Liz Kistruck is a name that resonates with sharp financial insight, transformative leadership, and a clear-eyed vision for the future of startups. As the current Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Motorway, the UK’s leading online used car marketplace, Kistruck has played a pivotal role in shaping the financial backbone of the business. With a career spanning over two decades, she has worked in both established corporate giants and fast-scaling startups, bringing a rare balance of structure and agility.
Early Education and Foundation
Liz Kistruck’s academic foundation is rooted in excellence. She graduated from the University of Cambridge with a Master of Engineering degree—an achievement that set the stage for her analytical thinking and structured problem-solving approach. Engineering, often seen as a discipline of precision and systems thinking, provided her with the skills to thrive in roles requiring logic, efficiency, and strategy.
Following her academic success, Kistruck pursued a professional qualification with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). This step highlighted her determination to build a strong financial career, underpinned by both technical knowledge and practical financial acumen.
Launching a Career in Industry
Liz began her career in a traditional industrial setting, working with ICI Paints (Dulux), where she trained in management accounting. Her early roles focused on process improvement and operations in European manufacturing—a far cry from the startup world she would later help shape. These initial experiences allowed her to understand the value of operational efficiency, stakeholder alignment, and cost control.
What stands out about Kistruck’s early career is her willingness to get her hands dirty in industries that were not necessarily seen as glamorous but offered her real-world learning in financial planning, forecasting, and reporting. She built a strong foundation in core finance functions before moving into larger and more complex organisations.
Climbing the Ranks at Expedia Group
The most significant chapter of Kistruck’s corporate career came during her time at Expedia Group, where she spent more than fourteen years. During this period, she held several high-impact roles, including Chief Financial Officer for Hotels.com, Expedia Partner Solutions, and Expedia for Business.
Her tenure at Expedia allowed her to gain global exposure and lead finance teams across multiple business lines. She oversaw everything from budget planning and forecasting to financial analytics and reporting. Importantly, she also led the global marketing analytics function, demonstrating her unique ability to bridge the gap between finance and marketing.
Kistruck’s experience at Expedia taught her how to manage finance in large, multi-national environments, and how to think strategically in markets undergoing digital transformation. She learned how to support high-growth businesses with data-backed decisions and how to lead cross-functional teams towards measurable results.
Steering Lyst Through Transition
After leaving Expedia, Liz Kistruck took on the role of CFO at Lyst, a global fashion technology company. Here, she navigated a different kind of challenge—working within a fast-evolving e-commerce space where customer behaviour, data analytics, and product innovation move at lightning speed.
Her leadership at Lyst was marked by a focus on aligning commercial outcomes with financial strategy. She brought in controls and structures necessary for growth, but she also maintained the flexibility needed in startup environments. It was during her time at Lyst that Kistruck sharpened her ability to work in agile teams, prioritise trade-offs, and support innovation without compromising financial integrity.
Joining Motorway: A New Challenge
In July 2023, Liz Kistruck joined Motorway as its first-ever CFO. Her move into this role signalled a new chapter not just for her, but for the company itself. Motorway had already established itself as a disruptor in the UK automotive marketplace, but scaling sustainably required financial leadership of the highest calibre.
Kistruck’s appointment was a clear indication that Motorway was preparing for its next phase of growth. As CFO, she took charge of finance, legal, analytics, and payments—critical areas that influence every part of the business. With no pre-existing CFO structure, she had the rare opportunity to define the role from scratch.
The first few months in her new position were, as she later described, both exciting and disorienting. There were no established blueprints, no legacy systems to inherit. But this blank slate allowed her to build a finance function that was modern, tech-enabled, and aligned with Motorway’s fast-paced culture.
Redefining the CFO Role
One of Liz Kistruck’s strongest contributions to Motorway has been her redefinition of what a CFO should be in the 21st century. To her, a CFO is not just a number cruncher or a compliance watchdog. Instead, the role involves shaping company direction, providing commercial insight, and acting as a strategic partner to marketing, sales, product, and engineering teams.
She believes in developing forecasts that are directionally correct and helpful for decision-making, rather than being fixated on perfect accuracy. In her own words, “It’s not about being right—it’s about being useful.” This mindset reflects her understanding of the startup world, where flexibility, experimentation, and speed are often more valuable than rigid planning.
Her leadership is pragmatic. She questions assumptions, insists on business logic behind every proposal, and ensures that the data is meaningful—not just abundant. She brings rigour, but not rigidity; discipline, but not dogma.
Financial Strategy with a Human Touch
Kistruck’s approach to finance includes a clear human element. She acknowledges the pressures of managing budgets in high-growth environments, but she does not let numbers obscure the bigger picture. For her, empathy, communication, and collaboration are just as important as financial models and dashboards.
She promotes a culture where marketing and finance are not adversaries but allies. Her message to marketers is simple: “Tell me your story in financial terms.” She encourages marketers to translate ideas into business cases with clear ROI, long-term value, and measurable outcomes.
This approach has helped remove the often adversarial tension between creative teams and finance departments. Instead of shutting down ideas, she offers a framework to evaluate them with fairness and transparency.
Championing Diversity and Inclusion
Throughout her career, Liz Kistruck has also been an advocate for inclusion and representation in leadership. As one of the few senior women in finance in the tech and automotive sectors, she recognises the importance of representation and the power of voice.
Her leadership style is inclusive and encourages others—especially women—to speak up, challenge norms, and demand accountability. She has often shared stories of operating in male-dominated environments early in her career, learning to make her voice heard without compromising her authenticity.
By creating space for diverse perspectives and mentoring others along the way, she continues to pave the path for future generations of female financial leaders.
Non-Executive Director and Broader Influence
Beyond her executive responsibilities, Liz Kistruck contributes her skills to the broader community as a Non-Executive Director at the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. This role reflects her appreciation for culture and her belief in the social responsibilities of corporate leaders.
She also regularly speaks at industry events and leadership summits, where she shares her insights on scaling businesses, evolving the CFO role, and aligning finance with business strategy.
Her opinions are sought not only because of her expertise but also because of her clarity and candour. She does not offer generic soundbites; she speaks from experience, and with conviction.
Conclusion
Liz Kistruck’s journey from manufacturing consultant to CFO of a high-growth tech company is one marked by courage, vision, and relentless learning. Her ability to combine strategic foresight with financial discipline has made her a key figure in the UK business landscape.
Whether it is bringing structure to startups, guiding businesses through digital transformation, or bridging the gap between finance and marketing, Kistruck leads with purpose. Her story serves as a powerful reminder that finance is not just about balance sheets—it’s about enabling growth, empowering teams, and delivering impact.
