Bob Purcell’s leap into the unknown was not a misplaced step but a giant stride toward his future as a CFO. Early in his career, he faced a daunting choice: To join a distressed company teetering on the brink of failure or to play it safe. Driven by an unshakable belief in his abilities and a desire to test himself, he chose the former. But this high-risk, high-return career step wasn’t just about salvaging a company—it was about proving to himself that he could navigate the stormiest of waters.
From his initial misgivings about audit work at Deloitte to his transformative years at Amgen, where he thrived in a culture of leadership development and diversity, CFO Purcell has been on a journey that has been largely nonlinear, a patchwork of decisions and strategic moves that have each been built on what came before.
By stepping away from the comfort of well-trodden paths and embracing the unknown, Purcell tells us, he has been able to test himself in different environments. His story encourages aspiring finance leaders to embrace challenges, trust their capabilities, and never shy away from opportunities to test themselves.
Asked about the early career leap that he today credits with landing him on the CFO path, Purcell recalls experiencing few butterflies.
He adds: “I knew I was right. I knew I was ready.” –Jack Sweeney jb
[/expand]Made Possible By
CFOTL: Tell us about Billtrust … what does this company do, and what was the opportunity that you saw that led you to join it?
Purcell: I choose opportunities based on what I find interesting and what stirs a passion in me. In this case, I was a customer. At Billtrust, we offer a unified A/R platform that combines the credit, billing, invoicing, collection, and cash application processes into one unified offering that allows customers to have a very seamless experience through which they can bill their customers and collect in any way that their customers want to pay them. We’ve been around for roughly 20 years. We were once publicly traded, but now we’re privately owned with great support. We do our best to motivate the finance professional by giving them an amazing tool to help them do their job better, faster, and more efficiently—in order to be stars in their own organization. They may not be the ones bringing in customers, but they’re delivering vital value for their company.
Read MoreI have been charged with making sure that we have the right set of instrumentation to deliver the metrics that the company needs to look at. If you’re flying or piloting or driving something, whether it’s a plane or a car or whatever, you have a dashboard in front of you, right? It’s not good enough to have just an altimeter or speedometer. You need to know your fuel level and your other key measures. Along with this as being one of my main priorities, I also need to help us to make sure that we have the right communications networks in place to run the company as best-in-class. Another focus is making certain that we’re going to be growing. I don’t think that anyone would be surprised to learn that we’re going to grow through some acquisitions. We have to be ready for this, so it’s just another part of the pathway to success that I’m trying to work on.
Let’s let our systems talk to each other. We need to pull back and leverage our skills and experiences to be driving value for the organization rather than just be carrying water every day. This last piece is really, really critical. We’re constantly looking at talent, too, to make sure that we have the best and brightest in our organization. jb
“Be authentic and surround yourself with diversity!” –Bob Purcell, CFO, Billtrust
Billtrust | www.billtrust.com | Lawrence Township, NJ