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 […]
1,034: From Earnings Growth to Long-Term Success: A CFO’s Strategic Shift | Deanna Strable, COO & president (CFO emerita), Principal Financial Group
When Deanna Strable was approached to take on the role of CFO at Principal Financial Group, she was taken by surprise. Having spent most of her 30-year career in leading business units rather than focusing on finance, Strable initially questioned whether she was the right fit for a position traditionally held by financial experts. “Ultimately,"…
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The Mentoring Round | Scott Blackley, CFO, Oscar Health
Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Scott Blackley emphasizes the transformative role of AI in healthcare, noting that Oscar Health continuously evolves AI capabilities to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and reduce costs. He underscores AI’s potential in automating tasks like call center operations and financial processes, allowing the finance team to focus on insights rather […]
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 | Salman Khan, CFO, Marathon Digital Holdings
Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Salman Khan highlights the transformative strategy at Marathon Digital, shifting from renting data centers to acquiring operational capacity, driven by his experience in the heavy industry and M&A. He emphasizes the importance of articulating decisions methodically, especially when data is incomplete. Khan also discusses the similarities and differences between Bitcoin […]
1,027: Strategic Finance in the Digital Asset Industry: Lessons From a Bitcoin-Mining Leader | Salman Khan, CFO, Marathon Digital Holdings
When Salman Khan arrived in Dubai from the U.S. in the early 2000s, he was already a seasoned auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers, ready to narrow his focus to the oil and gas industry. If someone had told him then that he would one day be the CFO of the world’s largest bitcoin-mining company, he may have…
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1,025: From Cost Management to Strategic Investment | Chikako Tyler, CFO, California Bank & Trust
In her role as CFO of California Bank & Trust, Chikako Tyler once found herself facing the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank—as it turned out, not the first financial crisis of her career, but the second. However, unlike with the first—the Great Recession, which forced her to leave a rewarding career in commercial real estate—this…
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The Mentoring Round | Doug Potvin, CFO, Trinity Logistics
Inside The Mentoring Round CFO Doug Potvin reflects back at his time at the National Marine Fishery Service, where Potvin had a pivotal moment that shaped his career aspirations. Frequently told to “talk to the owner” when discussing business and financial matters, Doug realized the importance of being deeply involved in all aspects of a […]
1,023: How Finance Propelled a Tech Enthusiast Into the C-Suite | Doug Potvin, CFO, Trinity Logistics
Doug Potvin's journey to becoming the CFO of Trinity Logistics reveals the power of adaptability and continuous learning. Initially captivated by technology in high school, he pursued a degree in computer science—only to discover a passion for finance during a college course. This pivot led him to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), where he…
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1,018: From Complexity to Clarity: Simplifying Business Segments for Investor Insight | Shelagh Glaser, CFO, Synopsys
When asked to share a single career chapter that has influenced her strategic mind-set as a finance leader, Synopsys CFO Shelagh Glaser knew exactly what to cite. She described a period that had unfolded during her 29 years at Intel Corp., when—seemingly overnight—consumer appetite for tablets had begun to upend Intel's enduring PC chips business.…
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The Mentoring Round | Sandeep Aujla, CFO, Intuit
Inside the Mentoring Round, CFO Sandeep Aujla explains why his eight-year investment at Intuit was driven by the continuous learning opportunities and professional growth the company offered. Although he could have become a CFO sooner elsewhere, Aujla tells us chose to stay at Intuit to deepen his expertise, gain more diverse experience to better prepare […]
1,016: When Career Years Are Investment Years | Sandeep Aujla, CFO, Intuit
By the time Sandeep Aujla arrived at Intuit in 2015, he had already invested 7 career-building years as a senior finance executive at Visa, so his path to the CFO office was presumably getting shorter and shorter. Still, it would be another 8 years before he would be appointed Intuit CFO. While there's little question…
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