Non-CFOs might think that CFOs are people that look backwards, not forwards. I speak with Chief Financial Officers every day, and I can tell you that they look are interested in moving forward with their careers. They want to improve, grow and succeed. They want their next career opportunity to be bigger, better and have more responsibility. Many CFOs want to be able to grow into the CEO role, and as I report each Monday morning in my CFO Moves blog, a number of CFOs do just that.
Cindy Kraft wrote a blog just yesterday called CFOs Really Can Move On and Up! which deals with how a CFO can position themselves for the CEO role.
So this CFO Move last week really caught my attention.
Courtesy of Xerox Corporation
Luca Maestri, CFO of Xerox, let his company know that he would be taking a position with a new company. This is not an uncommon occurrence.
He also informed his employer that he will be taking on the role of Controller at his new employer. This does not happen often.
Now you need to keep in mind that the new employer is Apple. But it is not like he was working for a small company either as CFO. He was working for Xerox!
So why would a CFO at one company become a Controller at another company?
I have not had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Maestri about his decision. I’m sure he had good reasons. If Mr. Maestri was consulting with me about the move I would most probably tell him that I think it’s a great move.
However, most CFOs are so focused on moving forward in their career and getting promoted that they often lose sight that the best opportunities for them may require ‘stepping down’ a little.
Luca Maestri did just that.
As CFO, what can you learn from Luca Maestri?
I think it may show what his true love for accounting is. As mentioned CFO look forward, not backwards. Controllers must also look forward, just not as far ahead as a CFO. Maybe his aptitude is better suited for a Controller. Maybe he is more hands on, likes the function of being in the trenches with his staff. Like you said, Apple is not small organization. Maybe a job as the Controller of Apple is more challenging than a job as CFO for Xerox. This is an interesting move, in my opinion too.
So, what can we learn from Mr. Maestri? Stick with your passion and what you are gifted for. Some are visionaries, others are analyzers. I think he made this move based on his passion and gifting.
Thanks for this post. I hope the brainstorming for the book is going well.
All the best,
Chris Shumate
It is very interesting article and I confess, there is a lot of true, that the next career expectation for CFO upward is CEO position. I think, it is a natural move considering the specifics of the finance role and understanding the business combined with an apetite for exetending the are aof influence and make a necessarily changes for generating better perfomance. What the ” better prformance” realy means once the preassure for the financial result delivery is increasing in todays word?… Therfore I think, once someone is changing a company, perhaps to become realy transformational leader, it is sometimes better to go ” lower”, to the Controller position, in order to understand the business from the functional area, that is more closly to the person experience/way of thinking and understanding/necessary networking in the middle positions etc. , before doing a step “upward”…
Hello. I found your article very interesting and as Cindy Kraft mentionned in her blog, moving from CFO to CEO is a big issue.
You might be interested about this article which explains what it takes for a current CFO to make that ‘career leap’
http://www.cfo-insight.com/human-capital-career/career-planning/how-to-prepare-for-the-big-career-leap-from-cfo-to-ceo/
It is immpossible to know why he made this move without speaking to him. But I think a good lesson for all is that opportunities come in many different shapes, sizes and titles. Perhaps he made this move because the path to CFO and then CEO is clearer or perhaps it is the type of work and what he finds most enjoyable. Hopefully it wasn’t just for the money (although let’s face it, that is a factor). Lesson is that titles can be misleading and opportunities should be looked at in the context of the underlying responsibilities and visability and how those things contribute to your personal career growth.
I think it is safe to say noone wants to move backwards in their career (or have their resumes look that way). focussing on the underlying responsibilities and not just the title can help mitigate this risk. It’s a tricky one.
Frank.
It certainly is a tricky one. And that’s why this case is so interesting. Thanks for your input.
I made this exact move also….
However, I went from CFO of a consumer products company to controller of a financial services firm…I loved the company and opportunity, but felt I was lacking industry experience. I am absolutely delighted in my decision and not concerned at all about my “next move” or my resume.
Good for you Dan!
You do realize that few of your peers would have made the same move?
I think he is the future CFO of Apple. Its a succession plan. That’s the only reason for someone at that level to take a step ‘down’
Maybe.
Thanks John.
He is moving from a loser to a winner and having Apple as your next move sets him up not only for CFO of Apple but also other opportunities in the space. He also is leaving Rochester for Cupertino
Perhaps company and location had something to do with it. But keep in mind that today’s winner doesn’t always continue to stay a winner. And there are many people in Rochester that would much rather live where they do.
I made a similar move, although on a much smaller scale. However, it was difficult to convince the hiring managers that there wasn’t something “wrong” with me for wanting to take a step down. Personally, I just prefer hands on accounting work and less stress than I had in my CFO position.
Carla,
It’s important to know what you want from your career. Too many people do not. You are a very fortunate person.
We can all take a page out of Luca Maestri’s playbook….as CFO’s we know nothing is ever a straight line.
That is absolutely true.