This episode features the workforce insights and commentary of CFO Anat Ashkenazi of Eli Lilly, CFO Ambereen Toubassy of Airtable, and CFO Evan Goldstein of Seismic.
854: Expecting the Unexpected | Shana Veale, CFO, PharmChem
Shana Veale had been working in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, office of Arthur Andersen for only about 8 months when the 88-year-old stalwart accounting house collapsed. Being a recent college graduate at the time, Veale tells us, she really didn’t grasp all of what the news headlines attempted to convey as the turn of…
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853: When the Fire Burns Brightest | Chip Zint, CFO, Deluxe
After Chip Zint jumped two levels in NCR Corp.’s retail division finance hierarchy, he couldn’t help but savor the moment while reflecting on the fact that his career years thus far—including nights and weekends studying for an MBA—had all been put to good use. Still, while altitude matters when it comes to career leaps, where…
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852: Thriving in the Deep End | Jonathan Carr, CFO, Armis
When Jonathan Carr first walked through the doors of the Stryker plant in Arroyo, Puerto Rico, the boyish newbie accountant no doubt turned the heads of a few managers. Having finished college only about 18 months earlier, Carr was now the accounting and finance “lead” for a major software implementation under way at the…
Listen to the Episode Below (00:34:30)
851: The Day After Your Transaction | Tony Tiscornia, CFO, Coupa
Few finance leaders have better revealed to us the career-transforming powers of IPOs than CFO Tony Tiscornia. Turn back the clock to 2015, and Tiscornia is the accounting-minded VP of finance for spend management software company Coupa. “I was really a controller—a business controller, but still a controller,” explains Tiscornia, who notes that his world…
Listen to the Episode Below (00:34:06)
850: A CFO’s Ultimate COVID Test | Anat Ashkenazi, CFO, Eli Lilly
In March 2020, when Eli Lilly announced that it would begin providing drive-through COVID testing services to the state of Indiana’s healthcare workers, more than a few hospital administrators likely scratched their heads. After all, the giant pharma company was not in the business of providing healthcare services, any more than it was a medical…
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849: Adding Value to an Academic City | Brett Powell, CFO, Baylor University
When Brett Powell is asked what distinguishes his day-to-day role as a finance leader inside the world of academia from that of his CFO peers residing within industry, Powell without hesitation says, “Complexity.” Aware that such a one-word answer would likely summon only more questions, Powell continues: “Essentially, when you think about it, we’re running…
Listen to the Episode Below (00:42:27)
848: The People, the Mission, and the Innovation | Evan Goldstein, CFO, Seismic
Evan Goldstein tells us that it was at the end of another long day—after a week of long days—as he was walking to the parking lot adjacent to Genentech's offices that he received a “gut punch.” Becoming more self-aware of others is something that many finance leaders have told us that they have needed to…
Listen to the Episode Below (00:58:32)
Ep16: When FP&A Takes Rosaline’s View
With a prospect of a recession ever more present, Steve says its time to keep the 7 P’s top of mind, or as Navistar’s CEO Mark Hernandez explains Proper prior planning prevents piss-poor performance (the 7 P’s). Steve says Hernandez is spot on when it comes to what FP&A professionals must keep in mind as they […]
847: When Minding the Business Is a Cultural Mandate | Jim Morgan, CFO, CallRail
We can’t help but cringe when a finance leader tells us that they don’t want to be known as “the CFO of 'No'”—that shopworn characterization of CFOs who seem to enjoy giving thumbs down verdicts. So, we were pleased when CFO Jim Morgan of CallRail steered clear of the trite trope when he recently…
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846: Influencing Your Operating Inputs | Ambereen Toubassy, CFO, Airtable
When Ambereen Toubassy decided that it was time to start up her own hedge fund, it's likely that no one cast doubt on the experienced investor’s grand plan. That is, no one except Toubassy herself. After 7years as an investment banker with Goldman Sachs and a dozen running hedge funds, Toubassy says, she told…
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845: Levers of Growth, Doors of Opportunity | Darren Cooper, CFO, Reveal Group
When Darren Cooper was named CFO of Reveal Group of Melbourne, Australia, in 2019, there was no friendly board member or executive recruiter seeking kudos for having completed a successful a CFO search. Instead, Cooper says, his twist of fate was due to a personal relationship that he had established with Reveal management after his…
Listen to the Episode Below (00:33:51)