network, helping senior executives navigate the financial and organisational realities of transformation, growth and change. Her experience across CFO and COO responsibilities enables her to connect financial performance with the broader operational drivers of business value.

Her advisory perspective is particularly relevant to organisations seeking to improve performance, strengthen cash and working capital, transform finance functions, restructure corporate operations or execute significant M&A and systems programs. Renee can help leaders assess complex situations, identify the commercial levers that matter and translate strategy into practical execution.

Renee is also well suited to executive roundtables involving CFOs, CEOs and operational leaders, particularly where the discussion centres on value creation, transformation, governance, cost discipline and navigating change. Her experience operating across different ownership structures and complex environments provides a practical perspective on the pressures facing senior executives.

Key roles Renee works with include: CFOs, CEOs, COOs, Chief Transformation Officers, Finance & Commercial Leaders, Corporate Services Leaders, Private Equity & Investment Leaders, and Board & Governance Leaders.

Previous Roles

As Chief Financial Officer Australia and New Zealand at Chubb Fire & Security Group, Renee held senior financial and commercial responsibility across the region, operating in a complex multinational environment and partnering with executive leadership on performance, strategy and transformation. Prior to Chubb, she was CFO at Certis, following her role as CFO/COO of Australian Community Media.

At Australian Community Media, Renee was responsible for finance leadership, strategy, forecasting, transformation and performance across a significant business portfolio. Her responsibilities included leading a finance division of approximately 45 employees, managing a portfolio spanning hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and cost base, and working closely with the CEO, CFO and executive leadership team.

Renee spent more than 16 years with Fairfax Media, progressing through finance leadership roles across regional and metropolitan media before becoming Finance Director and subsequently CFO of Australian Community Media. During this period, she led forecasting and budget strategies, finance teams, performance management and transformation initiatives while partnering closely with C-suite and divisional leaders.

Across her broader career, Renee has developed significant experience managing complex commercial environments, including business transformation, liabilities and cash performance, corporate governance, operational improvement, systems change and organisational capability. She has also held Company Secretary and Company Director responsibilities, further strengthening her understanding of Board governance and executive accountability.

Media Presence and Industry Contributions

Renee brings practical experience from organisations undergoing significant transformation, restructuring and change, with a particular understanding of the relationship between financial discipline and sustainable business performance. Her career has involved working through complex commercial environments where organisations need to improve performance while continuing to deliver for customers and stakeholders.

A recurring focus of Renee’s work is transforming finance from a traditional reporting function into a strategic partner to the business. She has led finance transformations, developed high-performing teams and introduced greater commercial discipline while maintaining a strong focus on capability, relationships and organisational alignment.

Her experience across media, security, facilities management and broader business services also gives her a cross-industry perspective on how organisations can improve margins, strengthen cash conversion, simplify operations and create the foundations for their next stage of growth.

Leadership Philosophy

Renee believes effective executive leadership requires more than financial expertise. Finance, operations, technology, people and commercial strategy need to work together around a clear understanding of the organisation’s objectives and the value it is seeking to create.

Her leadership approach is hands-on, pragmatic and collaborative, with a strong emphasis on trust, accountability and capability. She places importance on bringing people through transformation rather than simply implementing change, while creating the clarity and confidence required for teams to perform in complex environments.

Renee is particularly comfortable operating where the path forward is not straightforward. Her approach combines critical thinking, commercial discipline and openness to change, with a focus on turning strategy into practical outcomes and building organisations that are stronger, more capable and better positioned for the future.