Just as Michelle McComb was imagining that she would shortly be joining another Silicon Valley start-up as a finance leader, the CFO of Lucent Technologies helped to upend her plans. Back in the early 2000s, Michelle McComb’s first CFO tour of duty was coming to an end with the successful sale of her company to […]
Pulling a Post Merger Alarm Bell | Chad Cohen, CFO, Adaptive Biotechnologies
Among the different human capital moments of insight that Chad Cohen has experienced over the years, few are likely as memorable as the one that woke him up from a sound sleep.At the time, he was CFO of online real estate company Zillow Group, a CFO tour of duty that he completed just prior to […]
For CFOs, Turnaround Chapters Frequently Open Doors To Bigger Opportunities
This article was originally published on Forbes.com Back in 2015, after nearly two decades of diligent career-building across United Technologies, Paul Lundstrom fixed his career builder’s gaze upon the span of companies known as the Fortune 500. Like many seasoned finance executives who spend the balance of their careers inside large enterprise companies, Lundstrom had to confront the […]
Growth-Minded CFOs Weigh The Costs Of Forecasting Rigor
This article was originally published on Forbes.com Thinking back to his investment banking days at Deutsche Bank, Brad Kinnish recalls having had a number of awkward conversations with corporate CFOs about their finance teams’ forecasting rigor. Kinnish, who stepped into a CFO role at Aryaka Networks in early 2020, no doubt finds himself replaying these […]
CFOs Vow To Keep Workforce Ebb-And-Flow Top-Of-Mind In 2021
This article was originally published on Forbes.com Inside the realm of corporate finance it’s safe to say that the year 2020 has been unlike any that preceded it, and, as more employees occupied remote work spaces, growing numbers of finance chiefs told us they are more carefully monitoring the financial and cultural levers that influence […]
When It Comes to Divestitures, Operations-Minded CFOs Are Always In Demand
This article was originally published on Forbes.com When the door to the CFO office at tech-security company SonicWall swung open for Ravi Chopra, there was a chair, a desk, and over $100 million in customer revenue. What was missing, however, were fully-staffed human resources and finance departments. So it goes inside the world of spin-offs and carve-outs, where newly divested organizations frequently lose some of […]
IAC CFO Likes To Dig Deep Beneath The Deal-Making Buzz
This article was originally published on Forbes.com Like many of his finance leader peers, Glenn Schiffman, CFO of Internet holding company IAC, views the week that precedes quarterly earnings announcements as sacrosanct. “Because you have the backdrop of earnings, everyone takes your call and is ready within 10 seconds to produce analysis for you,” says Schiffman, […]
In Praise Of Public Markets: A CFO All-Star Pursues A Remedy For Wall Street’s IPO Blues
This article was originally published on Forbes.com “It’s not cheap to go public,” concedes CFO Steve Cakebread, echoing the oft-repeated refrain that founders and CFOs confront when considering the prospect of selling shares in their companies to the public. Concessions aside, it will come as little surprise to Wall Street and private investors alike that Cakebread—a […]
CFO Says Savings Strategy Is Helping Ingredion Thwart Recession’s Bite
This article was originally published on Forbes.com It’s the type of business restructuring capable of striking envy in the hearts of many a company board member—and particularly those known to favor one oft-repeated bit of business wisdom: Never waste a recession. At food ingredient maker Ingredion, where the recession’s bite is directly linked to the eating habits […]
Opening Customer Doors with a “Work from Home” Mind-Set | Steven Springsteel, CFO, Betterworks
As more businesses become accustomed to having their employees work at home, software developers specializing in applications designed to help companies better manage their workforces that include far-flung employees are finding talent management a growing concern for their customers. Or so Steven Springsteel, CFO of Betterworks in Redwood City, Calif., tells us in an upcoming […]
Freshly Says It’s Time for Lunch | Matt Hagel, CFO, Freshly
As the pandemic last spring bore down on different U.S. geographies, Freshly was enjoying a profitable quarter—a trend that the online prepared meals company was determined to repeat. “I’m proud to say that for 2020, we have year-to-date profitability, and we expect that trend to continue,” explains Freshly CFO Matt Hagel, who entered 2020 keen […]
When Speed Thwarts Uncertainty | Alyssa Filter, CFO, Clari
When applications developer Clari decided to overhaul its operating plan earlier this year, “speed” became a governing principle for its finance team, enabling board members to sign off on a new plan only 3 weeks after the initiative to replan had been put into motion. For Clari’s CFO, Alyssa Filter, the drive to replan […]