The CFO tech pivot: embracing the right solutions to steer the course
CEO Insider
FEBRUARY 17, 2021
Yet, despite the unprecedented level of challenges and change, a large proportion of finance leaders are strongly optimistic for the future. […].
CFO Finance Marketing 
Strategies for Hiring a Chief Revenue Officer
N2Growth Blog
SEPTEMBER 5, 2024
Understanding the Role of a Chief Revenue Officer The Chief Revenue Officer is a key member of the executive team, collaborating closely with the CEO, CFO, and COO to steer the organization’s overall growth strategy. Their extensive professional networks and market expertise streamline the search for the perfect candidate.
Strategy 
370
370 Join 5,000+
Insiders
Sign Up for our Newsletter
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Technology Literacy Will Determine a CFO’s Success
HR Digest
JULY 8, 2022
The one thing that will majorly influence the fate of CFO aspirants is their tech skills. According to a Gartner survey of 173 CFOs in November 2020, digital investments topped CFO agendas. Being comfortable with data, technology, and cross-disciplinary collaboration was crucial to the success of CFO candidates.
Technology 106
106 
Survey Shows Widespread Adoption Of Automation
The Horizons Tracker
NOVEMBER 14, 2024
In the business world today, nearly two-thirds of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) say their companies are focused on automating tasks that employees usually handle. This insight comes from The CFO Survey, a collaboration between Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and the Federal Reserve Banks of Richmond and Atlanta.
Survey 60
60 
Executive Hiring For a P.E. Portfolio Company – Tangential Opportunity
N2Growth Blog
JULY 25, 2022
The CFO candidate might get by with only a broad sector experience in manufacturing, finance, or technology. Sales and marketing positions appear to provide broader sector hunting grounds, but reality can be different, and there are still many constraints. A search partner with industry knowledge is critical.
Execution 397
397 
Chipotle’s Leadership Shift Solidifies Scott Boatwright’s Position at its Helm
HR Digest
NOVEMBER 13, 2024
After Niccol’s exit, VP of Finance Adam Rymer was named the Chief Financial Officer, and Jack Hartung, who was initially expected to retire, was reassigned as the Chief Strategy Officer. Hartung has spent 23 years as the CFO but his plans to retire from the role and the company have been put on hold as a result of the change in role. .”
Positioning 52
52 
These Are the People You Need on Your Startup Team
Chart Your Course
JANUARY 13, 2017
Business leadership researchers tell us that the best traits for your CFO are emotional stability and global ethics. In the days after the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), a chief executive cannot hide behind the acts of the CFO. If your CFO is doing something financially shady, SOX says that he is either doing it with you or to you.
CFO 100
100 
Google Layoffs of 200 Core Employees Signal a Worrying Trend
HR Digest
MAY 2, 2024
Earlier this year, CFO Ruth Porat announced layoffs at Google’s finance department and restructuring efforts there as they moved to keep up with the shifting tech world. With such an expansive spending goal in mind, cutting down on spending wherever possible and moving to cheaper labor markets seems to be the way forward.
Trends 59
59 
Why HR and the CEO should be joined at the Hip | In the CEO Afterlife
In the CEO Afterlife
SEPTEMBER 6, 2011
The day the Jacobs Suchard (now part of Kraft Foods ) Board of Directors promoted me to the C-Suite, they strongly suggested I align myself with the CFO. Now I must admit that my Nabob Foods and Jacobs Suchard alumni would be the first to tell you that marketing occupied that prime piece of bone real estate. Marketing is important.
CEO 162
162 
CEOs: Don't Sabotage Your Successors
Marshall Goldsmith
DECEMBER 6, 2010
A CEO asked me to coach his potential successor, the CFO. It didn't take long before I just felt that the CEO just didn't like the CFO. I brought it to his attention: "I just don't think you like the CFO." However, the CEO now concluded that the CFO lacked the "adequate marketing skills." the CEO told me. "Are
CEO 118
118 
How Big Data Brings Marketing and Finance Together
Harvard Business Review
JULY 17, 2014
When Raja Rajamannar became CMO of MasterCard Worldwide in 2013, he moved quickly to transform how the credit card giant measures marketing. But the real power and full potential of data was not being fully realized by marketing. Rajamannar involved finance early. His artillery: Advanced Big Data analytics. Inside Intel.
Finance 14
14 
Why HR and the CEO Should Be Joined at the Hip
LDRLB
SEPTEMBER 28, 2011
The day the Jacobs Suchard (now part of Kraft Foods ) Board of Directors promoted me to the C-Suite, they strongly suggested I align myself with the CFO. Now I must admit that my Nabob Foods and Jacobs Suchard alumni would be the first to tell you that marketing occupied that prime piece of bone real estate.
CEO 116
116 
How Technical Debt Opens the Door to Cyber Attacks—and Steps to Protect Your Small Business
Strategy Driven
SEPTEMBER 1, 2020
How would your CFO or CIO handle this? Properly patched, up-to-date infrastructure is not going to stand in the way of the accounts payable clerk or chief marketing officer who clicks on the attachment to an email from some bad actor posing as a trusted vendor or prospective customer. An excerpt is below. His new book is Tech Debt 2.0™:
Bottom-up 91
91 
3 Major Challenges Financial Institutions Face When Implementing Business Insight Technology
Strategy Driven
MARCH 20, 2021
If you’ve been in the market for new business insight technology, such as a financial services analytics solution, the benefits of these are obvious. It’s usually the job of a bank’s chief financial officer (CFO), chief risk officer (CRO), or chief technology officer (CTO) to oversee tech implementation.
Technology 69
69 
Leadership and Product Management
Lead on Purpose
DECEMBER 6, 2010
Product managers need to provide direction for how a product should be built, and through your understanding of the market, give them assurance they are building the right product. Marketing: When most people hear the word ‘marketing,’ the duties of PR and marcom are how they usually interpret it.
Productivity 182
182 
Female Leadership on the Decline in Canada :: Women on Business
Women on Business
JANUARY 17, 2011
CEO, CMO, COO, CIO, CFO, etc.), Furthermore, of the 535 highest paid and most senior positions at those companies, only 5.8% are held by women (down from 6.9% in the prior year). One more disheartening statistic shows that only 26% of those companies have at least one woman in an executive officer’s position (e.g.,
Press Release 113
113 
How the CFO and General Counsel Can Partner More Effectively
Harvard Business Review
JULY 25, 2016
What receives far less attention is that, more and more in our increasingly complex, volatile, and fully-globalized business world, the effectiveness of such action depends on a powerful partnership between the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and the General Counsel (GC).
CFO 8
8 Avon CEO Andrea Jung Takes Seat on Apple's Board :: Women on Business
Women on Business
JANUARY 8, 2011
She’s taking over the seat formerly occupied by Apple’s former CFO, John Anderson, who resigned amidst a stock options backdating scandal. Andrea Jung was an executive vice president at Neiman-Marcus before she joined Avon in 1996. Avon’s stock price was up 15% in 2007.Â
Press Release 124
124 
The Never-Ending Meeting :: Women on Business
Women on Business
JANUARY 25, 2011
For example, ‘To decide on a marketing plan and determine the next steps for everyone in the group. It’s not rocket science, but it is surprising how many CFO’s and managers don’t stop to evaluate the effectiveness of their meetings. You first have to determine the purpose of the meeting.
Press Release 140
140 
You Can't Argue With Crazy | N2Growth Blog
N2Growth Blog
JUNE 29, 2010
Home About Overview News Careers Contact Blog Services Branding/Identity Executive Search Leadership Development Overview CEO Coaching Executive Peer Groups Strategic Growth Consulting Innovation Management Personal Branding Reputation Management Social Media Consulting Pro Bono Services Clients Intermidiaries Downloads Blog Contactus N2growth Home (..)
Blog 313
313 
The Disconnected Leader | N2Growth Blog
N2Growth Blog
AUGUST 22, 2010
If your CFO handles all communications with your banking relationships, and your Chief Investment Officer handles all of your investor relations, you’re flat out missing the boat. If your CMO is making all of your brand decisions there will be h*ll to pay down the road.
Blog 417
417 
Who’s Better at Strategy: CFOs or CSOs?
Harvard Business Review
JANUARY 11, 2016
The 1990s saw the rise of the strategic CFO, and more recently many companies have created a chief strategy officer (CSO) position. Such friction is destructive — and a huge missed opportunity, because the CFO and the strategy head are far more effective when they collaborate. There are two reasons for this.
Strategy 8
8 
CMOs, Build a Relationship with Your CFOs
Harvard Business Review
MARCH 6, 2013
CMOs and CFOs don't always see eye-to-eye. An article published in CFO.com indicates that in one study, more CMOs report sharing marketing information with their CFOs than CFOs reported receiving. However, in the best run companies, the relationship between CMOs and CFOs has changed radically and for the better.
CFO 8
8 
How CMOs Can Get CFOs on Their Side
Harvard Business Review
NOVEMBER 25, 2013
Marketing is in the midst of an ROI revolution. The arrival of advanced analytics and plentiful data have allowed marketers to demonstrate return on investment with a degree of precision that’s never been possible before. To date, however, the reality of marketing analytics has fallen short of the promise.
CFO 8
8 
Why We Need to Update Financial Reporting for the Digital Era
Harvard Business Review
JUNE 8, 2018
The market caps of just four companies, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft, now exceed $3 trillion. Their combined assets of $944 billion are an order of magnitude lower than the combined assets of $7,700 billion of the largest 3,177 companies in 1986, when the aggregate market capitalization reached $3 trillion for the first time.
Report 8
8 What It Will Take to Fix HR
Harvard Business Review
JULY 29, 2014
In the July/August issue of HBR , Ram Charan argues that the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) role should be eliminated, with HR responsibilities funneled in two separate directions — administration , led by traditional HR-types, reporting to the CFO; and talent strategy , led by high-potential line managers, reporting to the corner office.
CFO 12
12 
It???s Time to Retool HR, Not Split It
Harvard Business Review
AUGUST 8, 2014
A similar proposal to Split Finance would likely have been rejected out of hand by organization leaders (and Harvard Business Review editors), because its obvious that the Finance function must fit the organization strategy and leader capabilities. Yet this evidence is apparently not well-known.
Charan 15
15 
How One CMO Revamped Her Role
Harvard Business Review
OCTOBER 3, 2018
About 30 minutes prior to her weekly one-on-one with the CEO, the chief marketing officer at a multibillion global financial services firm received a cryptic email from him with the subject line “The Trouble with CMOs.” Finally, the CMO began insisting that marketing deliver greater financial accountability.
CFO 8
8 
Uber Is Finally Realizing HR Isn’t Just for Recruiting
Harvard Business Review
MARCH 7, 2017
Employees and other constituents should expect HR to hold leaders accountable for fiduciary and strategic risks, just as a CFO would be expected to hold leaders accountable for a risky pattern of using corporate funds or resources. Are these acceptable growing pains? In one word: No.
Compliance 12
12 
Should Companies Retain "Strategic" Cash?
Harvard Business Review
APRIL 16, 2012
This raises the question of whether retaining strategic cash makes economic sense and should be viewed as a legitimate corporate finance tool in today's environment. Often citing the maxim that "cash is king", CFOs know that strategic cash can enhance shareholder value in various ways. Arguments for Strategic Cash. It can: Save Taxes.
Company 15
15 
It's Harder than Ever to Be a Senior Executive
Harvard Business Review
FEBRUARY 13, 2012
The CIO has to know what's going on in finance and marketing, for instance, and P&L experience is important even for support functions like human resources. So, for instance, if you want a top finance job it's not enough to be the best CFO in the U.S.; you have to be the best CFO in the world.
Execution 16
16 
Providing Earnings Guidance? Think Again
Harvard Business Review
MAY 4, 2012
Investors reward companies (such as Apple and Kimberly-Clark ) whose current performance or guidance for the future exceeds market expectations, and they punish companies (as they did Starbucks and Procter & Gamble ) whose performance or guidance fails to meet expectations.
CFO 13
13 
How to Kill Quarterly Earnings Guidance
Harvard Business Review
JUNE 18, 2014
There are instances when it might be perfectly legitimate and value enhancing to issue earnings guidance in an effort to inform the market about material disruptions, shifts in the business model etc., At a macro level, there is evidence that it negatively influences analysts’ reports, thereby distorting the market.
Uber’s New CEO Will Have to Win on Two Fronts Simultaneously
Harvard Business Review
AUGUST 30, 2017
Since its founding just eight years ago, Uber has become one of the best-known brands in the world, has presence in over 80 countries, has market share reported at 77% in its core U.S. It was the pioneer in social networking, arguably one of the highest-potential markets ever.
CEO 14
14 
A Refresher on Cost of Capital
Harvard Business Review
APRIL 30, 2015
“At most companies, the cost of capital is a mechanical calculation done by the finance people. For example, a company’s cost of capital may be 10% but the finance department will pad that some and use 10.5% Finance & Accounting Tool. Though there is typically a distinction. or 11% as the discount rate.
Case Study: When Two Leaders on the Senior Team Hate Each Other
Harvard Business Review
OCTOBER 18, 2018
Lance was struck by what he saw in CFO Damon Ewen’s file. His CFO and his sales chief had been at loggerheads for a while. After all, sales and finance were often at odds in organizations, and the conflict hadn’t had a big impact on Barker’s revenues. I’m the CFO and he’s in charge of sales.
Case Study 14
14 How Industrial Firms Invest in Renewable Energy, Affordably
Harvard Business Review
AUGUST 5, 2016
Under this financing structure, the company contracts to buy kilowatts, not the turbines and panels. They had framing conversations with the CEO and CFO early on to discuss any financial or operational challenges. This allowed the company to claim carbon-neutral status for Texas-made products, a nice and strategic marketing win.
Energy 8
8 The Financial Industry Needs to Start Planning for the Next 50 Years, Not the Next Five
Harvard Business Review
JULY 17, 2017
Eastman Kodak is the textbook case for failing to prioritize an innovation agenda; business schools around the world study the ramifications of the company’s ill-fated decision to ignore the digital photography market until it was too late. The Future of Financial Services. Insight Center. Crossing the Digital Divide.
Industry 13
13 Build Your Team Like an Executive
Harvard Business Review
SEPTEMBER 29, 2011
For example, Tim Sheahan, Chief Financial Officer for a large division of a multi-national corporation, aspires to become CFO of a Fortune 100 company in the future. At meetings of the corporation's finance managers, Tim makes a point to spend time with lower-level staff members to establish a personal bond.
Execution 15
15 Competing on Service: Eleven Ways to Beat the Competition by ‘Hugging’ Your Customers
Strategy Driven
OCTOBER 21, 2011
Twelve cases are written as narratives with multiple teaching points, but without a focus on a particular business decision; the remaining twenty-three cases were written around specific conundrums related to strategy, operations, finance, marketing, leadership, culture, human resources, organizational design, business model, and growth.
Avoiding Catastrophic Failures in Process Improvement
Harvard Business Review
APRIL 6, 2011
A large division of this company had recognized the need to dramatically change its business model to survive and succeed in a changing market. Process champions must have them ready for the day when the CEO or CFO effectively says, "Show me the money.". Engage the finance organization.
Process 15
15 
Do You Know Who Owns Analytics at Your Company?
Harvard Business Review
SEPTEMBER 23, 2014
When I do get a name, it often differs depending on who I asked—a marketing executive points to one person, while finance identifies someone else. Years ago, one group, often marketing, decided it needed analytics support and so that group hired some analytics professionals. That isn’t good. Over time, other groups did the same.
Company 8
8 
When Coaching Finds That an Executive Isn’t in the Right Role
Harvard Business Review
JULY 31, 2017
Eventually, he approached his boss about moving to a role in a small emerging market – while it would mean managing less revenue and fewer people than his current job, he’d thrive on the dynamism of the startup opportunity. In these cases, rethinking the scope of their current role can be just as effective.
Let's personalize your content