Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Our discussion with Christine Chambers has been going on for only a little more than 5 minutes when she tells us that she remembers sitting on the steps of a London flat years ago while contemplating life\\u2019s many twists and turns. \\xa0
It seems that the accommodation\\u2014which she had only recently acquired and unquestionably counted as a milestone in life\\u2014had with little warning come to present a dilemma.
At that time back in 2007, when Chambers was working as a financial analyst inside the UK operations of Seattle, Washington\\u2013based RealNetworks, the company suddenly offered her a promotion to work within its US operations.
The treasured flat became toast.
\\u201cSix weeks later, I was on a plane headed to the U.S.\\u2014and I think that this speaks at least a little to my nature of being adaptable and open in terms of welcoming opportunities that have arisen,\\u201d comments Chambers, who would first join RealNetworks stateside in its Washington, D.C.\\u2013area outpost before receiving an invitation from the company\\u2019s CFO in 2010 to relocate to Seattle to join its corporate offices. \\xa0
Eleven years later, Chambers would be appointed CFO of RealNetworks. Of course, career paths are seldom linear, and indeed Chambers\\u2019s CFO appointment at RealNetworks would arrive only after a 3-year stint as an FP&A leader with Rosetta Stone and two more as a planning and budgeting executive at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
\\u201cI have always really leaned into my network for opportunities,\\u201d remarks Chambers, as she stops to consider the different doors that she has been able to swing open along the way. \\xa0
\\u201cBy learning within my network," she observes, "I have sought to understand the dynamics within companies and the challenges and opportunities that they bring.\\u201d
The power of Chambers\\u2019s network was no doubt in play when PetMeds CEO Matt Hulett, a former colleague at Rosetta Stone as well RealNetworks, announced her appointment as PetMeds CFO in August 2022.
Says Chambers: \\u201cMatt and I very much understand the dynamics and challenges faced by organizations that have large, addressable markets and may have undervalued assets that need to be turned around. We have seen this both at Rosetta Stone and now at PetMeds.\\u201d \\u2013Jack Sweeney
' -->Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
When Peter Benevides joined Olo back in 2015, the provider of restaurant technology's CFO office was vacant\\u2014as it would remain for the next 4 years, until he ultimately got the position thanks to a nod from the firm's CEO and perhaps a sprinkling of magic dust from Olo board members and investors.
Of course, things may have gone very differently for Benevides, as they so frequently do for many senior finance hires who, like Benevides, join fast-growing firms while knowing full well that there are no guarantees when it comes to C-suite appointments.
Thus, when given the opportunity to have Benevides reflect on his career, we thought it perhaps appropriate on our part to query Olo\\u2019s finance leader regarding what he feels that he got right along the way\\u2014especially with regard to any attributes or actions that may have made a difference in the career trajectory that for him has led to Olo.
According to Benevides, his success comes down to not having been afraid to ask others for help\\u2014a trait that he was to find increasingly beneficial as the company\\u2019s 2021 IPO drew ever closer.
It was during these months and years of career investment, Benevides tells us, that he found his attention focused by a number of critical undertakings, including making the transition from supporting a regional accounting firm to being part of a Big Four accounting house.
Besides being able to benefit from the fact that publicly traded firms offer a larger menu of services, the transition put in motion a Big Four \\u201creference check\\u201d that afforded Benevides the opportunity to contact clients of the different firms.
Such was the nature of a phone call that he placed to one of the Big Four references.
\\u201cWhat was meant to be a 20-minute reference call turned out to be an hour-and-a-half-long chat,\\u201d recalls Benevides, who tells us that the reference happened to be the recently retired CFO of a publicly traded company. \\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
\\u201cOnce I got off the phone, I said to our president and COO at the time, 'Gee, it would be amazing to have this person as an advisor to the company as we prepare to go through this IPO process,'\\u201d reports Benevides, who adds that the former C-suite executive became one of Olo\\u2019s invaluable IPO prep advisors. \\u2013Jack Sweeney
" -->Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Back in 2017, Donald McClure had only recently been appointed vice president of FP&A at Brinks Home Security when the company\\u2019s CFO at the time decided that it was the right time for retirement.
Unbeknownst to McClure\\u2014and perhaps even to the firm\\u2019s subsequent new CFO hire\\u2014a transformative chapter was about to get under way at the security firm that involved a massive restructuring and Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
For McClure, a 6-year Brinks veteran who had already had a hand in multiple debt refinancings, the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process proved to be yet one more experience that would advance him down the CFO path.
\\u201cWe ended up negotiating a prepackaged restructuring, whereby we utilized the Chapter 11 process but at the same time sort of did all of the work in advance,\\u201d recalls McClure, who tells us that he quickly became the newly hired CFO\\u2019s \\u201cNumber Two.\\u201d
Whether it was while consulting with the firm\\u2019s general counsel or with its CEO, McClure\'s CFO kept him ringside as they together educated others as to the ongoing process and its desired outcome.
\\u201cWe were telling the story of the company in an environment where we were not just trying to refinance but also taking the constraints off to ask, \'What is the right capital structure for this business?,\'" reports McClure, who notes that multiple financing partners were being engaged at once.
\\u201cAt one point, we had four different types of debt and various stakeholders at the table trying to help us to figure out how we were going to structure this\\u2014it was really eye-opening in terms of understanding the importance of what we were doing and how the stakes were real," explains McClure, who adds that once the restructuring was in his rearview, he felt that it was time to move on.
Says McClure:\\xa0\\u201cI knew that my work would be kind of done at this point, so I had been looking around and was able to find a company looking for a CFO.\\u201d \\u2013Jack Sweeney\\xa0
' -->Listed in: classical
It\\u2019s a question rooted in surprise headlines that has now become one of 2023\\u2019s favorite conversation starters for finance executives inside the tech realm: \\u201cWhere were you when you heard the news about Silicon Valley Bank [SVB]?\\u201d
For Tipalti CFO Sarah Spoja, the query instantly summons memories of being seated between two of Tipalti\\u2019s financing partners: JP Morgan and Hercules Capital, Inc.
Or perhaps we should say two of its "future" financing partners. Spoja, along with Tipalti\\u2019s attorneys, had gathered in a conference room with prospective partners to finalize the terms of a deal designed to secure a $150 million debt-raise for the growing business.
Looking back, Spoja tells us that the date of the gathering will forever be etched in her mind: Thursday, March 9, 2023. Within the next 24 hours, Silicon Valley Bank would be closed by the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) would be named its \\u201creceiver.\\u201d The public would receive no advance notice of the bank\'s closing.
Still, the escalating challenges at SBV were no secret, and as Spoja met that Thursday in March with Tipalti\\u2019s prospective investors, SVB (which had been solvent only 24 hours earlier) would be broke within hours as depositors rushed to withdraw their funds.
Thus, the terms of Tipalti\\u2019s debt-raise were not the only business that Spoja was seeking to finalize as she took a seat at the table. Besides securing the $150 million in debt, Spoja and her treasurer were simultaneously tracking the removal of Tipalti funds from SVB in real time.
\\u201cFor finance people, the thought was \\u2018Okay, I need to protect my company, so I need to do X, Y and Z before wire transfers are cut off,\'" she recalls. "But at the same time, in the backs of our heads, we were all thinking, \'I really hope that this isn\\u2019t going where it looks like it\'s going.\'\\u201d
Meanwhile, the terms finalized on Thursday, March 9, ultimately sealed a $150 million debt deal that would be announced by Tipalti in early that May. Why hadn\'t either of the prospective financing partners experienced cold feet in light of the escalating developments at SVB? Spoja tells us that \\u201ctougher diligence conversations\\u201d had already taken place to help to placate concerns about a changing economic climate. What\\u2019s more, she says, a \\u201cmutual trust\\u201d had been established that had allowed the deal to not to get stalled. \\xa0\\xa0
Still, you can\\u2019t help but hear the winds that were howling outside the doors of Tipalti\\u2019s March 9 meeting.
Says Spoja: \\u201cIt was a moment that a finance professional would always remember, particularly if they were in tech\\u2014because we all generally have a story.\\u201d
There\'s little doubt, though, that Spoja\\u2019s story is better than most. \\u2013Jack Sweeney
' -->Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
No matter how many phone calls Matt Gustke receives during the span of his finance career, none will likely be more memorable or important than one he received nearly 22 years ago.
At the time, Gustke, a research analyst for a major bank, was spending his days assessing the carnage piling up in the aftermath of the dotcom bubble burst.
\\u201cThe times were really weird, and uncertainty was everywhere,\\u201d comments Gustke, who despite the tech sector\\u2019s dotcom bust chapter assures us that he thoroughly enjoyed his research days\\u2014and in fact he may well have remained in research if not for a fateful phone call.
\\u201cHe was without a doubt my favorite executive at my favorite company,\\u201d comments Gustke, recalling the late Rajiv Dutta, who as the CFO of eBay at the time called Gustke to invite him to lunch.
\\u201cThe lunch turned into a full day, which then became a dinner and a meeting with the whole team, which then a week later led to my joining eBay to build out its IR function,\\u201d recalls Gustke, who as a research analyst had already established a rapport with Dutta by having frequently queried the CFO and summoned his comments as part of his regular research coverage.
\\u201cAt the time that I joined eBay, I honestly viewed it as sort of a 1- to 2-year working sabbatical during which I would get to see a company from the inside, but I eventually ended up being part of the eBay family for 12 years,\\u201d continues Gustke, who once more credits Dutta with extending his \\u201cleave\\u201d and ultimately helping to point him down the CFO path.
Gustke tells us that Dutta was often known to be generous with praise: "I guess it was a couple of years into my eBay journey when Rajiv came up to me and said, \'You know, investors don\'t want to talk to me anymore because they just want to talk to you, which is freeing up so much of my time to do other things\\u2014so I want to say thanks.\'\\u201d
However, as it turned out, Dutta had more than praise in mind.
\\u201cThe next thing he said was, \\u2018And now I need you to go into a different role\\u2014what would you think about leading FP&A for eBay International?,\'\\u201d reports Gustke, who after giving Dutta an affirmative response first began serving in his new international role from California before relocating to Switzerland for additional finance responsibilities that would eventually lead to heading up eBay\'s European finance team.
As he continued to grow his experience across multiple finance disciplines, Gustke became a candidate for more senior leadership positions. In 2010, he garnered what would be his first CFO appointment when he was named CFO of StubHub, the online ticket broker acquired by eBay in 2007.
Still, Gustke wants us know that one of his most important lessons wasn\'t gleaned from life among finance\'s rank-and-file but instead at a research team\'s conference table\\u2014and perhaps the very one where he first met Dutta.
Says Gustke: "Long ago I stopped worrying about asking stupid questions in meetings. I figured that if something wasn\'t clear to me\\u2014and I\'m at least of average intelligence\\u2014it wouldn\'t be clear to someone else. It turns out that more often than not, my questions led to better conversations, new insights, and a clearer mandate as to what was to be done after the meeting." \\u2013Jack Sweeney\\xa0
\\xa0
' -->Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
If Paystand CFO Scott Bennion were to break his three-decade-long finance career into different chapters, the software finance leader would likely agree that he and many of his peers have recently opened a new one.
As a starting\\u2014or concluding\\u2014point, the chapter that has just ended might simply be titled "The Data Set," in order to focus our attention on the means by which Bennion and others of his ilk have over the past decade extended their lines of sight into the business well beyond those of any previous generation of CFOs. \\xa0\\xa0
For Bennion\\u2014who remembers tracking CD shipping costs during the desktop computing era\\u2014the latest marker or evidence that a new page has been turned has been made visible by Paystand\\u2019s product engineering and development team.
\\u201cAfter having deployed AI tools and generative AI, we\\u2019re able to actually see a 4x increase in productivity by our product and engineering teams so far,\\u201d reports Bennion, who minces no words when asked about AI\'s impact on company finances.
He continues:\\xa0\\u201cFrom a finance perspective, I see a massive opportunity for improved ROI through doing more with less. From a legal perspective, I see that we need to be making sure that we do this in a smart way so that we don\'t accidentally hit any legal third rails.\\u201d
Bennion believes that the adoption of AI tools within SaaS organizations is not unlike what he previously observed firsthand in the open-source software environment.
\\u201cNew tech is often a developer-led initiative that comes into the organization through the side door, but once it\'s in, you need to embrace it,\\u201d observes Bennion, whose resume includes a stint as CFO of an open-source software company.
Moreover, when it comes to some of the legal concerns associated with AI, Bennion suggests that just as happened in the open-source world, commercial licensing will be used to address some of the go-to-market concerns related to potential software infringement.
As far as Bennion is concerned, when it comes to AI, the hands of time have already begun to move. \\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
\\u201cYou need to embrace it," he advises. "You can\\u2019t not embrace it." \\u2013Jack Sweeney
' -->Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Gray-haired late-night fans may remember when David Letterman sought to ingratiate himself with his network\\u2019s new owner, General Electric Corp., by hand-delivering a bowl of fruit to GE\\u2019s executive brass.
Nearly 20 years later, Simone Nardi became a benefactor of GE\\u2019s media aspirations when he traded a senior manager position on GE\\u2019s audit team for a unit CFO role inside GE\\u2019s plus-size media holdings enterprise, NBCUniversal. \\xa0
\\u201cWhile a member of GE\\u2019s audit team, I had had the opportunity to work with the head of GE\\u2019s audit staff, so when she was named CFO of NBCUniversal, she called me when she had an opening there," recalls Nardi, while referring to GE colleague Lynn Calpeter, who stepped into the CFO role at NBCUniversal in 2003 and then later returned to GE in 2011 upon the sale of the company to Comcast.
That very same year, Nardi was able to take advantage of a new CFO opportunity that surfaced inside NBCUniversal Networks International\'s TV Production business, which allowed the unit CFO to open his first post-GE career chapter without having to change jobs. \\xa0\\xa0
In the years that followed, Nardi tells us, he stepped into CFO roles at a number of different companies, one of which (fuboTV) he helped to take public. \\xa0
Still, few chapters have been as formative for the finance leader as his years at GE, which seemed to achieve a familiar rhythm over time.
Says Nardi: \\u201cThe approach involved different businesses, different projects, and different teams globally. We\\u2019d connect locally, map out the project, deliver it, and go on to the next one.\\u201d \\u2013Jack Sweeney
' -->Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Back in 2008, when Jim Cox was controller for investment management software company Advent Software, he was invited by that firm\'s founder and CEO, Stephanie DiMarco, to accompany her to an investor meeting.
\\u201cI just sat there smiling and hoped that nobody would ask me a question,\\u201d comments Cox, recalling one of a number of experiences that he credits with helping him to step beyond his accounting career roots.
The meeting\\u2019s biggest take-away, Cox tells us, was about repetition.
He explains: \\u201cGuess what? All 20 investors asked six of the same questions and two questions that were unique to them.\\u201d
Looking back, Cox believes that DiMarco was providing him with an opportunity to not only develop a rapport with investors but also polish his communication skills.
\\u201cWhen Stephanie brought me along, I think she was like, \\u2018Let\\u2019s try this out,\'" continues Cox, who stepped into Advent\\u2019s CFO office in 2009, only 3 years after joining the company.\\xa0 \\xa0
Cox had been recruited to Advent by a VP of finance who had formerly been a client of Cox\\u2019s when he was an accountant at Pricewaterhouse. \\xa0\\xa0
\\u201cBe good to your clients,\\u201d advises Cox, who credits yet another client executive with encouraging PwC to relocate him to New Zealand for a 2-year stint.
Asked about his early career\\u2019s lengthy tenures at PwC (10 years) and Advent (9), Cox reports that he doesn\\u2019t think that he missed out by not changing jobs more frequently.
\\u201cYou can stay at the same company, but it\\u2019s about doing different things,\\u201d he comments.
Today, having served in multiple CFO roles, Cox likes to measure his stint as Advent\'s CFO differently since its was publicly held: \\u201cI like to say that I was a public company CFO for 22 quarters\\u2014because when you\\u2019re a public CFO, you live one quarter at a time.\\u201d \\u2013Jack Sweeney
' -->Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
As our finance leader guests well know, we seldom hesitate to ask where they spent their career-building years.
Moreover, if we learn that a CFO spent more than 5 years with any one company, we\\u2019re apt to ask, \\u201cWhy? What kept you there?\\u201d \\xa0On the other hand\\u2014and somewhat oddly\\u2014finance career investments spanning a decade or more are likely to lead us to leapfrog more perfunctory queries in order to let the grilling begin.\\xa0 \\xa0
Such was the case with CFO Keith Taylor of Equinix, the $7.2 billion data infrastructure giant with 248 data centers in 27 countries.
For Taylor, who is logging his 24th year with the firm, the investment of career decades inside a single company led us to imagine a string of experiences somewhat uniform from one chapter to the next.
However, Taylor quickly informs us that his investment of years inside a single company has afforded him a breadth of experiences that few job-hopping finance executives may have ever surpassed.
It\\u2019s fair to say that when Taylor was named Equinix CFO in 2005, the business model responsible for the company\\u2019s following 79 consecutive quarters of growth was still in its infancy. \\xa0
However, for Equinix\\u2019s newly minted CFO, it seemed hard to imagine that the breadth of experiences that lay ahead could match those already behind him.
Back in 1999, as Equinix\\u2019s founders began to eye the public markets, they hired Taylor to add some heft to their fledgling finance team. The company would hire a CFO and go public in August of 2000 just as the dotcom bubble began to burst.
\\u201cWe then went through a near-death experience when we had only one payroll left and didn\\u2019t think that we were going to make it,\\u201d recalls Taylor, who remembers a string of long calls with investors over the ensuing 24 months. \\xa0
Says Taylor: \\u201cThere was a determination not to give up that allowed us to survive, and by January 1, 2003, we were like a new company, with new shareholders and our problems mostly solved.\\u201d \\u2013Jack Sweeney
' -->Listed in: classical
Teodora Gouneva was enjoying one of the more satisfying chapters of a 25-year finance career when she began hearing voices again.
She tells us that although for most of her work trajectory she had been able to ignore them, on this occasion the contentment that she had so carefully guarded began to give way.
The year was 2013, and the role offered to Gouneva was to serve as CFO of PayPal\\u2019s Braintree Venmo operations, the enterprise resulting from PayPal\\u2019s recent acquisition of Braintree.
\\u201cFor me, it wasn\\u2019t an immediate or obvious \\u2018yes,\\u2019\\u201d recalls Gouneva, who already occupied a senior finance role overseeing a big slice of the company\\u2019s business after having adroitly climbed PayPal's finance career ladder for the previous 9 years.
\\u201cI loved my current job, and there were still things on my road map that I wanted to improve and fix,\\u201d continues Gouneva, who notes that it was at this point that the voices once more surfaced\\u2014this time, not to be ignored.
\\u201cPrior to that job offer, I would very often have people tell me \\u2018You should take more risks!,\\u2019 but I don\\u2019t think that I had ever really considered doing so before,\\u201d says Gouneva, who credits her divisional CFO tour of duty with adding some extra operational heft to her resume in light of Braintree having acquired Venmo only a year earlier.
Comments Gouneva: \\u201cThese were two completely different businesses in one, and we made a strategic decision to run those businesses separately.\\u201d \\xa0
Still, in the months and years that followed, the organizations sought to achieve a better strategic alignment, a feat largely reliant on changing the behaviors of the different sales teams.
\\u201cWe had to paint a picture for them of what the ultimate goal was and what was important and why,\\u201d remarks Gouneva, who credits changes in PayPal\\u2019s sales compensation programs with helping to bring the new picture into focus.
While Gouneva leaves little doubt that she\\u2019s happy that she ultimately listened to \\u201cthe voices,\\u201d she tells us there\\u2019s no escaping the fact that risks will always be risks.\\xa0 \\xa0
She asks: \\u201cDo I leave the certainty that comes from knowing exactly what the role is, or do I embrace something new that is not very clear and could ultimately be good or bad?\\u201d \\u2013Jack Sweeney
" -->Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
It\\u2019s no secret, professionals from various departments must work together to correctly calculate Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), Customer acquisition cost (CAC) or Lead-to-customer ratios. This episode we explore how collaboration and communication is always essential to ensure these calculations and others take into account all relevant factors.
This episode features the FP&A insights and commentary of\\xa0CFO Thomas Fennimore of Luminar Technologies, CFO Jared Poff of Designer Brands,\\xa0and\\xa0CFO John McCauley of Calendly.
About our Guest Host: Soufyan Hamid
FP&A troubleshooter Soufyan Hamid helps finance teams primarily in two ways:
First, he works as an FP&A project leader or team member on mid to long term assignments
Second, he helps finance professionals take their presentation skills to the next level
Visit Soufyan\'s website or connect with Soufyan via his LinkedIn page
' -->Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
It was nearly 18 years ago that Icertis CFO Rajat Bahri stepped into the CFO office for the first time. \\xa0
Thus began a stretch of time that Bahri, not unlike many of his CFO peers, has populated with various distinguished CFO career chapters ranging from 3 to 5 to 8 years in duration. \\xa0\\xa0
Still, for Bahri, "18 years" means more than this, as it also represents the amount of time he invested prior to receiving a CFO appointment, making it a worthy touchstone with regard to which we can seek out some thoughtful CFO reflection.
Icertis\\u2019s CFO doesn\\u2019t disappoint us. It seems that back in 2004, after Bahri had turned the corner on 17 years with Kraft Foods, Inc., he found himself handicapping his CFO prospects for the top job. Certainly, such aspirations were in no way foolhardy on the part of Bahri, who had already served as CFO of Kraft\\u2019s high-growth frozen pizza category as well as CFO of Kraft Canada, where he got to double down on his operations experience.
However, Bahri explains, time began to weigh on him: \\u201cI could have stayed at Kraft for another 8 to 10 years and gotten the top job, but my thinking was that if I stayed and didn\'t get it, I could have become stale and it would have been tough to make job changes.\\u201d
Of course, this is a quandary that many long-tenured finance executives face annually, not to mention that especially challenges the sense of responsibility of those executives who take pride in being loyal corporate soldiers. \\xa0
Still, Bahri reports that his decision to exit Kraft was not only a hedge to mitigate the risk of his skill base growing stale but also a step that allowed him to check two new boxes.
\\u201cIn addition to allowing me to enter a different industry, joining Trimble put me with a publicly traded company,\\u201d remarks Bahri, referring to the technology firm that he joined following Kraft and where he would serve as CFO for the next 8\\xbd years.
Says Bahri: \\u201cIt was a great win-win. Trimble got a guy who was strong operator, and I got my wish to learn IR and how to manage the Street and investors.\\u201d \\u2013Jack Sweeney\\xa0
' -->Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Brett & Jack discuss the workforce rantings of Elon Musk and the new Twitter owner\'s November 16th deadline for employees to decide whether to leave or stay. Is Musk\'s leadership style solely responsible for the turmoil at Twitter or are there other contributing factors?
This episode\'s featured Workplace Champions expose how leaders seek to optimize work environments to empower people to do their best work. While Jack views the talent mind set of each of the three featured finance leaders as the upshot of extensive leadership experience, Brett points out there may be a method behind the Musk "madness."
This episode features the workforce insights and commentary of CFO Anat Ashkenazi of Eli Lilly, CFO Ambereen Toubassy of Airtable,\\xa0and\\xa0CFO Evan Goldstein of Seismic.
' -->Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
When Ambereen Toubassy decided that it was time to start up her own hedge fund, it\'s likely that no one cast doubt on the experienced investor\\u2019s grand plan. That is, no one except Toubassy herself. \\xa0
After 7years as an investment banker with Goldman Sachs and a dozen running hedge funds, Toubassy says, she told herself, \\u201cOkay, this is a moment, I have a track record, I should start my own hedge fund.\\u201d
Thus with some freshly drafted marketing collateral in hand, she initiated the early round of discussions that would allow her to begin raising capital. \\xa0
\\u201cWhen I started doing this, I realized my that heart wasn\\u2019t in it\\u2014I told myself, \\u2018Okay, if your heart isn\\u2019t in this, you have no business asking other people to entrust you with their capital,\\u2019\\u201d recalls Toubassy, who notes that her outreach had put her in touch with a span of finance professionals from her Goldman Sachs years, including a number who had exited the investing world to take on a variety of operating roles\\u2014including CFO positions.
\\u201cWhat clicked for me and why I made the shift to operations was how much time CFOs spent in talking about the people with whom they were working,\\u201d reports Toubassy, who points out that while the guiding principle of her career had always been to \\u201calways be learning,\\u201d her discussions with CFOs made clear that there was more to learn.
Remarks Toubassy: \\u201cI\'d always sort of had this inkling that when I was managing a portfolio and tickers, I didn\'t get as much of that people mentorship experience as I would have liked to have had.\\u201d
Today, after having served in multiple CFO roles, Toubassy keeps people top-of-mind when offering advice to new finance leaders.
For one thing, she advises, \\u201cSpend time gathering context and developing relationships with your peers and the business leaders for all of the other functions.\\u201d
Moreover, Toubassy exposes the people factor in CFO success from the perspective of output and input metrics.
\\u201cThe financials are output metrics, and a CFO cannot influence them or change them because they\'re exactly that," remarks Toubassy. "To effect change, you need to understand and influence the inputs that go into the business.\\u201d
Perhaps not surprisingly, though, Toubassy quickly circles back to her relationship-building advice: \\u201cYou need to spend time with the head of each of the business functions. You need to have a relationship with each of these people. You need to be able to sort of put yourself in their shoes and say, \\u2018How would that person effect change?\\u2019 And, over time, the output metrics that finance cares about will change.\\u201d
Meanwhile, Toubassy finds little or no irony in the title \\u201cchief finance officer.\\u201d
\\u201cWe have this tendency to jump straight into the financials or outputs because that\\u2019s who we are," she says. "And, we are the chief financial officer.\\u201d\\xa0\\u2013Jack Sweeney
' -->Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
It was the type of assignment that Mike Milotich had been awaiting for most of his career. An innovative product team at American Express had just launched a promising new offering, and Milotich had been assigned to the group to help \\u201coptimize its day-to-day decision making\\u201d.
\\u201cI arrived when it had been live for only maybe 4 to 6 weeks, and all of the traditional metrics indicated that it was a runaway success,\\u201d explains Milotich, who adds that the early consensus among team members and even the company at large was, \\u201cWow! It looks like we may really have something here\\u201d
As it turned out, the assignment provided Milotich with a singular perch from which to study the high-flying opportunity.
\\u201cMy job was to determine what was driving this success and what we were seeing with regard to the behaviors of customers that could be fueling this,\\u201d comments Milotich, who notes that such insight could have potentially uncorked a new secret sauce for the company as a whole. \\xa0
However, there would be no recipe for significant new revenue. \\xa0
Observes Milotich: \\u201cAs we started to dig deeper, we began to understand that we had a problem.\\u201d
The nagging question that began to haunt the product team was whether its new product was cannibalizing sales from existing customers. \\xa0
\\u201cWe set up a weekly meeting with the leader who ran the business, at which for an hour each week I would come in with analysis and say, 'Here\\u2019s what\\u2019s happening,'\\u201d recalls Milotich, who points out that at the time, the indications of cannibalization remained somewhat murky because behaviors of early adopters sometimes vary from those of broader customer segments. \\xa0
As time moved forward, the leader and the greater team began to accept the idea that the product was flawed and changes were required.
\\u201cThen the discussion shifted to \\u2018How do we maintain many of the new innovative attributes of the product but make certain that it\\u2019s both almost as attractive to the customer and at the same time not something that\\u2019s going to damage us financially?,\\u2019\\u201d reports Milotich, who in the weeks ahead would begin working closely with the team\\u2019s marketing and sales executives to help them to reposition the product to mitigate the risk of cannibalization.
Says Milotich: \\u201cIn something like a 6- to 9-month time period, we went from a kind of a euphoria to \\u2018Uh-oh!\\u2019 to then designing a solution that could hold on to the best parts of the product.\\u201d \\u2013Jack Sweeney
" -->Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Ralhan reports that one of a number of Chemours businesses that have benefited from the reallocation has been the chemical company\\u2019s Advanced Performance Materials (APM) business, where the finance and the operations teams came together to build new decision-making models as well as return-on-capital models for each manufacturing site.
Observes Ralhan: \\u201cThese models really provided the insights to drive the right decisions, and this is evident in the margin improvement that we\'re seeing today in the APM business.\\u201d
Meanwhile, the Chemours manufacturing sites, as well as their bottom lines, are expected to benefit in the coming years from different digital tools and applications that promise to build on APM\'s recent margin improvement success.
Comments Ralhan: \\u201cOnce you achieve this, you earn the right to do more things, and that\'s what I\'m really excited about.\\u201d -Jack Sweeney
' -->
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical
Listed in: classical