Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO David Freeman recounts the challenges faced during the financial crisis, highlighting the tension between investor advice to retrench and the company’s growth trajectory. Freeman reflects on the gaps in his expertise, particularly in taxation, emphasizing the need for finance leaders to recognize their limitations and bring in experts early on. […]
977: Unlocking Rep Performance for Sales Success in Tech | David Freeman, CFO, Starburst
Joining Intel Corp. in 1999 as a recent college graduate, David Freeman began his finance career as part of the tech giant’s plus-size finance team that supported various business groups. Looking back, Freeman finds that few aspects of the tech giant’s business were more influential in shaping his early career years than the company’s direct…
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Ep 32: Operating IN and ON the Business
Planning Aces co-hosts Brett Knowles and Jack Sweeney discuss the strategic efforts of two CFOs leading organizational turnarounds, and a third CFO, who offers key organizational insights from an earlier career chapter. Emphasizing simplification, strategic focus, and leveraging both human insight and technology, Marc Suidan of The Beachbody Company, Emma Brown of Medius and David…
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976: A Troubleshooter’s Guide to Financial Leadership | Craig Wert, CFO, Jobber
Lessons from Craig Wert's finance career reveal the power of adaptability, problem-solving skills, and the ability to seize opportunities in unexpected places. Having started his career without a clear road map to the future, Wert later found that his liberal arts background and early experiences in investment banking had laid a good foundation for a…
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The Mentoring Round | Marc Suidan, CFO, The Beachbody Company
Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Marc Suidan reflects on (1) his decision to join McKinsey & Company following business school, (2) a unique approach to stimulating demand in the semiconductor memory business, (3) and why after 17 years with PwC, he decided to join The Beachbody Company during a pivotal time of turnaround and transformation. […]
975: Turning the Tide at Beachbody | Marc Suidan, CFO, The Beachbody Company
When PwC partner and relentless champion of shareholder value Marc Suidan stepped into the CFO office at The Beachbody Company in April 2022, intrigue was bound to follow. Certainly, a struggling fitness and health company may not be viewed by many as the optimal door-of-entry to the operations side of things. However, for Suidan—a 17-year…
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The Mentoring Round | Eric Jenny, CFO, SOCi
Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Eric Jenny recalls his strategic decision to shift focus from mid-market to enterprise clients based on data analysis. CFO Jenny tells us he aspires to a finance leadership mind-set that focuses on creating a supportive company culture, where the team is encouraged to think big and innovate.
974: Crafting Strategy in a Data-Driven World | Eric Jenny, CFO, SOCi
It's the type of story that we can't resist repeating, and one that without question underscores Eric Jenny's entrepreneurial spirit. Still, the entertainment value of his tale of zapping wasp nests with a homemade rubber band gun for a dollar a pop was at risk of eclipsing the more traditional milestones that populate a career…
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The Mentoring Round | Alejandro Castro, CFO, ONX
Inside The Mentoring Round, Alejandro Castro recalls his days in Mexico City, where as a new hire at Price Waterhouse, he traveled to various factories, including those in oil-producing states, providing a unique early career perspective. Engagement Across the Organization: Through the GE Workout methodology at Conagra, Alejandro engaged with various parts of the organization […]
973: Cultivating Relationships, Spearheading Change | Alejandro Castro, CFO, Onx
It was during a 9-year tenure at food giant Conagra Brands that Alejandro Castro became involved in a companywide initiative that would forever alter his approach to leadership and strategic thinking. Born and raised in Mexico, Castro had begun his professional voyage at Price Waterhouse, where he launched a public accounting career from the accounting…
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972: Recalibrating Your Strategic Lens | Rachel Stack, CFO, Cologix, Inc.
Not unlike that of many of her CFO peers, Rachel Stack's journey toward becoming a CFO has been punctuated by pivotal transactions. No single example of this turns out to have been more complicated or rich with lessons than what Stack refers to simply as "the take-private of Zayo." However, before the path forward for…
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The Mentoring Round | Sam Kemp, CFO, Built
Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Sam Kemp emphasizes the importance of understanding the gap between a business’s formal operating model and the actual, informal ways it functions. Recognizing this gap is crucial for new leaders to gain leverage quickly within an organization or a new division. Looking forward, Sam outlined his top three priorities: ensuring […]