Inside The Mentoring Round, Deanna Strable revisits some pivotal moments that reshaped Principal Financial Group’s strategic direction. A key decision was exiting certain underperforming businesses, a result of a comprehensive strategic review conducted in collaboration with the board. Strable emphasizes the importance of focusing on a combination of metrics rather than a singular financial figure, noting […]
1,030: Leveraging Global Expertise to Shape ADP’s Financial Future | Don McGuire, CFO, ADP
In 2021, ADP's HR leader reached out to Don McGuire, then the company’s globe-trotting EMEA president, to gauge his interest in stepping into the firm's CFO role. McGuire was surprised, inasmuch as it had been nearly two decades since he had veered off the traditional finance career track. During this interim, McGuire had taken on…
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The Mentoring Round | Dan Murphy, CFO, Commercetools
Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Dan Murphy emphasizes the importance of understanding the underlying factors behind key metrics such as net dollar retention. This involves analyzing why certain customers are buying more and why others aren’t, which can reveal insights into product or service improvements.Looking ahead, his priorities include maintaining rigorous execution, structuring the organization […]
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 | Bill Purcell, CFO, Billtrust
Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Bob Purcell emphasizes the importance of having a comprehensive set of metrics and KPIs to effectively monitor and guide the company’s operations, akin to a pilot’s dashboard. CFO Purcell stresses the necessity of providing customers with exceptional experiences, enabling them to concentrate on their core business without concerns about back-office […]
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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916: Maximizing M&A Speed to Value | Michael Cox, CFO, IRIS Software Group
CFO Michael Cox says that it was near the end of 2022 when the IRIS Software Group began to realize that the guiding philosophy that had motivated and incentivized the UK-based software company to complete 30 acquisitions within 6 years needed an upgrade. Cox tells us that the IRIS management team was discussing the…
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