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 […]
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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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 […]
The Mentoring Round | John Lutz, CFO, Sellars
Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO John Lutz of Sellars highlights the company’s innovative use of recycled paper technology, providing a unique market advantage. His current priorities include enhancing IT systems and customer interaction platforms, along with further automating processes to leverage data effectively. Separately, Lutz reflects on his days at Charter Steel, where he identified […]
The Mentoring Round | Carol Lee, CFO, LogicMonitor
` Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Carol Lee of LogicMonitor discusses the key lessons that can be learned from the buy-side and sell-side of M&A, why financial planning must be your organization’s numerical roadmap, and the strategic advantages AI is bringing to financial analysis and customer interactions.
1,006: Finance and Strategy: A Dual Approach | Jorge Stevenson, CFO, Yuvo Health
CFO Jorge Stevenson’s finance career journey began in Santiago, Chile, where both of his parents—leaders within the business community—instilled in him the importance of finance when it comes to achieving business success. Stevenson’s formal business education began with an MBA from Duke University, where he honed his finance acumen. His professional journey has included stops…
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The Mentoring Round | Erin Sawyer, CFO, Certinia
Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Erin Sawyer tell us when she recognized the necessity of adopting a holistic approach to operational processes. Rather than viewing each department’s systems and procedures in isolation, she saw the value in examining how each part of the process impacted others, highlighting the need for an integrated approach to drive […]
The Mentoring Round | Jeff Woolard, CFO, Velocity Global
Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Jeff Woolard shares an example from Intel where finance’s broad view helped realign the product roadmap with market demands, enhancing margins. Woolard advocates a structured decision-making process to navigate uncertainties effectively. He stresses the importance of not just operational efficiency but also actively seeking opportunities to enhance the firm’s value.
Using Compensation to Achieve Post Merger Sales Alignment | Teodora Gouneva, CFO Next Insurance
Gouneva: Through my career, I spend a lot of time supporting sales teams. And usually what is critical with the sales team is they respond really well to how you design compensation. And if you don’t design it the right way, you may get a different behavior that you don’t intend. So looking back at […]
Bringing a Cross-Functional Approach to Scenario Analysis | Betsy Ward, CFO, MassMutual
Ward: I actually think it might be more unique given my background to talk about a Strategic Finance moment that related to a position I was in when I was in, in actually Investment Management, which relates to those scenarios I was talking about. So while I was working in mass, Mutual’s Investment Management subsidiary, […]