More than any other human quality or characteristic, Brandon Nussey is known for his calm demeanor—or so Coveo’s finance leader tells us near the end of our discussion.
It’s an observation that we’re not about to refute. After having spent 40 minutes in trying to identify just what it is that sets Nussey apart from his CFO peers, we had found his composure a trait to flag, even if he hadn’t ended up doing so himself.
This, of course, is an enviable quality always in demand in C-suites, yet at times it’s one that is easy to overlook.
Read MoreIn the case of serial CFO Nussey, the attribute perhaps first became evident during the earliest days of his career. Turning back the calendar to the early 2000s, when he received his first CFO appointment amidst the dot-com bubble burst, Nussey recalls a tour of duty that required him to always stay calm and composed in high-pressure, high-stakes environments.
Indeed, even to this day, he finds the circumstances much the same: “At the office, people use the word ‘calm’ to describe me perhaps more often than they employ any other adjective—at least to my face. At home, my daughters call me many other things.” –Jack Sweeney
Made Possible By
Experience in High-Stakes and High-Pressure Situations: Having stepped into the CFO role at a relatively young age and navigating through challenging times like the dot-com bubble burst, CFO Nussey has experience handling high-pressure situations. This experience we learn taught Nussey the importance emanating a calm composure during analyst calls, a key aspect of effective communication in high-stakes environments.
Emphasis on Relationship Building: CFO Nussey’s focus on networking and building relationships throughout his career likely aids in establishing a rapport with analysts and investors. Understanding the importance of these relationships, he can tailor his communication to build trust and credibility with these stakeholders.
Continuous Improvement and Adaptability: Recognizing that communication was not his initial strength, CFO Nussey’s willingness to continuously improve and adapt his communication style demonstrates his commitment to effective leadership. This adaptability he tells us has been crucial in addressing the evolving questions and concerns of analysts and investors, especially in the dynamic field of technology and AI.
CFOTL: Tell us about Coveo … what does this company do, and what are its offerings today?
Nussey: We’re a really interesting public company that’s traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange right now. We have about a $1 billion market cap, and we’ll do about $130 million in revenue this year. We may be a little bit undersized to be a public company, but here in Canada you tend to get more companies going public a little earlier. We are in the AI software space. We’ve been here for 10 years, and now certainly this is an area with a lot of hype and a lot of interest and a lot of noise. Coveo’s been working with close to 700 of the world’s largest companies. Folks like SAP and Salesforce and Workday are all customers, as well as a lot of banks, insurance companies, and big e-commerce sites.
Read MoreThey use our AI models that are specifically built for this sector. They use us to help automate customer service, for example: How do I allow my customers to solve their problems themselves so that they don’t have to talk to an agent? They use us for better product search and recommendation engines on their e-commerce sites: How do I improve the amount of revenue that I get per visitor?
Again, we do this through specific, purpose-built AI use cases for which we already have the technology—and we like to think that we do this better than anyone else, in a really personalized way for the consumer. If you’re on an e-commerce site, your personal experience is going to be different from mine, and it’s our AI in the background that’s helping to drive this.
“Finance people are trained to analyze the past, but the best teams help their businesses to look forward not backward. Use this insight to ensure that capital is allocated to those things that will most effectively move the needle. Ensure that you and the team are well equipped to analyze leading indicators and can forecast the business well.” –Brandon Nussey, CFO, Coveo
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Coveo | www.get.coveo.com | Québec City, Canada