From his early days in auditing at PwC to his current role as CFO at Prophix, Aaron Levine has had a career that has closely tracked the evolving nature of the financial leadership role. His journey has been marked by a series of strategic transitions and expansions of his skill set that illustrate the broadening demands of being a modern CFO.
Read MoreAn important early chapter of Levine’s professional development was his tenure under Steve Vintz, who at the time was CFO of Vocus, where Levine served as a VP managing both accounting and finance. It was under Vintz’s mentorship that Levine came to appreciate the power of storytelling within financial leadership. Vintz, a very externally focused CFO, adeptly navigated public company landscapes, from investor relations to quarterly earnings calls. His ability to craft compelling narratives that resonated with stakeholders profoundly influenced Levine.
This exposure revealed to Levine that effective CFOs do more than manage numbers: They tell stories through them. This realization has since become integral to his maturing CFO mindset, particularly as he looks to highlight the strategic benefits of Prophix’s software offerings. At Prophix, where Levine was appointed CFO this past January, the goal is to focus on refining the go-to-market metrics and integrating technology to streamline operations, emphasizing the narrative of growth and scalability.
Throughout his career, Levine has learned that a CFO’s role is about not just financial oversight but also constructing a vision that propels the business forward. His aspirations underscore a crucial CFO skill: the ability not only to foresee financial outcomes but also to articulate them in a way that drives the entire company’s strategy. This blend of analytics and narrative, shaped by his experiences, define Levine’s CFO mindset.
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CFOTL: Tell us about Prophix … what does this company do, and what are its offerings today?
Levine: Well, it’s been only about 3 months since I joined Prophix, and I’m really excited to be here. Based in Toronto, we’re a leader in the financial performance management space. We’re private equity–backed by HG Capital of London. We have more than 2,500 customers around the globe. Although we’re really focused on North America, we also have business units in EMEA, APAC, and Latin America. Our offerings serve the office of the CFO—we have a product suite that spans everything from account close reconciliations to corporate consolidations and intercompany management to FP&A.
Read MoreWe have best-of-breed functionality that addresses many pain points along this sort of elongated workstream, which you realize that this really is if you stop to think about it. Starting with the controller closing the books, it goes all the way from consolidating them to going through the financial planning and analysis piece, which spits out budgets and forecasts. We have a full-suite platform that really spans this elongated, close-to-planning process. jb
“Be yourself and form relationships within the business and the external community. Business relationships are like other personal relationships, where trust is built over time.” –Aaron Levine, CFO, Prophix
Prophix | www.prophix.com | Ontario, Canada