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For those executives residing inside the private equity and investment banking realm that aspire to someday occupy the CFO office, it\u2019s not uncommon to seek out an \u201coperator\u2019s role\u201d \u2013 one that allows recruiters \u201cto check the box\u201d and confidently present a leadership candidate (operations credentials intact) to a company\u2019s management team or board members.

\u201cInspect your chute carefully and jump smart,\u201d might be the abbreviated advice for those looking to land inside an operations role.  Once inside, the goal is to canvas the corridors and collaborate with the company functional areas and managers the banking world seldom sees.  Sometimes such operations stints are little more than a year long, while others last several years and incorporate roles at multiple companies.  

For Michael Linford, whose chute opened wide, the operations tour of duty was at Hewlett-Packard, and the multiyear stint would arguably afford him more operational insights than any aspiring CFO could hope to glean.

\u201cWhen I joined the decision to separate HP\u2019s consumer business and the enterprise business had been made,\u201d explains Linford recalling his 2015 arrival within the firm\u2019s M&A integration team.   The historic split up of Hewlett-Packard company was structured so that the former company would change its name to HP Inc., spin off Hewlett Packard Enterprise as a newly created company and sell off its enterprise services business.

\u201cAs the slpit off was happening we knew we had to continue to grow the company. \u2026There was a duality to it.  If you want to achieve change, you must continue to buy and sell companies at the same time,\u201d comments Linford, who tells us he quickly became involved with helping integrate a recently acquired networking firm that had stumbled since being acquired.

\u201cThe networking business had been growing quickly, but as it came into the HP mothership it had just stalled, so we spent a lot of time getting that business back on track \u2013 and this was as the larger separation was underway \u2013 so we were tasked with building a real business and at the same time shed these other businesses,\u201d explains Linford, who tell us the role taught him to be mindful of distractions.  

\u201cIf you didn\u2019t focus on getting the value from the acquisitions that were being made \u2013 what is left wouldn\u2019t have any value,\u201d comments Linford, who tell us the networking business would ultimately become a \u201cmaterial part\u201d of the business.  

Roughly two years into his M&A stint, Linford joins HP\u2019s software business where he would serve as finance leader for the newly formed HP Enterprise.  

\u201cThat was where I encountered one of the hardest problems I\u2019ve ever had to solve in my career,\u201d comments Linford, who tells us the succession of business separations within HP led to a talent shortage as employees found themselves attached to one or another entity.   

\u201cBy the time we got to the software business separation, there was nothing left in the cupboard. And so, we had to stand up a whole new technology stack to operate the business. And we had to hire a whole new team to support the business,\u201d remarks Linford, who once more emphasizes the stiff price for indulging distractions.  

He explains \u201cStaying focused on the job at hand while all this change is happening around you is a tremendous leadership challenge, and its alongside the technical, operational and finance challenges that were all very real for us.\u201d \u2013 Jack Sweeney

CFOTL: Tell us about Affirm .. what does this firm do and what are its offerings today?

Linford: So Affirm\u2019s mission is to build honest financial product that improve lives. We\u2019re a payment network that helps consumers purchase the things they want and need. And we help merchants grow their...