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When asked about the experiences that prepared him for a finance leadership role, Brian Swartz, CFO of Cornerstone OnDemand, doesn\u2019t hesitate to mention his tour of duty as controller for EaglePicher, a collection of businesses founded in 1842 that stubbornly has reinvented itself from one century to the next. However, as the small conglomerate was entering the 21st century, it found itself burdened with enormous debt, which led to a bankruptcy filing and a transformative restructuring\u2014all of which controller Swartz got to observe firsthand after the company\u2019s CFO and treasurer made a hasty exit.

\u201cI kind of stuck around. While I would never want to work in that environment again, in that type of situation you do learn to understand all of the reasons why we have contracts and what all of the provisions in the contracts mean. The reality is that the provisions are not relevant until things do not go as planned, and that is basically what a Chapter 11 is,\u201d explains Swartz, who ultimately helped to lead EaglePicher\u2019s finance function through the Chapter 11 process and out of bankruptcy.

Reflects Swartz: \u201cThe experience made me think about things differently as I moved on to become CFO of Apollo Education Group.\u201d He would serve as AEG\u2019s CFO for eight and half years before leaving the multibillion-dollar provider of education services to enter the software technology realm. Today, Swartz characterizes his departure from mission-driven AEG as a distinct milestone in his career\u2014one that required him to leave behind a role that he had found enormously satisfying in order to be challenged in new and different ways inside the data-addicted but always inspiring technology sector.