In 2005, fresh into his first banking job at Citigroup, Tom Bock found himself working 63 hours straight in preparation for a critical pitch. Fueled by a desire to prove his worth, he pushed his limits, refusing to rest until the task had been completed. However, this grueling experience came at a cost—his nose began bleeding, a stark sign of physical exhaustion. Despite his best efforts, though, the pitch fell short—leading him to a moment of deep reflection.
At the time, Bock was someone who believed in sheer perseverance, equating success with pushing through challenges alone—but the Citigroup experience became a turning point in his career. Through discussions with mentors and careful self-assessment, he came to recognize the flaws in his approach. Bock learned three crucial lessons: the importance of breaking down complex tasks into manageable parts, the necessity of self-care, and the value of seeking help when needed.
Read MoreThis experience broadened his understanding of success in finance. It turned out that this wasn’t about just individual heroics, he realized, but about effective teamwork and sustainable work practices. As Bock transitioned into more senior roles, these lessons became foundational to his mind-set as a CFO. They guided him in balancing the demands of leadership with the realities of human limitations, ultimately shaping his approach to managing teams and making strategic decisions. Today, as CFO of SmartFinancial, Bock applies these insights to ensure long-term success, both for himself and his organization. –Jack Sweeney jb
“When I look back I think on the one hand, I should have made the switch to the corporate side sooner. But on the other, everything happens for a reason. Maybe it helped me to have a few extra years to get stronger in people management and general patience in order to ensure my eventual success as a CFO.” –Tom Bock, CFO, SmartFinancial
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CFOTL: Tell us about SmartFinancial … what does this company do, and what are its offerings today?
Bock: Let me somewhat oversimplify this by saying that SmartFinancial is an insurance marketplace that matches consumers with carriers and agents. But there’s a lot more to us than that. We’re a tech company, and there’s technology in everything that we do. We use technology to match the consumer who calls in to the ideal contact center rep for them, for example. We also use tech in a lot of other different ways. Ultimately, our goal is to generate an excellent customer for carriers and agents, with a high lifetime value and low churn. We have a very robust tech offering—including Anton, our AI solution—to help us do this. Fortunately, one of our two cofounders is deeply involved in this technology, and we also have with us an ex-NASA scientist who works very hard on developing Anton as well as more use cases for it within our organization.
Read MoreCFOTL: As a CFO, what are your priorities over the next 12 months?
Bock: I need to ensure that our cofounders’ vision is being made into reality. They’re visionaries, so my job is to do everything that I can to help them to execute this amazing foresight. I help to manage risk, and I also work closely with our general counsel and operations people to make sure that we eliminate any kinds of openings in our shield. From a capital markets perspective, I am also focused on continuing to have a good relationship with our current bank, Texas Capital, in order to enable straightforward access to capital, if needed. As far as this goes, I believe that I have also developed good relationships with other banks, too. Our goal is to have banks that will support us in the event that we want to make an acquisition.
We also have some private equity folks with whom we have had discussions. They would obviously be able to invest in bigger deals, since banks can usually support only smaller ones. We are very, very low-leverage. We could take on new things, so we need to continue to nurture our financial relationships. I’m always trying to think three steps ahead to make sure that if there is a change in plans—if there’s a hiccup in the industry, if there’s faster growth, whatever happens—we’re prepared for as many eventualities as possible. In the meantime, I’m trying to innovate to make sure that our finance and accounting teams are not bottlenecks in our company’s growth.
jb
SmartFinancial | www.smartfinancial.com | Newport Beach, CA