Back in 2016, Mitch Peipert stood at a crossroads. With a career foundation deeply rooted in the precision and rigor of public accounting, he had honed his CFO leadership and operational prowess as he navigated his way through the financial landscapes of various companies. Still, nothing could have prepared him for the arrival of a new, enigmatic force at Thomas Publishing—a dynamic CEO with eyes set firmly on the horizon of digital transformation.
Read MoreThe news allowed no small degree of uncertainty to take up residence in Peipert’s thoughts. A seasoned finance professional, he was adept at managing numbers and ensuring fiscal health, but the prospect of working side-by-side with an unknown and untested leader cast a shadow of doubt across his career landscape. Would this be the catalyst for transformation, or would it be yet another detour along the road to success that he and others were seeking to travel?
As the CEO began to unfold his vision for the company—which went far beyond the balance sheets and financial statements of Peipert’s realm—a remarkable transformation began to take place. The walls of the traditional finance role started to give way, revealing a new creative space where numbers were not just figures to be reported but tools for sculpting the future.
Together, the two embarked on an audacious journey to steer Thomas Publishing away from the quicksands of print media decline and toward the fertile grounds of digital innovation. Peipert found himself at the helm of projects that redefined the company’s trajectory, bridging the gap between financial stewardship and strategic innovation. Not only had the CEO expanded Peipert’s strategic vision, but also he had awakened in him the spirit of the change-maker—ready to challenge the status quo and drive the organization toward success in uncharted territories. –Jack Sweeney jb
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CFOTL: Your CFO years with Thomas Publishing included a transformative chapter involving a new CEO. Can you tell us about that?
Peipert: Dealing with a new CEO is an experience that a lot of CFOs have gone through or will go through. I had been working for two family members—co-CEOs—who had each been with the business for 50 years. They had started while they were in school, and the business was really all that they knew. They really didn’t know about that much outside the four walls of Thomas. And they were very kind to me, once they saw that I could do the job and was in fact doing the job.
Read MoreThey would say, “You know better than us what to do. We’re not going to micromanage you. Do what you need to do, and just let us know what you’re doing.”
This was fine until one day they told me that they were going to bring in a new CEO. My first thought was: “Oh, great. He’s going to want to bring in his own CFO. And here, after doing this terrific job for years, I could be out of a job myself. And I love this company.”
CFOTL: Well, we know that this was a success chapter and that this didn’t end up happening—but it would be interesting to hear what was going through your mind at the time …
Peipert: The cool thing was that they had him reach out to me directly before he joined. He’s a very charismatic guy—maybe the most charismatic business person I’ve ever met. We immediately formed a bond on the phone. We started talking, and I was sharing numbers and some thoughts while he was picking my brain. We realized that we were on exactly the same page. We kind of needed each other to make this change that he eventually led, but I felt like I was right there with him to support him. It became a terrific partnership. Once I started working with him, I really started enjoying myself again. We saw actual growth, and we saw profitability come back. jb