Liz Kistruck: The Visionary CFO Driving Growth in Automotive and Tech Industries

Liz Kistruck is a highly accomplished finance executive, known for her strategic leadership across diverse sectors such as automotive, fashion, travel, and technology. Currently serving as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Motorway, a leading UK-based online used car marketplace, Liz has played a pivotal role in driving rapid growth and profitability through her deep financial expertise and innovative approach to scaling businesses. With a strong background at Expedia Group and Lyst, combined with an engineering degree from Cambridge University, Kistruck exemplifies the modern CFO—merging analytical precision with visionary leadership to navigate fast-paced, dynamic markets successfully.

Introduction

In today’s fast-evolving business landscape, the role of a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) extends far beyond traditional number crunching. It demands strategic vision, adaptability, and an ability to drive sustainable growth in dynamic markets. Liz Kistruck embodies this modern CFO archetype. With an impressive career spanning automotive, fashion, travel, and technology sectors, Liz has distinguished herself as a strategic leader and financial expert. Currently serving as the CFO at Motorway, a UK-based online used car marketplace, she is steering the company through rapid expansion and profitability challenges, leveraging her broad experience and sharp financial acumen.

Early Life and Education

Though Liz Kistruck maintains a relatively private personal life, available information reveals that she possesses a strong academic background, underpinning her successful career. She holds a Master’s degree in Engineering from the prestigious University of Cambridge. This technical foundation has greatly influenced her analytical approach to finance and leadership. Beyond academics, Liz qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA), blending rigorous financial expertise with engineering precision—a rare and powerful combination.

Details about her family life are not widely publicized, reflecting her preference to keep personal matters discreet. However, her career journey and leadership insights offer a clear window into the values and mindset that have propelled her to the upper echelons of the corporate world.

Career Journey

Liz Kistruck’s professional trajectory is marked by diverse experiences and steady upward mobility in some of the most competitive industries. She began her career in management accounting with Dulux Paints (ICI Paints), where she honed skills in financial planning and process improvement across European manufacturing sites. This early exposure to operational finance and engineering optimization helped her develop a holistic understanding of business functions.

Her career took a significant leap when she joined Expedia Group, one of the world’s leading online travel companies. Over a span of more than 14 years, Liz held multiple senior roles including CFO for Hotels.com, CFO for Expedia for Business, CFO for Expedia Partner Solutions, and Senior Vice President of Global Marketing Analytics. In these capacities, she managed large teams and complex budgets, while championing data-driven marketing strategies and international expansion efforts. Her work at Expedia sharpened her ability to lead through change, scale businesses globally, and align finance with marketing and technology functions.

Following her tenure at Expedia, Liz served as CFO at Lyst, a global fashion-tech marketplace, where she applied her expertise to a different, but equally dynamic sector. At Lyst, she contributed to the company’s growth by refining financial operations and supporting innovation in the fashion retail space.

In July 2023, Liz Kistruck took on a new challenge as the first-ever CFO at Motorway. This UK-based online used car marketplace is rapidly growing in the automotive technology sector. Liz’s arrival marked a milestone for the company, bringing formalized financial leadership and strategic direction to a fast-scaling startup environment.

Liz Kistruck’s Leadership Style and Philosophy

Liz is widely recognized for blending analytical rigor with strategic vision. Her leadership style is collaborative, data-informed, and grounded in practical business logic. She advocates for using financial forecasts as directional tools rather than expecting perfection, which allows for agility and informed risk-taking in rapidly changing markets.

A key feature of her approach is the emphasis on bridging finance with other departments, particularly marketing. Liz believes marketing proposals must be evaluated with financial scrutiny and that the profit and loss statement is an objective truth no business function can ignore. This cross-functional alignment ensures that marketing spend drives measurable business outcomes and supports sustainable growth.

Additionally, Liz values transparent communication and the courage to challenge assumptions. Her consulting background early in her career taught her the importance of speaking up with confidence, even in uncertain situations—an attribute critical for influencing strategic decisions at the executive level.

Impact at Motorway

Since joining Motorway, Liz Kistruck has been instrumental in professionalizing the company’s financial operations. Her deep experience with scaling digital marketplaces equips her to manage the unique challenges of automotive tech—a sector characterized by high inventory costs, regulatory complexity, and evolving consumer behavior.

Liz’s focus at Motorway centers on balancing aggressive growth with a clear path to profitability. By introducing rigorous financial planning, forecasting discipline, and operational metrics, she enables the leadership team to make data-backed decisions quickly. She also oversees legal, commercial analytics, and payments operations, ensuring the company maintains compliance and operational efficiency as it expands.

Her leadership has helped Motorway solidify investor confidence and optimize marketing investment, reinforcing the startup’s position as a market leader in the UK’s used car ecosystem.

Personal Life and Interests

Though Liz Kistruck keeps much of her personal life private, it is known that she has interests beyond finance and business. She is involved with the arts, notably with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, which reflects her appreciation for creativity and cultural engagement. Such interests offer balance and broaden her perspective, contributing to her leadership depth.

Public information on her family is scarce, highlighting her choice to maintain separation between her professional achievements and private life.

Liz Kistruck Age

Liz Kistruck’s exact age is not publicly disclosed. Based on her career timeline—graduating from Cambridge, 14+ years at Expedia, and subsequent senior roles—it is reasonable to estimate that she is likely in her early to mid-40s.

Liz Kistruck Net Worth

While Liz Kistruck’s precise net worth is not publicly available, her roles in senior leadership positions at large multinational corporations and successful startups suggest she has accumulated significant professional wealth. CFO positions at companies like Expedia, Lyst, and Motorway typically come with lucrative compensation packages including salary, bonuses, and equity stakes, especially in fast-growing startups where equity can be highly valuable.

Liz Kistruck Wikipedia and Public Presence

As of now, Liz Kistruck does not have a dedicated Wikipedia page. However, she maintains a visible presence through interviews, conference appearances, and professional profiles. Her influence and recognition continue to grow, and given her trajectory, a detailed Wikipedia entry may emerge in the near future.

Conclusion

Liz Kistruck stands out as a modern financial leader who combines deep analytical expertise with strategic foresight. From her engineering roots at Cambridge to leading finance teams at global giants and innovative startups, she has demonstrated an exceptional ability to navigate complex industries and drive transformational growth. At Motorway, she is shaping the future of automotive retail in the UK by ensuring financial discipline supports bold innovation.

Her career serves as an inspiring example of how diverse experience, intellectual rigor, and collaborative leadership can position a CFO as a critical driver of business success in today’s interconnected, fast-paced world.