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When Brianna Gerber tells us that during earnings season at Mattel, Inc., she was once known as the investor relations person most likely to be \u201cknocking on doors,\u201d we can\u2019t help but want to learn more about her IR tour of duty for the toy giant.  

\u201cI\u2019d be calling on the marketing team and the commercial team, talking to treasury and tax, and asking them all \u2018What\u2019s really going on?\u2019 because I would need to understand the numbers before I could explain them,\u201d recalls Gerber, who occupied Mattel\u2019s corridors for nearly five years, after having spent 10 years as an equity research executive.

There\u2019s little doubt here that Gerber is sharing a fond memory that exposes the somewhat immediate satisfaction that she experienced upon landing inside a corporate entity. The glass wall through which she had once peered as an equity analyst had vanished, and she was now able to engage one-on-one with the senior leaders best able to explain the complexities of the business.

It\u2019s a recollection that also reveals the door-opening presence that IR executives enjoy. Still, Gerber wanted something more, and while the IR career track at Mattel no doubt would offer her accelerated advancement, she instead decided to make a lateral move to Mattel\u2019s FP&A team.

\u201cUltimately, this was about me having the confidence in myself to say, \u2018I understand the numbers and I understand why they tell a story, so I can now translate what I learned from this 30,000-foot view and use it to allow me to at the same time go even deeper,\u201d remarks Gerber, who continued her career climb inside Mattel\u2019s FP&A function for a number of years before being recruited by Kevin Farr, Mattel\u2019s long-tenured CFO, who had exited the toy maker in 2017 to serve as CFO of ChromaDex, a pioneering biotech firm.

At ChromaDex, with the two worlds of investor relations and FP&A under her purview, Gerber became a direct report to Mattel\u2019s veteran CFO\u2014a coveted opportunity for mentoring if ever there was one.  

\u201cI think that what brought Kevin here and what brought me here was in part the potential to build something,\u201d comments Gerber, who would step into the CFO office at ChromaDex in August of 2022.

Looking back on her career pivots from equity research to IR to FP&A, Gerber highlights her personal goal of seeking challenge.

She adds: \u201cI think that we are constantly reinventing ourselves, and this is what keeps our careers interesting.\u201d \u2013Jack Sweeney