Insight
From Profit Warnings to Purpose: A CFO’s Journey Through Crisis
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Returning from maternity leave was meant to be a slow start. Three days a week. Time to settle in. Instead, it was a financial crisis, a relocation, and a health emergency, wrapped into one brutal first quarter. What followed wasn’t just about survival. It was about finding purpose in the middle of it all.
In this conversation, Dominique Highfield, CFO at Bloom & Wild, reflects on her time as CFO of Purplebricks. Returning to work just months after having her second child, she found herself leading through a business crisis. An experience that reshaped her understanding of leadership and showed her the quiet strength of empathy in a CFO role.
Walking into the storm
When Dominique Highfield joined Purplebricks, she thought she was signing up for a part-time return to work. With a five-month-old baby at home, she had planned a gentle return to work, just a few days a week to ease back in gradually.
Things quickly unravelled as the demands of a struggling business collided with unexpected changes at home, all while she was adjusting to life in a new city. Within her first 90 days as CFO, Dominique faced mounting pressure. She had to issue a profit warning, prepare the business for a potential sale, and find a way to keep it afloat.
At the same time, she was adjusting to life with a newborn and managing the impact of a serious health crisis at home, all while leading through the chaos at work.
“I would never have thought I could do it,” she says now. “But I did.”
The wake-up call
The moment she knew everything had to change is still clear in her mind. She was in the room with the CEO when they made the call to issue a profit warning and put the business up for sale.
“I remember exactly where I was sat. I remember exactly who was in the room. I remember the feeling in my stomach. But I also remember this wave of strength. Like, we’re just going to put one foot in front of the other and we’re going to do this.”
There was no time to waste. The business was burning through cash, so Dominique moved quickly. She brought in trusted external support, including PWC and a cashflow consultant, and crucially gave her team permission to speak up.
“I wasn’t proud. I asked questions. I encouraged the team to share their problems. I wasn’t pretending to know everything. That empowered them, and we reacted fast.”
“You don’t realise how much you can dig deep in those things. You hear about those mothers who lift buses off their kids, and honestly, it felt like I was lifting a bus sometimes. The responsibility for my kids, my partner, for the business, for a thousand employees relying on their pay, it was huge. And somehow you just dig in. You find a way.” – Dominique Highfield, CFO at Bloom & Wild
The personal cost
At home, the pressure was no less intense. Her baby was still tiny. Her partner had just been diagnosed with a spinal cord cyst that led to temporary paralysis. They relocated to the Midlands to be closer to the office. And work didn’t stop at five.
“I don’t even remember him crawling,” Dominique admits. “It was my second and last baby. I was supposed to be cherishing all the lasts, and I don’t remember them.”
She says she looks back now and still can’t find videos of those moments. “It’s like it never happened.”
That sense of loss was part of a broader reckoning. “The responsibility was huge. My kids, my partner, the people at work. We had customers who’d paid upfront. A thousand employees relying on their paycheque”
And yet, she did it.
“You don’t realise how much you can dig deep in those things. It felt like I was lifting a bus sometimes.”
The hardest moment
After the business was saved, Dominique had to face another kind of challenge. The deal with the buyer was done. The brand would survive. But not everyone would stay.
“In the first week of ownership, we had to go from 900 people to 700. Everyone knew it was coming. I stood in front of the room to say the words, and I just sobbed.”
The stress, the relief, the heartbreak. It all collided. “But we were saving 700 jobs. And reframing kindness means thinking about the many, not just the few.”
That moment was raw and emotional, and it became a turning point in building trust. “I got feedback afterwards. People told me they appreciated the honesty, the emotion. That not many female leaders would show it. But I wouldn’t change it.”
She found herself being more cautious, less jokey, more deliberate. That’s not easy for someone who thrives off bringing warmth and energy.
“But it made me appreciate why some leaders seem more ‘corporate’. When you’re leading at scale, you sometimes have to be.”
Reframing kindness
The idea behind reframing kindness has stayed with her and continues to shape how she leads.
“When you’re a leader, kindness isn’t about giving someone the day off or buying cake for their birthday. It’s about making the hard calls that protect the future of the business.”
She learned that from a CEO early on. “It’s not kindness to avoid difficult conversations. It’s not kindness to let someone underperform and be spoken badly about behind their back. You need to face into those conversations.”
And yet, Dominique is clear: kindness and high standards aren’t opposites. “You can be fun, warm, kind, and still sharp. Still expect the best. Still deliver.”
Her own leadership style blends optimism with accountability. “I take my work very seriously. I don’t take myself very seriously. But I will show my teeth if I need to.”
Switching off (and not really wanting to)
Balance, for Dominique, doesn’t come in days or even weeks. It comes in years.
“I’ve stopped trying to get it right every day. But over the course of a year, I think I get it about right.”
What’s shifted, she says, is knowing that the small moments matter. “It’s not just the school play or the nativity. It’s Friday afternoon sweet runs. It’s bedtime. It’s being properly present.”
She’s candid about what makes it work: a supportive partner and family and knowing that you can’t do everything. “If you want to be quality at work, you need quality at home.”
And when it comes to switching off? “No, I can’t. But I don’t want to. I really like it.”
“When you’re a leader, kindness isn’t about giving someone the day off or buying a cake for their birthday. It’s about making the hard calls that protect the future of the business. You can’t avoid difficult conversations or let people underperform, because that isn’t truly kind. It’s kinder to face into those challenges so you protect the many, not just the few. That’s what reframing kindness means to me.” – Dominique Highfield, CFO at Bloom & Wild
Finding purpose
After two years of transformation, Dominique knew her time at Purplebricks had run its course.
“I joined to be a listed CFO. And suddenly my LinkedIn algorithm was all about selling houses in 30 days. That’s not my career. That’s not where I wanted to go next.”
She left with integrity, still in touch with many on the team. And then, through a serendipitous conversation with a recruiter, she found Bloom & Wild.
“They were my dream company. I loved the brand, the values, the purpose. And when I met Aaron, the founder, I knew I’d learn from him.”
Her first 90 days at Bloom & Wild couldn’t have been more different. “It’s like if Amazon and Glastonbury had a baby,” she laughs. “Fast-paced, customer centric, but also no ego, and everyone pulling in the same direction.”
The contrast with what came before has given her clarity.
“Being somewhere that aligns with your values, it changes everything. I love saying I’m the CFO of Bloom & Wild. I get really proud.”
What resilience really looks like
Dominique doesn’t pretend she has it all figured out. She still gets nervous. Still overthinks. Still puts her own health at the bottom of the list.
But what she’s learned is that resilience isn’t about being bulletproof. It’s about doing the hard things with empathy. Asking for help. Finding the people who’ll stand in the trenches with you. And remembering why you’re doing it.
“I wasn’t there for every moment of my son’s first year. But we’ve got an amazing relationship now. And I know I’m doing this for them.”
Lessons in values (and difficult conversations)Advice for CFOs leading through crisis
- Don’t be proud, ask for help and empower your team to speak up.
- Reframe kindness: it’s not soft, it’s about doing what’s best for the many.
- Lead with emotion if it’s honest, your humanity builds trust.
- Remember, balance comes in years, not days.
- Culture and purpose matter, find somewhere that fits.
- When things get tough, keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Listen to the episode of the STOIX Podcast
To hear Dominique Highfield’s full conversation, watch the complete podcast episode here:
To connect with Dominique or explore more of her experience and insights, head over to Dominique’s LinkedIn profile.