Being a finance leader is no longer just about controlling costs. 2024’s CFOS are trusted business leaders and innovators that drive growth throughout the organisation. Hosted by technology reporter, presenter and consumer champion, David McClelland, The CFO Playbook features interviews with world-class CFOs, finance leaders and founders from some of the fastest growing companies.
The CFO Playbook is brought to you by Soldo.
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Financing Sustainable Infrastructure: How Private Investment is Powering Wind, Solar, and Energy Storage with Marie Joyce
Season 4 · Episode 9
Thursday, September 26, 2024 • Duration 38:36
In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Marie Joyce, CFO and COO of NTR, the trailblazing renewable energy specialist to discuss their mission to advance sustainable infrastructure by investing in wind, solar, and energy storage assets across Europe.
What exactly does it take to transform from toll roads to renewable energy? Marie reveals the incredible evolution of NTR, offering a rare glimpse into the strategic milestones that have defined the company, from its early investments in wind energy with Airtricity in 1999 to its current focus on wind, solar, and energy storage projects across Europe. We hear how NTR's diversification across various markets and technologies has cemented its leadership in the renewable energy sector.
Marie also shines a light on the pivotal decisions that set NTR apart, such as the shift from a US-centric approach to capitalising on the stable European market. She recounts the company’s transition to co-investing with institutional capital, a move that has significantly mitigated risk while expanding investment capabilities. Hear how advancements in technology have made renewable projects financially viable without government subsidies, and how strategic partnerships, such as with Legal & General Investment Management, have been instrumental in the company's growth.
Beyond the financial strategy, Marie lifts the lid on the human element that drives NTR’s success including initiatives to foster diversity and inclusion in the traditionally male-dominated sectors of engineering and finance. From flexible working arrangements to fertility leave, NTR's culture not only supports its workforce but also aligns with its ambitious climate goals.
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From Scorekeeper to Strategic Decision-Maker: The Changing Role of a CFO with Mark Freedman
Season 4 · Episode 8
Thursday, August 29, 2024 • Duration 49:26
In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Mark Freedman to explore the changing landscape of finance leadership, from crash to AI and beyond.
Mark started his career at Deutsche Bank before moving onto London Stock Exchange Group. Over three decades in the finance sector, he’s proved himself to be a transformational force ready to face down the challenges of a digital finance age.
Now in post as CFO of global money brand Travelex, Mark has been instrumental in making strategic decisions, providing steadfast resilience through a challenging era, following a much publicised cyber incident at the start of 2020.
Despite the negative headlines, Mark's tenure has embraced opportunities for growth. Empathising the strength of Travelex's brand and its extensive physical distribution network as key assets, Mark has faced questions about the relevance of “travel money” head on.
Highlighting the evergreen resilience of cash and the growth potential of digital cards, his current role has pivoted Mark from scorekeeper to decision-maker, with a deep understanding of business - using effective communication, and staying up-to-date with technology.
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Chapters:
0:05:07 - Career Transition Reflections and Growth
0:09:03 - Career Progression in Banking Industry
0:15:04 - Era of Financial Innovation
0:18:25 - Finance Transformation Opportunity
0:22:52 - Business Journey Through Turbulent Times
0:34:25 - Future of Travel Money Changes
0:42:24 - Evolution of the CFO Role
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How a Remote-first Culture Has Affected Finance with Bill Fahrbach, CFO at Facet
Episode 81
Wednesday, August 9, 2023 • Duration 35:27
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Bill Fahrbach, Chief Financial Officer at Facet, offering impartial and invaluable financial advice and services at an affordable membership fee.
Bill is a strategic Financial Executive and Entrepreneurial CFO/COO with an extensive investment banking background and rounded technology operational experience. With a track record of significant growth, capital raises, and exits, he’s a leader in finance, operations, systems, and legal capacities.
In this episode, Bill talks about the changing dynamics between CFO and CEO, the importance of a healthy work-life balance, and how a primarily remote-first culture affects the pathway to becoming a CFO.
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Guest Quotes:
“I think what has changed is, if you think about the CFO role, it's really critically important that you get the right information out to the organization. So, the organization wants to understand how we are doing as a business, and it's not as simple as sort of just saying like, look, here are the numbers, right? There's a lot of color, there's a lot of context. So I would say as CFO, it's been challenging. It's actually pushed probably the limits in terms of like how do you communicate effectively with the employee base, whereas when you're in the office in a physical office, it's more natural, I guess you could say, and more seamless to sort of be having routine discussions with, employees across the board and articulating, you know, the good, the bad, and everything in between and getting that message across. In a virtual environment, what I've found is that the struggle is always finding that balance of how do I get the right message out in the right forums. And not create, let's say, like a drain of unnecessary meetings that people get bored in, right? So, it's finding that balance, you know, articulating the right information, but also giving the right context in a way that employees will be engaged. I'd say that was, that's been the biggest challenge.” - Bill Fahrbach
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Topics:
00:38 Bill’s role and adjusting to remote work
03:49 How a remote first culture affects the pathway to CFO
07:51 Educational background
13:19 Dynamics between CFO and CEO
17:53 Facilitating company acquisitions
21:47 Work life balance
24:23 About Facet and IPO
29:18 Best decision he’s ever made
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Sponsor:
This show is brought to you by Soldo, the brighter way to manage business spending and expenses. With Soldo, you can control every expense, track spend in real time, automate financial reporting, and then use those insights to fuel growth. Learn more at Soldo.com
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Links:
Connect with Bill on LinkedIn
Connect with Fran on LinkedIn
The CFO Playbook Listener Survey
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The Financial Resiliency of UK’s Social Care with Andy Dean, Chief Financial Officer at Eden Futures
Episode 80
Wednesday, July 26, 2023 • Duration 32:11
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Andy Dean, Chief Financial Officer at Eden Futures, providing high quality, person-centered care, supported living and enablement for people with disabilities and support needs.
At Eden Futures, Andy leads the Finance, Service Development and IT teams. Prior, he started his career training with KPMG as a Chartered Accountant, gaining experience within both Audit and Transaction Services. He has since worked for a variety of care providers in social care starting with Craegmoor as Group Financial Accountant. From there he gained broader experience at GKN plc before joining what became Embrace Group in 2012 as Group Financial Controller. Andy helped to manage the recovery and subsequent sale of that business before joining Eden Futures.
In this episode, Andy talks about the current state of social care in the UK, his work as a leader for teams in finance, service development, and IT, and how policies, politics, and technology affect the space.
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Guest Quotes:
“ Part of your role, as CFO, is that wide base of stakeholders. You can be talking to your shareholder one day. You can be talking to your lender another day. You can be talking to your insurer. You know, CFOs like me are often responsible for the IT, so get involved in the IT discussions, talking to our customers. So, in our case, our commissioning partners around whatever issue it might be, say fee rates, occupancy. Get involved with the lawyers that are on the contractual side. So yes, it is a varied role. You know, the old adage that 'no day is ever the same' is absolutely right from a CFO perspective.” - Andy Dean
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Topics:
01:37 Andy’s background and role as CFO
07:22 Current state of social care in the UK
13:14 Technology in social care
17:43 Employee retention and politics
21:00 Dealing with uncertainties
25:45 Mentorship
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Sponsor:
This show is brought to you by Soldo, the brighter way to manage business spending and expenses. With Soldo, you can control every expense, track spend in real time, automate financial reporting, and then use those insights to fuel growth. Learn more at Soldo.com
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Links:
Connect with Andy on LinkedIn
Eden Futures Website
Connect with Fran on LinkedIn
The CFO Playbook Listener Survey
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Employing Tactical Empathy in the Workplace with Chris Voss, Former FBI Hostage Negotiator
Episode 79
Thursday, July 13, 2023 • Duration 33:48
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Chris Voss, Founder and CEO of The Black Swan Group. Previously, Chris was the lead international kidnapping negotiator for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the FBI’s hostage negotiation representative for the National Security Council’s Hostage Working Group.
Chris used his many years of experience in international crises and high-stakes negotiations to develop a unique program that applies globally proven techniques to the business world. Through the Black Swan Group, he provides training for a variety of businesses and individuals on negotiation skills. He’s also the author of Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It.
In this episode, Chris and I talk about how he became an FBI hostage negotiator, what a CFO can learn from negotiation, and the three biggest mistakes to avoid when negotiating.
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Guest Quotes:
“Really counterintuitive stuff, this thing that we call empathy, you know, we call tactical empathy. It's ability to influence, if you can wrap your mind around what it really is, it works under all circumstances. Doesn't matter, as long as human beings are involved, whether it's a colleague, whether it's a client, whether it's an employee, whether it's somebody you work for, it seems mystical because it really operates on neuroscience and the feelings of being understood. But human beings are wired to be completely emotional. You know, every decision, you make up your mind based on what you care about, which makes decision making an emotional process because your fundamental basis is what you care about. And so then it's just applied emotional intelligence. And you know you can succeed in the boardroom or work with what I learned dealing with a drug dealer or a terrorist.” - Chris Voss
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Topics:
03:02 How to become an FBI hostage negotiator
03:41 What a CFO can learn from negotiation
12:52 Three biggest mistakes in negotiation
18:45 Achieving outcomes
22:28 In-person versus digital communication
27:38 Real life stories
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Sponsor:
This show is brought to you by Soldo, the brighter way to manage business spending and expenses. With Soldo, you can control every expense, track spend in real time, automate financial reporting, and then use those insights to fuel growth. Learn more at Soldo.com
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Links:
Connect with Chris on LinkedIn
The Black Swan Group LTD
Connect with Fran on LinkedIn
The CFO Playbook Listener Survey
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How Social Evolution Affects the Dynamic of Organizations with Robin Dunbar, Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at University of Oxford
Episode 78
Wednesday, June 28, 2023 • Duration 45:52
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Robin Dunbar, Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at University of Oxford and Co-author of The Social Brain: The Psychology of Successful Groups.
Professor Dunbar is British anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist and a specialist in primate behavior. He is best known for formulating Dunbar’s number, a measurement of the “cognitive limit to the number of individuals with whom any one person can maintain stable relationships.” His research is concerned with trying to understand the behavioral and cognitive mechanisms that underpin social bonding in primates and humans.
In this episode, Professor Dunbar talks about how evolution affects the dynamics of organizations, the seven pillars of friendship, the impact of work on personal relationships, and the observable changes in a sense of community overtime.
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Guest Quotes:
“In a C-suite level, you have to find ways of sharing your time and not micromanaging everything, that's where the disaster comes, I think, because you destroy everything. You try and micromanage the whole of a big organization, not only do you make a hash of that because it's too big, but you also don't have any time left over for your family relationships and so on, and they fall apart. So, you’ve got to trust the people you work with, as it were, below you, in the layers below you to do their job, and that has to be the culture. And, there are places where that happens, you have this sense of trust and obligation and people work willingly, as it were, and overwork, maybe, willingly, not for the money they're paid but out of a sense of pride and obligation to the job they do. If you encourage that kind of attitude again, which used to be much more common, then you don't have to worry about what's going on down below because that's being taken care of in the layers below you. You can sit back and deal with strategy, which is what C-suite folks should be really concerned with because, and sparing yourself enough time at the corners of the day to invest in your own kind of family and social environments.” - Robin Dunbar
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Topics:
02:51 Introducing Robin’s book: The Social Brain: The Psychology of Successful Groups
06:35 How evolution affects the dynamics of organizations
11:36 The seven pillars of friendship
18:21 Difference in application for group sizes in a workplace setting
30:32 Generational changes in the sense of community
38:47 The impact of work on personal relationships
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Sponsor:
This show is brought to you by Soldo, the brighter way to manage business spending and expenses. With Soldo, you can control every expense, track spend in real time, automate financial reporting, and then use those insights to fuel growth. Learn more at Soldo.com
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Links:
Connect with Robin on LinkedIn
The Social Brain: The Psychology of Successful Groups
Connect with Fran on LinkedIn
The CFO Playbook Listener Survey
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Challenging Accountancy Stereotypes with Tom Herbert, Tech Editor at AccountingWEB
Episode 77
Wednesday, June 14, 2023 • Duration 28:58
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Tom Herbert, Tech Editor at AccountingWEB, the largest independent online community for accounting and finance professionals in the UK.
Tom is a journalist, editor and broadcaster with experience across digital and print publications. For the past seven years, he’s specialized in business, accountancy and technology journalism. He writes and edits news, features, interviews and opinion pieces and also features on a variety of podcasts, videos and webinars as both a host and guest.
In this episode, Tom talks about ChatGPT and the future of AI, the recent Silicon Valley Bank situation, The Tyranny of Expense Reclaim, and his opinions on accountancy stereotypes.
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Guest Quotes:
“I think that accountants, the stereotype is, Nigel in the corner office with his spreadsheet, and they're incredibly boring people, like Monty Python and various others have spread this around. But, I actually find accountants incredibly entertaining. I think they're generally very quirky, quite eccentric, and often quite blunt. But, when I pitched up in 2015, after, as you said, a series of events, writing, travel, writing, sports, journalism, like my wife's, yeah, ‘accounting journalism, are you sure?’ But, yeah, I've loved every minute of it, genuinely. It's been great fun.” - Tom Herbert
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Topics:
03:54 Chat GPT and AI
10:21 Silicon Valley Bank
14:14 Resumes and trust
18:44 The Tyranny of Expense Reclaim
24:44 Opinions on accountancy stereotypes
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Sponsor:
This show is brought to you by Soldo, the brighter way to manage business spending and expenses. With Soldo, you can control every expense, track spend in real time, automate financial reporting, and then use those insights to fuel growth. Learn more at Soldo.com
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Links:
Connect with Tom on LinkedIn
Connect with Fran on LinkedIn
The CFO Playbook Listener Survey
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Cultivating Career Relationships in Finance with Peter de Silva, Author, Director, and Trustee
Episode 76
Wednesday, May 24, 2023 • Duration 38:28
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Peter de Silva, Author, Director, and Trustee.
Peter is an experienced chairman, CEO, president, executive committee member, public and private company director and trustee for national not-for-profit organizations and national charitable foundations. He’s a Former Harvard University Senior Fellow - Advanced Leadership Initiative, and author of Taking Stock: 10 Life Leadership Principles from My Seat at the Table.
In this episode, Peter talks about the importance of successfully cultivating relationships for career progression, the financial impacts of the 2020 ‘meme’ stock craze, and leaves us with his top three pieces of advice for the CFOs of the future.
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Guest Quotes:
“If I think about three or four pieces of advice for aspiring financial leaders, I would leave you with this. One, take intelligent risks. I didn't want to move to Cincinnati. I didn't want to move to Kansas City. But I did, and I grew much more quickly. I got way ahead from where I would've been if I sat in my office in Boston. So, take those intelligent risks. Second, and something that has to be learned, you need to hire people that compliment you and challenge you. The leader that hires people that look just like them and marches in line, it doesn't work. You want people who challenge you around that table. And, as long as they do it respectfully and ethically, it's all good with me. But, ensure you find people who compliment and challenge you. Third, constantly challenge yourself to improve. None of us are done learning and growing and we won't be until we draw our last breath because that's the essence of life, is to learn and grow and to develop. And my last piece of advice for everyone is to do what you love and love what you do. And, if you don't, It's time to move on.” - Peter de Silva
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Topics:
01:22 Peter’s background
06:12 Early career
09:28 Experience at Harvard
14:38 Meme stock craze
22:56 Peter’s book
25:43 Cultivating relationships
30:40 What’s next for Peter
31:26 Advice for upcoming CFOs
34:00 Learning experiences
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Sponsor:
This show is brought to you by Soldo, the brighter way to manage business spending and expenses. With Soldo, you can control every expense, track spend in real time, automate financial reporting, and then use those insights to fuel growth. Learn more at Soldo.com
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Links:
Connect with Peter on LinkedIn
Connect with Fran on LinkedIn
The CFO Playbook Listener Survey
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How Premier Businesses Fill the Finance Role with Chris Gaunt, CFO Practice Leader at Spencer Stuart
Episode 75
Wednesday, May 3, 2023 • Duration 36:59
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Chris Gaunt. He is the CFO Practice Leader for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Spencer Stuart, an executive search, board, and leadership advisory service.
In his role, Chris works on a variety of Group CFO appointments for many of the world’s largest publicly traded companies, as well as for private equity-backed portfolio companies. He has a strong international focus, often for clients in emerging economies who wish to access the global executive talent pool. Prior to joining Spencer Stuart, Chris worked with another leading international executive search firm, most recently serving as the Managing Partner of its UK CFO practice. He began his career in the financial leadership search field in the firm’s New York office. Earlier, Chris worked as a management consultant for the Washington, D.C.-based Advisory Board Company. In that capacity, he led consulting teams working with senior executives across industries on their human resources strategy and operations. Chris holds a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University.
In this episode, Chris talks about the ever changing role of the CFO, the modern challenges of headhunting, leadership as a whole, and the steps you can take to reach the top.
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Guest Quotes:
“You need a certain stiffness, a certain toughness, of character to survive the sort of constant battering and the loneliness that is involved in being a CEO. I won't dispute that. I would say that we're seeing, again, an evolutionary change where the command control type of the CEOs of yesteryear are simply no longer in vogue. What we've seen, and the Covid crisis amplified this, is that CEOs today, more than ever, have to demonstrate real empathetic and inclusive leadership." - Chris Gaunt
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Topics:
02:08 Introducing Chris
03:11 Current state of CFOs
06:30 Challenges in headhunting
10:11 The skill set of a modern CFO
16:21 Prerequisites for becoming a CFO
22:53 The process of CFO headhunting
27:45 Examples of successful CFO searches
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Sponsor:
This show is brought to you by Soldo, the brighter way to manage business spending and expenses. With Soldo, you can control every expense, track spend in real time, automate financial reporting, and then use those insights to fuel growth. Learn more at Soldo.com
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Links:
Connect with Chris on LinkedIn
Connect with Fran on LinkedIn
The CFO Playbook Listener Survey
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Finding a Balance Between Efficient and Effective with Justin Lackey, CFO at Asset Panda
Episode 73
Wednesday, March 1, 2023 • Duration 42:50
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Justin Lackey, CFO at Asset Panda, a powerful, highly configurable asset tracking and management SaaS platform on a mission to help the world work smarter.
In his current role as the Chief Financial Officer, Justin oversees revenue operations, pricing, and data analysis, which are all transferable skills brought over from his previous positions as Director of Revenue Operations, and Manager of Pricing Strategy and Finance. Prior to Asset Panda, Justin held four separate financial analyst positions at ACTIVE Network, a premier global marketplace for activities and events. He graduated with a degree in general finance from Texas A&M University in 2017.
In this episode, Justin talks about the importance of maintaining transparency in the new world of finance, navigating risk appetite when conducting business during black swan events, and adapting to and remaining motivated in remote work environments.
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Guest Quotes:
“I like to look at everything as a revenue generating role, right? What are you doing to impact revenue? Whether it's a tweak you're making in our sales process, our marketing process, insights you're helping give them, there’s a direct downstream impact on revenue for that. Becoming obsessed with that revenue side of the business, I think is important for any young analyst, any aspiring CFO.”
“I think a really good quality for a CFO, CRO is, can you take a complexity and can you make it digestible, right? That is always the million dollar question of, okay, we have this set, this data set, this preexisting analytics set, right, of historical information. How do I put this into an action item and how do I deliver it so anyone can understand it?”
“I think haste of pivot is super important. Boils back down to that data collection piece of, how long is too long for a project to kind of run its course, right? You have the opportunity to act much quicker based on leading indicators than you could've. It's not all about waiting until seeing the win rate anymore, waiting until seeing total revenue, right? You can kind of grab some of that upfront data, make some pretty educated guesses, and pivot quickly.”
“There's a famous kind of mindset model that talks about the different zones that people can find themselves in. And there's a reactive zone and a proactive zone, along with a waste and a distraction zone, things like that. We spend a lot of time in that reactive zone today, but we're not necessarily using time in the proactive zone that can lead to efficiencies within that reactive zone. What am I doing day-to-day that really could be automated that's taking up a lot of my time, and how do I invest that time back into my personal life?”
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Topics:
02:06 Justin’s role and background
07:53 The new world of finance
13:22 Transparency in finance
18:06 Addressing risk appetite
22:08 Black swan events
28:31 Remaining motivated in remote work
33:51 Siege mentality in company leadership
37:33 Tips for success in business
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Sponsor:
This show is brought to you by Soldo, the brighter way to manage business spending and expenses. With Soldo, you can control every expense, track spend in real time, automate financial reporting, and then use those insights to fuel growth. Learn more at Soldo.com
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Links:
Connect with Justin on LinkedIn
Connect with Fran on LinkedIn
The CFO Playbook Listener Survey
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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