A little more than 15 years ago, Hilary Norris had landed her “dream job” at a tech company in sunny California—a perfect alignment of her professional goals and personal life. However, the idyllic scenario was disrupted when the company was acquired, a common turning point that often spells uncertainty for existing executives.
Facing a potential career setback and indeed initially marked for replacement, Norris was eventually asked to stay on to lead the finance operations of the combined entity. This twist in her career path not only tested her professional capabilities but also became a stark introduction to the challenges of navigating corporate cultures across borders—this time, within a Germany-based company that had different views on diversity and dual careers.
Read MoreDespite the hurdles, Norris saw through the integration phase with poise and strategic insight. Ultimately, though, she decided to depart due to cultural misalignments. The end of one chapter, however, led to a new beginning in a substantial role managing finance across 17 businesses in the Asia Pacific region. This move highlighted not only her resilience but also her ability to leap into new opportunities that might reshape her career path on a global scale.
Having relocated from the UK to international opportunities in Asia and the U.S., Norris doesn’t hesitate to emphasize the role of supportive personal relationships in career development. She especially cites the challenges and compromises involved in aligning her career moves with her husband’s, highlighting the importance of having a partner who is flexible and supportive of career opportunities across geographies.
Today, as a seasoned CFO, she looks back on a journey that has underscored crucial qualities in finance leadership: resilience, the ability to adapt, and the courage to embrace change—all of which define the path to success far better than the figures on any balance sheet.
Made Possible By
CFOTL: Tell us about GTreasury … what does this company do, and what are its offerings today?
Norris: GTreasury is a SaaS AI technology platform that’s in the office of the CFO. I like to describe it as the center of cash, which is different from what you might find in a standard ERP. It’s the center of cash for your CFO and what enables them to automate Treasury—things like financial risks, debt books, working capital, and payments operations.
So, why would you turn to something like GTreasury as a CFO? What it lets you do is optimize your earnings because you can put your cash to work more easily. It’s much easier to invest in growth when you understand where your cash is and how much you have. It allows you to kind of optimize your capital structures.
Read MoreAs I reflect on things, I realize that it’s a little bit bizarre that here I am, a CFO, and meanwhile we work with CFOs. GTreasury is a tool that helps many CFOs to lead by example in a whole bunch of areas. For instance, economic cycles go through ebbs and flows. They remain very much top-of-mind at the moment, so for many CFOs, it’s all about driving productivity in finance—which is what GTreasury empowers them to do in order to lead by example. This is a great place to be, as I find myself meeting with CFOs all the time. I believe that I understand the space that I’m in, and I’m actually a user of the product myself. jb
GTreasury | www.gtreasury.com | Buffalo Grove, Illinois