Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Tucker Marshall of The J.M. Smucker Company stresses the role of company culture in career choices and corporate strategy. His long-standing admiration for Smucker’s community involvement influenced his decision to join and stay with the company.
1,000: When Culture Informs Strategy | Tucker Marshall, CFO, The J. M. Smucker Company
At just 16, Tucker Marshall unsuccessfully sought a humble beginning at The J. M. Smucker Company—not in the back office but on its lush grounds, hoping to cut grass. Such an early rejection—due to a company policy favoring employees' families first—did little to deter him. Instead, it left with him an indelible admiration for the…
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999: A Bias for Action | Jason Godley, CFO, Xactly
On a remote Wyoming cattle ranch, young Jason Godley faced a dire situation: The baler attached to his tractor had suddenly caught fire. Alone, with no immediate help and devoid of modern conveniences like a cell phones 12-year-old Godley had to think quickly and act decisively. His decision to drive to a neighbor’s house to…
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The Mentoring Round | Lawrence Herman, CFO, Dwolla
Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Lawrence Herman reflects on his experience during the “Bitcoin winter” when he advised against the popular opinion to sell off assets. He advocated for buying more Bitcoin as a strategy to preserve and potentially increase the company’s financial health during a market downturn. At Dwolla, Herman’s priorities include optimizing cash […]
998: Margins, Metrics, and Payments | Lawrence Herman, CFO, Dwolla
Lawrence Herman's path to becoming a CFO unfolded through a series of experiences that changed his understanding of the finance world, beginning with his initial role at Goldman Sachs. Here, in the crucible of intense market dynamics, Herman cut his teeth on complex financial models, where the rigor of long hours refined his capacity to…
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997: From Reaction to Action: Capturing Insight for Growth | Daniel Bisgeier, CFO, Constellation
When a leader is faced with unprecedented challenges, their true mettle is tested. Daniel Bisgeier, a seasoned CFO, exemplifies how continuous improvement and strategic decisiveness can pave the way for corporate resilience and growth. Reflecting on his career, Bisgeier notes that significant progress often comes not in bursts but through "persistent effort over time and…
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996: Cultivating a CFO’s Toolkit | Aaron Levine, CFO, Prophix
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…
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995: Embracing Change to Energize Your Career | Dan Murphy, CFO, Commercetools
The way that Dan Murphy sees it, the CFO position demands that leaders always be kept on high alert. This is a mindset that has led him to habitually monitor updates and alerts related to key vendors, including banking institutions. And so it was, in first quarter of 2023, that he spotted a vague tweet…
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The Mentoring Round | Naresh Bansal, CFO, Menlo Security
Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Naresh Bansal emphasizes the importance of flexibility and readiness to adapt to unforeseen changes in the business environment, illustrating this with his own experiences of sudden shifts in company strategy and market conditions. He discusses how his role shifted towards more strategic capital allocation, particularly in response to changing economic […]
994: Balancing Top-Line Growth and Bottom-Line Results | Naresh Bansal, CFO, Menlo Security
Ask any CFO about their career-building years, and they will likely attribute their success to their adaptability and ability to render strategic insight. This tendency was recently amplified for us when we heard about the experience of Naresh Bansal, a seasoned finance executive who during a pivotal chapter early in his early career discovered that…
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993: Building Resilient Careers: Lessons From an Expat CFO | Hilary Norris, CFO, GTreasury
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…
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991: Transforming Investment Wisdom Into Management Strategy | Jeff Bray, CFO, Semperis
Long ago, the power of focus was a lesson that Jeff Bray learned early in his career while transitioning from the role of analyst to that of portfolio manager. He recalls a strategic moment when he realized that narrowing his investments from many down to just three to five key areas would greatly amplify his…
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