Perhaps no single experience better reveals the breadth of challenges that regularly test even the most stoic of finance career-builders than that which confronted Eric Bouchard a little more than a decade ago at Bombardier, Inc.
Tasked by management with negotiating the establishment of a new aerospace facility, Bouchard navigated through complex discussions with the Moroccan government, balancing the interests of Bombardier and the aspirations of a nation. His role extended beyond mere finance: He became a diplomat, a strategist, and, most important, a bridge between diverse cultures and economic ambitions.
Read MoreThe culmination of his efforts was a groundbreaking agreement for Bombardier that led to the opening of a state-of-the-art facility. This venture, we learn, solidified Bombardier’s global footprint and at the same time contributed significantly to Morocco’s industrial development. Bouchard’s remarkable record of being a mild-mannered technical accountant who transcended the bounds of traditional roles to become a key player in international negotiations highlights how finance can open the door to adventurous chapters seldom accessible to marketers or even sales teams.
Now far removed from the familiar corridors that he once roamed as what you might call an everyday accountant, Bouchard proudly recalls that this was an endeavor that not only challenged him professionally but also paved the way for Morocco to enter the elite circle of countries that have an aerospace industry. –Jack Sweeney
Made Possible By
CFOTL: Tell us about Axiom … what does this company do, and what are its offerings today?
Bouchard: Axiom is a Permira-owned company. I love working with them. Basically, what we do is to provide flexible legal talent to companies. We service about 60% of the Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000. Basically, if you need legal services, we come in and bring you the legal talent. It’s somewhat funny for me to be here because I knew nothing about this world before. I’ve been in manufacturing most of my life, dealing with engineers and the like. This is a pure services company that provides legal talent, and I knew that as a “legal” CFO, I would always need to work very closely with the legal team.
For some reason, I’ve always been very close to the legal teams at all of the companies where I’ve worked, but there’s always been a bit of a black box in there as well. What do you do with the law firms? What do we do? This is something that has always interested me. I have been involved in countless deals and transactions, dealing with lawyers all the time, but I was not fully understanding what was going on.
Read MoreThen Premier Tech called me and said, Eric, we’ve got a gig for you. My feeling was that I didn’t really know much about their industry. What made you think about me? Then I started learning about the industry and realized, Wow, this is actually amazing! What I didn’t realize was that this is all basically driven by the attorney talent that we have—the actual lawyers—who are really fantastic.
When we look at the results of the scores that we get on our surveys, we see that 90% of our talent is really so strong. It’s actually rated more highly than would be the case if they were at a law firm with a 90% evaluation and recommendation rate. Our talent loves Axiom because we give them flexibility. They’re super happy that they don’t have to go through the same grind every day. Our clients are super happy because we cost about half of the price that a traditional law firm would charge for the services of talent that is equal to or above what they would otherwise be getting—and usually from the same law firm or a similar provider.
On top of this, we’re building great technology. We have a great product platform. Right now, we’re working a lot on the tech aspect, on the marketing side. We obviously have a very premium offering. We are basically a white glove service with a tremendous sales force that really treats our customers and potential clients in a very respectful way.
This is really important to me because wherever you go, you need to love the culture and believe in the product that you’re selling. Even though I knew nothing about this beforehand, I now realize that it’s something that I wish I had known about 20 years ago. Can you imagine how much more I would’ve been able to do if I had known that this existed? It’s rare that you see such a true win-win situation, in which both the talent itself is so happy and really wants to work with you and, overall, the client is super pleased. This sells itself. It’s a no-brainer.
To me, Axiom made so much sense. I was like, Hey, I want to discover more! I want to know more about this! This has also been great for me because, again, having dealt with engineering and manufacturing so much in my career, I’m happy that this is pure services. This changes the way that you look at the numbers. It changes the way that you look at the performance.
For the first time in my life, I don’t have a manufacturing plan to look at. We’re a very KPI-driven organization, very sales-driven. This has changed my perspective on a business and how I look at things. I think that this is all fantastic. It’s been a great learning experience so far with, I have to say, a fantastic team. jb
“Continue to be proud every day of what you accomplish through the people you develop, your personal work, the purpose of your company, and, overall, how you help the world to get better.” -Eric Bouchard, CFO, Axiom
Axiom | www.axiomlaw.com | New York, NY