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August 8, 2017 By Samuel Dergel Leave a Comment

A CFO Success Story: Sajid Malhotra, CFO of Limelight Networks

Sajid Malhotra, CFO at Limelight Networks

The following is a summary of our interview with Sajid Malhotra, who was appointed CFO of Limelight Networks in April 2016, as announced in CFO Moves. Prior to being appointed CFO, Sajid was Chief Strategy Officer at Limelight Networks, and worked in strategy roles at Convergys, NCR Corporation and AT&T.

Samuel Dergel: Please tell us about what motivated you to become CFO

Sajid Malhotra: Professionally I recognized the higher responsibility and opportunity to assist in turning around the business. In my previous role as head of strategy, I could influence but this was clearly a lot more. The personal motivation was that I have a desire to assist other company Boards and being at a C-Level position would facilitate that goal.

SD: What challenges did you face becoming CFO when you were not classically trained for the role?

SM: I was at the right place at the right time. There was an abrupt departure of the CFO and I expressed interest to be the next CFO. I knew that the role would be a challenge but I felt, based on the underlying support team, there was low probability of failure and a very high probability of success. I felt I possessed the right skill set to turnaround the business for all stakeholders and wanted to take on the challenge of being a key member to turn a broken business into a successful one. Despite the position being outside of my comfort zone, I recognized, it was an opportunity I should not pass up.

SD: Did you find it challenging to move into the CFO role, acquire a new team and get the results that you need (or able to get them to perform)?

SM: I am a firm believer of not reducing workforces and in giving the incumbents the first chance. I believe keeping and motivating my team is the first order of business. My job is to make the team and the environment I inherit better. Over the course of my 30-year career, I have let the same principle guide me, regardless of the company, the industry or size.

SD: What do you feel are the key qualities for successful leadership?

SM: Leading by example, honesty and transparency, is a requirement. Leading by example and letting my team see how I interact with all around me, my sense of commitment and responsibility helps modify team behavior accordingly. People self-learn and perform.

SD: How important is it to have your people believe in you?

SM: Extremely important. I cannot do this alone. With my team, I can. My resume, experience and capabilities are important elements to getting a job but to be successful, it is all about the team working together towards a common goal and with a clear and unified purpose.

SD: How do you deal with change?

SM: I don’t think people handle change well in general. I have found that when you get the first series of changes and are successful, momentum picks up, employees attitudes change, and the trend becomes your friend.

SD: How are relationships important to you?

SM: Strategy and M&A are transactional roles. The CFO position requires higher engagement and entanglement, not just with the employees, but with vendors, customers, shareholders, community and competitors. I may have underestimated the amount of time investment required to be good at all this. It is a requirement for success.

SD: In your experience, what has been the difference between giving advice vs. taking advice?

SM: I always found it easy to give advice to CEOs, CFOs and boards but taking advice is 180 degrees different. Much, much easier to give and I have higher respect for those who constantly receive.

SD: How important is time management to a CFO?

SM: The CFO position requires a lot of time to do the job well and everyone is asking for your time. It is very easy to get buried in work if one does not manage time well and so, it is crucial to manage it well. We only have 24 hours in a day and time is an equalizer. Do a few things and do them well. Delegate the balance to trusted team members. Opportunities will only return what you invest in them.

SD: What advice do you have for contemporaries considering taking on the CFO role?

SM: Self-awareness as well as conviction are key. The CFO is the gatekeeper to the value vault. Do it well and you create value, do it poorly and you destroy value. Setting expectations and priorities before accepting the role rather than figuring them out after you have accepted the position is important. Ask for help. Take help. Leave personal biases at the door.

SD: Now that you’ve been CFO for over a year, what is your impression about the Office of the CFO?

SM: The CFO is most often the second most important role at any company, and for good reason. I find it an honor to be a CFO. I am temporarily occupying a position and an office. I need to make sure I don’t dilute the role for those who will follow me.

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A CFO Success Story is a feature of Samuel’s CFO Blog, where Samuel Dergel follows up on his book, Guide to CFO Success, speaking with CFOs featured in CFO Moves and CFO Moves Canada, Samuel’s popular and comprehensive weekly report on CFO Movement across the USA and Canada.

December 5, 2016 By Samuel Dergel Leave a Comment

Things CFOs Say

It may not surprise you that I truly enjoy speaking with CFOs.

This November, I sat down with members of my CFO Peer Group for our one day in-person meeting in Chicago.

I am always impressed, that my CFOs, who are busy busy people, take a full day out of their schedules to sit down and talk with each other about the challenges they face and opportunities before them.

Some of the things they said were brilliant. I jotted them down to share with you.

“It’s easy to default on being busy all the time”

“We need to Uber ourselves before we get Kodak’d”

“Financing is more available, but funders now have tight requirements and short cycles”

“There is complexity in simplicity”

“ADD is deadly to the organization”

“Glassdoor is the best thing that happened to us”

“It’s tough dealing with a CEO that has ‘AAD – Attention Abundance Disorder’”

“I don’t look good in Orange”

Which of these quotes speaks most to you?

My CFOs are very smart people and I love learning from them and helping them become more successful.

You can learn more about our CFO Peer Groups by reading the following links:

A Solution for Lonely CFOs

The Challenges CFOs Face Alone (But They Don’t Have To)

About CFO Peer Groups

If you are interested in becoming part of a select group of Chief Financial Officers in 2017, reach out to me and we can schedule a time to talk.

June 7, 2016 By Samuel Dergel 9 Comments

CFOs Under Pressure

I speak with many CFOs in my role as executive recruiter, CFO Peer Group facilitator and executive coach. Each CFO, without fail, expresses that they are busy. The scale starts at ‘busy’ and goes all the way to ‘overwhelmed’.

So I was not surprised to see the results of this recent report from EY. I appreciated this infographic, as it helps to explain why the Chief Financial Officer is feeling overwhelmed and under pressure.

These four survey results identify two areas of pressure facing the CFO today.

Weak finance team (Ability to delegate, Concern over finance function)
The day to day gets in the way of the strategic priorities (Tension between old and new, Role stretch)

I showed this graphic to member of my CFO Peer Group, and here is some of the feedback they gave:

Weak finance team

We have under skilled people in place as we cannot “afford” to recruit at the experience level we need
The CFO is being asked to cut staff significantly while taking on additional responsibilities and regulatory burdens. This all needs to be performed while changing and upgrading staff to meet more strategic priorities

The day to day gets in the way

We are so transaction heavy we need more staff to keep up with the day to day
Under increased pressure to meet compliance demands with no legal or other support
The CFO often lacks along with his organization an understanding of the business is one I see quite often from business partners
While there has been an evolution in what else the CFO is responsible for, the CFO is still the defacto compliance officer managing accounting, legal, HR, Facilities, and broad administrative responsibilities.
The CFO is under tremendous pressure today to “do it all”

I also asked my CFOs what can be done to resolve these pressures. Here are some responses.

From a CFO disciplinary viewpoint, you need to define the stands where you say: “this is a MUST to have, and this is a NICE to have”.
Ultimately, the role is CFO is defined by what expectations are.
The CFO often lacks along with his organization an understanding of the business is one I see quite often from business partners. They just don’t visit customers, spend time with sales or other functions.

As CFO, it is your responsibility to deliver what is expected of you. To do so, you need to get the buy in necessary. While platitudes reign, yet not enough CFOs have the ability to change the expectations. Too many times I hear “this is the way it is – I cannot change it”.

As CFO, you have accepted this job in this environment. Either fix it, or find a more reasonable environment. It may not be the environment that’s the problem, but the person in the mirror who accepts the problem environment.

No one wants to just do the best they can (certainly not you). You want to thrive and achieve more, better, further, faster.

You can fix your team – you just need to have a plan and get buy in. As executive coach for CFOs, I have worked with Chief Financial Officers to help them accomplish this. While not an easy task, it will not get better by itself.

You can move from the day to day to the strategic – you just need to make sure you have the people, process and technology that can take care of the day to day to give you time to be involved with the strategic issues.

Here are my recommended steps to break the cycle:

Prepare a vision of how you can focus on the strategic while your team properly covers off the day to day.
Prepare a plan to meet the vision
Sell the plan (classic change management)
Implement it
Deal with exceptions as they happen, yet if exceptions happen regularly, they are no longer exceptions and you need to have the people, process, technology to deal with it.

Sounds simple? It’s not. But unless you are going to tackle this head on, you will be unable to move beyond these challenges and continue to be stuck like most of your peers.

What’s your plan to break the cycle?

January 28, 2015 By Samuel Dergel 1 Comment

Analytics, Shmanalytics? Why the CFO should care

The office and the role of the Chief Financial Officer continues to evolve.

This evolution may cause apprehension in some seasoned CFOs. These experienced financial executives feel this way because, in part, they have worked very hard to get to where they are. They believe that their past experience and success should speak to their future opportunities.

Yet for any executive, especially one in the finance side of the business, resting on your laurels is so 1980s.

The world is changing at a rapid pace, and the business world is either leading this change or trying hard to stay ahead. Organizations that do not continue to stay relevant wither up and disappear into obscurity. Ditto for CFOs.

Cindy Kraft, a CFO career coach, works with CFOs who want to stay ahead of the curve in their career. I like her work, and am always happy to refer senior finance executives to her. As a fellow blogger, she and I agree most of the time. In recent posts (here and here) she discusses technology and its relevance to CFO careers.

The statistics from Cindy’s questions on whether technology should be in the domain of Finance is interesting. I believe the results would be more telling if there was corresponding information on company size. From my experience, companies of a smaller size have CFOs responsible for IT, while larger companies have an executive in charge of Technology.

From my vantage point, CFOs who are able to stay ahead of the changes in the business world, including technology, are able to continue to stay relevant and add value.

So why does Analytics matter to the CFO?

In my book, Guide to CFO Success, I ask and answer “What is a Chief Financial Officer?” in the first chapter (you can preview a copy of Chapter One here). To summarize, I say that a CFO is a Strategist, Leader and Advisor.

Corporate value comes from making great decisions. Decisions based on analysis rather than gut is where Finance and the CFO have the ability to make a difference at the executive table. Technology is just a tool that helps intelligent people make great decisions.

CFOs need to be a Strategists, Leaders and Advisors to their businesses. If a CFO is not helping the company make decisions and adding value to the organization, they are not a Strategist, not a Leader and not an Advisor. In essence, they are not a real CFO.

To continue to be a real Chief Financial Officer today, you need to be able to help your organization make the best decisions possible.

The term Big Data has been bandied about as the cure-all for corporations. Technology vendors are very happy to use the term to get attention and their portion of corporate spending. But data itself is not enough, no matter how big the data is.

The Data Value Chain illustrates that data is only the beginning. It is the usable information that is pulled from this data, viewed through the lens of intelligence, either human or artificial (or both), that wisdom can be obtained.

As CFO, it is your duty to provide wisdom to your organization. This wisdom will lead to the creation of corporate value. Analytics is the point where you turn all that data into valuable decisions.

If you’re not providing the wisdom you would like (or think that you should) to the rest of the business, understand why that is.

Is it because…

You do not have the tools?
You do not have the people? Or,
You do not know where to start?

As CFO, no one expects you to be intimately aware of the available tools and be able to analyse this yourself. However, as CFO, you are only as good as your finance team allows you to be.

As CFO, no one expects you to choose the right analytical tools by yourself. As CFO, no one expects you alone to do the analysis necessary to come to great decisions. However, as CFO, you need to make sure your team can support you in this value added activity. As CFO, understand the power of these tools and information yourself of what they can do. Then you need to guide, lead and develop the team necessary to do so.

I had the pleasure of meeting RK Paleru at the AICPA CFO Conference last May. RK is the Analytics guru (Executive Director, Systems Analytics and Insights Group) to the CFO at George Washington University.

RK blogged about an article I shared with him about the idea of companies hiring a Chief Analytics Officer. While I do not think that most companies are ready to create another seat at the executive table, I do think that Analytics can add tremendous value to the executive table. I am certain that the CFO of GWU thinks that the analytics that RK does bring tremendous value to the CFO, as well as adding significant value to the institution and its mission.

Anders Liu-Lindberg wrote recently about his take on Analytics within the finance function. Anders, from where he sits in his role as Regional Finance Business Partner at Maersk Line, sees corporate value ONLY IF the talent team is built properly within finance is able to partner with the generalist functions. Finance should act as a true business partner to the business, helping make decisions at all levels of the business.

CFOs who do not continue to improve, change and learn will, as mentioned earlier, wither. Resting on laurels is career limiting.

If, as CFO, your response to “Analytics” is “Analytics, Shmanalytics”, you’re not only missing the boat, you’re doing a disservice to your employer and your team.

To remain CFO, both today and tomorrow, both within your company and at your next employer, understand the power of Analytics. Then, ensure you develop and nurture a finance team that can give you the wisdom to help your company make great decisions.

December 19, 2014 By Samuel Dergel Leave a Comment

2014: Top 5 of Samuel’s CFO Blogs

As we wind down 2014 and get set for the holidays we all take stock of the year past.

In 2014, my blog turned into a website, led to the publishing of a book for CFOs, and multiple speaking and training sessions during the year. For my CFO blog itself, these were the 5 most popular blog posts visited by my readers.

5) Road Map to Successful CFO Relationships

This original posting was the beginning of the thought process that led to my first book, Guide to CFO Success.

4) Negotiating your CFO Employment Contract

What is interesting about the popularity of this post is that the visits have been mostly from Google searches and other blog postings. Posted in 2011, this is still going strong. Ideas from this blog were further developed in Guide to CFO Success.

3) Introducing: The Strong CFO Program – 1st session FREE

My first blog on financial executive coaching continues to be a point of reference for senior finance executives looking for guidance and support to grow and succeed.

2) The First 90 Days of a New CFO

It seems that CFOs are looking for onboarding advice, because this continues to be a popular topic with search engines. The popularity of this topic ensured that it was addressed further in Guide to CFO Success.

1) Presentation Links: The Road to CFO

My presentation in Vancouver in 2012 continues to be a popular point of entry into my blog and website. Someone somewhere referred to it, and this person must be very influential.

With 2015 about to start, I am pleased to continue the development of content and programs that benefit the CFO and the organizations they are committed to. I am excited about the CFO Peer Groups I will be facilitating this coming year, as well as having the opportunity to help organizations hire and develop the best senior financial talent for their needs.

I am also looking forward to making a difference to you.

Best wishes for continued success in 2015!

Samuel

December 16, 2014 By Samuel Dergel 3 Comments

CFOs: Make 2015 the year you take your game to the next level

With 2015 approaching, many senior financial executives are thinking about what the new year will mean to their workload; deadlines, projects, bonuses (both to pay and to be received), staffing concerns and loads of other stresses. The thoughts are all about what needs to get done and what they are ultimately responsible for.

For the busy and stressed Chief Financial Officer with the weight of the world (or at least their company) on their shoulders, the approach of the holidays and the New Year should give you pause. Think about how to make things better.

There are 24 hours in a day, and, whether you plan for it or not, they will always be filled. As my CFOs told me when writing Guide to CFO Success, more than three-quarters of CFOs are putting in more than 110% of their effort into their role as senior financial executive in their organization.

CFOs are expected to accomplish more than just the day to day accounting and finance tasks. They are expected to be leaders. They need to lead their finance team, lead their colleagues at the executive table and lead the company as a whole. You need to remember that, as CFO, your input is needed to help the company make sound strategic and operational decisions.

As the noted in this 2014 study from American Express:

For eight out of ten respondents, the finance function is a strong, if not dominating, influence on strategic and operational decisions. (See Figure) The finance function is involved with strategic and operational decisions at nearly every company, and 80% of respondents say that the finance viewpoint is either an influential factor or the determining factor.

Amex 2014 study - Figure 7

The expectation is that, as leader of Finance, your opinion counts. What you have to say is influential within the company. Yet too many CFOs feel that they are getting stuck in the details.

How can a CFO get unstuck and take their game to the next level?

Formal training

As an experienced professional, you know you can benefit from continued education that makes a real difference to your career and your employer. Options that can benefit you while meeting your busy schedule can include:

An Executive MBA – This could be an excellent tool to move you beyond the technical you have relied upon to date. Many Executive MBA programs are tailored to the busy executive and should not impact your work schedule much.

CFO oriented Leadership Programs – An executive training program focused on taking a CFO to the next level might be ideal for the senior finance executive that either already has an MBA, or feels the need to build their career knowledge based with a group of similarly experienced individuals. Programs like the Queen’s CFO Leadership Beyond Finance Program, in partnership with FEI Canada, can be an ideal solution.

Online training – When you know what skills you need to improve on and which you need to learn for the first time, online courses can be an ideal solution. If your company has access to leadership and soft-skill courses, make sure that you take advantage of this opportunity. You could also look at service providers like Proformative Academy to give you a choice of options that will suit your training needs, as well as those of your finance team.

Peer Groups

Chief Financial Officers are positioned at the intersection of their finance team, their executive colleagues, and the CEO and the Board. Being at this junction in their organization can make it difficult for them to learn from and share with others. Many CFOs have told me that they feel lonely in their organization, and don’t have people to discuss their challenges with.

The solution to this loneliness can be being part of a group of CFO peers. I recently discussed C-Suite Peer Groups in a blog on BlueSteps. You can become part of an existing group, or create your own.

For 2015, I am creating CFO Peer Groups for a select group of CFOs across the USA and Canada. These selected Chief Financial Officers will commit to work together, learn, share and network with each other. I am excited to facilitate these groups in 2015. I expect that the participating CFOs will take their game up to the next level.

Executive Coaching

Each of the CFOs that I have worked with as their executive coach has been able to step up their game. Executive coaching for the CFO (or future CFO) can be very beneficial to the executive and the company they work for. It is my experience that, like athletes, CFOs perform better with a coach who is well suited for them.

As we approach 2015, it is time to take your game to the next level.

Whether you choose to take the formal approach to learning, get together with your peers to learn, share and network, or engage an executive coach, any step you take to improve yourself and your game is a good step.

What will you do to improve your game in 2015?

November 5, 2014 By Samuel Dergel Leave a Comment

The C-Suite Relationship Map

I am fortunate to speak with hundreds of executives each year, in addition to those that I follow and track. Over the years, I have learned a lot about success, what works and what doesn’t, from these talented leaders.

One area that successful executives have in common is their ability to get the best out of their corporate relationships. No matter the discipline of the C-suite executive, their technical ability is just the base upon which they start having an impact on their organization. The CXO is not an island, but is integrated into an ecosystem that is mutually dependent. The success of any executive relies on others. Those who recognize, nurture and sustain successful corporate relationships are those that accomplish more.

My blogging and recent book, Guide to CFO Success, focuses on my primary audience, the CFO and the Office of Finance. Some of the content is CFO specific, but the guidance with respect to relationships applies across the executive suite. Guide to CFO Success spends a few chapters dealing with relationship management for the Chief Financial Officer. A key tool in this discussion is my CFO Relationship Map, a copy of which is visible below.

While I created the Relationship Map for my discussion with my Finance audience, this Relationship Map is useful to all executives who wish to succeed in their own environment.

The Relationship Map is a graphical representation of the areas of corporate relationships. They include who you work for (at the top of the map), who you work with (internally, on the right of the map, and externally on the left), as well as those that support you (your team).

In the CFO Relationship Map, you’ll notice that the CFO reports to the CEO, Board and Investors, and works with the other executives of the company internally. The CFO has a number of important outside relationships, which can include bankers, lawyers, auditors and other advisors. And, as I say in my book, the CFO can only be as good as the team they have allows them to be.

Depending on your own situation, your personal Relationship Map will look different. However, like other executives, you have people you work for, work with internally as well as externally, and have people that support you.

To read the full article on the BlueSteps Executive Career Insider Blog at this link.

You can also map out your own relationships, using this blank Relationship Map or by creating your own.

July 16, 2014 By Samuel Dergel Leave a Comment

The Accidental CFO

I am very fortunate to be involved with the careers of senior finance executives, whether I’m hiring them for my clients, coaching current and future Chief Financial Officers, following their careers and sharing their moves with the world, or impacting people just like you with my blogs and my CFO book.

I see, speak with and come across many focused senior finance executives that plan and prepare their career to be in the right place at the right time who are ready to become CFO for the first time.

Yet a number of senior finance executives become CFOs by accident. A typical scenario I have seen is ‎where a company CFO leaves (this is usually unplanned for by the company), and the CEO and Board need to make a quick decision as to what to do to fill their CFO spot. In these situations, they decide (again, without much planning and foresight), to make one of their senior finance executives the new Chief Financial Officer.

As someone who helps companies hire the best CFO for their needs, my opinion is that this is not always the best solution for the company. However, these are companies that do not have a business relationship with me (yet), so they haven’t asked me for my opinion. I’m not saying that this is a bad solution. In fact, it could be a great solution for the company. I am saying that the probability is that if they haven’t done any proper succession planning for this important role, they may be making a strategic and costly error by hiring the wrong person as CFO.

Whatever the situation for the company, it is up to the newly promoted CFO to make sure that the company made the right choice, if only so that this new CFO can truly benefit from this unplanned career opportunity.

Here is some advice for the senior finance executive that finds themselves as a newly appointed, yet accidental, CFO.

[You will see links to previous blog posts that touch on these subjects. For a more comprehensive overview of how these subjects relate to the success of a CFO, I recommend reading my book, Guide to CFO Success]

Relationship Management – This is the biggest area of change for the new CFO. Whatever your role was prior to your ascension to the CFO throne, you now have to deal with new relationships.

Plan – Too many senior finance executives I have spoken with that have been promoted to the CFO chair, when asked how their role has changed since their promotion, tell me that their job hasn’t changed much. This people are missing a critical opportunity. You must plan for any new role as CFO. You also must know what is expected from a real CFO.

‎Lonely – Now that you’re finally CFO, you will understand what it means to be lonely at the top. You should prepare for it, and find ways of managing this new experience.

Development – You may not have planned to become CFO so soon, or at all. But now that you are CFO, what are you doing to further your development to become the best CFO you can be? In my book, I recommend that CFOs negotiate a Professional Development spending account that can allow them to pay for the courses, coaching and conferences they need to become a better and more productive CFO.

Coaching – I find that the Chief Financial Officers that I work with in executive coaching are motivated to become even better CFOs. I truly believe that most CFOs would benefit from having a confidential confidant and coach to help them better focus, improve and plan for their success. For a new CFO who didn’t plan to become one so quickly, if at all, having an executive coach can make a big difference on the way to become a successful CFO for the company your work for today, and to your future employers as well.

If you are an accidental CFO, or may find yourself in this position one day, take these recommendations to heart. You may be fortunate to find yourself in the CFO chair, but do not squander this wonderful opportunity.

June 19, 2014 By Samuel Dergel Leave a Comment

CFO: Your Best Opportunity to Impact Your Organization

Yes. I’m biased when it comes to this conversation.

But I’m not the only one that thinks this.

Numerous CFO research studies, surveys, roundtables, panel discussions and webinars bring up the talent topic again and again.

Talent is a challenge for the CFO.

I have had a successful speaking circuit this past spring, including panel discussions in New York and Toronto, webinars to diverse groups of finance professionals (CPA Canada and APQC), and presentations in Washington and Baltimore. The talent conversation keeps coming up again and again.

I even received this report from Deloitte in my email this morning. Here is what they have to say on the subject:

“Talent availability—and costs. Finding and developing the right talent is invariably a top agenda item for transitioning CFOs. In fact, when we ask CFOs what they would like their legacy to be, a large number actually talk about leaving a sustainable organization that can foster finance talent. To get there means identifying people not only with the necessary skill sets, but also intangibles—such as curiosity and the ability to team—that will help finance become a better business partner. It comes at a cost, though, in terms of developing effective performance management systems, compensation systems, training programs, and coaching. And while human resources should be the natural support organization in all these areas, CFOs often find they have to rely on their own teams to do the work. Still, without the right people in place, there are bigger costs: the inability to execute on a CFO’s critical initiatives and a lack of good finance ambassadors throughout the organization.”

My CFO Advisors, in my blog earlier this year titled The Sleepless CFO, listed talent as one of the top 3 things that keep them awake at night.

The CFO Relationship Map (mentioned in previous blogs, and in more detail in Guide to CFO Success), shows that CFOs rely on their Finance Team to support them to become the best CFO they can be. Yet CFOs continue to have challenges with talent.

Talent challenges for the CFO include:

Not having the right talent they need today
Not having a talent plan for the future
Not aligning the talent in the finance team to meet the real needs of the organization
Not using career planning to keep, motivate and develop the best finance talent
Inefficient or ineffective hiring processes for the talent needed today and tomorrow
Not having an effective relationship with HR to positively impact the finance team

Talent is an opportunity for the CFO

Yet, with all these talent challenges, the CFO has a great opportunity make a significant impact. These challenges are not insurmountable, they just need attention.

CFOs that pay attention to these issues, even if not getting perfect scores, are in a position to have a significant impact on their personal success, the success of the people that work for them, and the entire organization.

CFO: What is your biggest finance talent opportunity?

May 14, 2014 By Samuel Dergel 1 Comment

BlueSteps Interview – Executive Search Consultant Q&A: Guide to CFO Success

I was recently interviewed by Bluesteps, a service of The Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC), on my recent book, Guide to CFO Success.

Here is an excerpt from the interview. To read the interview in its entirety, please click here.

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BlueSteps chats with Samuel Dergel, Executive Search Consultant at Stanton Chase International, who recently published Guide to CFO Success.

First of all, thank you for taking the time to speak with the AESC and BlueSteps about the CFO role and your new book, Guide to CFO Success. Can you tell us about the work you do at Stanton Chase International?

I work in executive search, with a focus on the Office of Finance. Working across the United States and Canada, as part of our CFO and Financial Executive Practice, I help companies hire their next Chief Financial Officer, and work with CFOs to build a finance team that will ensure their success. In addition to working with CFOs and other Financial Executives, I do executive coaching.

In your book, you talk about the reality of the CFO role vs. what the CFO role is perceived to be. How do you define the CFO role?

The role of the Chief Financial Officer is a critical one for all organizations. The Board and the CEO set the expectations for the CFO, and it is important for the CFO to deliver on these expectations. In essence, the role of the CFO is whatever the company deems it to be.

Guide to CFO Success focuses on all stages of the CFO’s career, from searching for a new executive job to building out her team. Which career stages are most CFOs unprepared for when managing their careers?

Career transition. CFOs may be well trained to be great CFOs, but no Chief Financial Officer has been trained to become a CFO in Transition. My experience shows that CFOs who are focusing on their career at the same time as their CFO role for their employer are at an advantage over those that just give 110% to their employer. CFOs who continue to develop themselves and network properly throughout their career minimize the chances that they will ever be in transition, or, if they end up in between opportunities, their network will quickly activate to their advantage.

Other questions answered in this interview include:

What has changed about the CFO role in the last 5-10 years? How have long-standing CFOs adapted to these changes?

In your book, you discuss in transition CFOs and the best ways to cope with searching for a new position. What advice do you have for CFOs who are currently in transition?

How can a CFO candidate best present himself to get noticed by executive recruiters in today’s marketplace?

In your book, you highlight the importance of “critical early wins” for a newly hired CFO. What should a new CFO focus on during the first few days and months on the job?

A major theme in your book focuses on the importance of focusing on one’s own career even when happily employed. Why is it important for CFOs to focus on both their career and their employer?

Do you have any recommendations for CFOs who have difficulty finding the time to focus on their career while they’re employed?

One unique thing about your book is that you focus on the CFO as a leader rather than the CFO as the technical, number cruncher. A significant part of being a leader is maintaining strong relationships. Which relationships do most CFOs find to be the most difficult and what recommendations do you have for CFOs to navigate those rocky relationships?

What changes should CFOs prepare for in the next 5-10 years? What new skills might they need? What will they need to be able adapt to in the workplace?

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