How do you think the CFO role has changed over the past five to 10 years, both for you, and in general?
I may even go back a little further. In the early 2000s, it was very important…for CFOs to have CPA and accounting [experience] because the world was introducing Sarbanes-Oxley, the so-called SOX controls, because companies were abusing [the system] and the accounting wasn’t done correctly. Then there was a push for getting that specific training, and I think CEOs were looking for CFOs who were essentially more like accountants than finance and FP&A folks.
[Now] when I talk to CEOs, investors, and board members, they’re looking for a CFO who’s able to be curious about the business, but also comes with a lot of analytics, predictive analytics [skills] that drive the business to make decisions, as opposed to just controls and just accounting.
What advice do you have for future CFOs?
One thing that worked for my career, sometimes by design and actually mostly by accident, was having mentors, supervisors that looked for me or put me in roles that developed [my skills] outside my comfort zone.
For example, early on in my career, I was put in a rotation that had a very large accounting component. I checked the box on something that, if I had to do it today, would not be my desire and would not potentially be good [at it]. Do rotations. Don’t [only] focus on things that you feel passionate about. Understand, for the well-rounded CFO, what are the boxes you want to check—not just to say you have the experience, but that you meaningfully understand and can talk about something that you’re not an expert in.
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For example, I don’t have a CPA, but I have been exposed to very complex accounting transactions and accounting situations that had me way outside my comfort zone earlier in my career. It’s a mix of having good managers, being open-minded to do rotations, enjoy those rotations and go deeper, and then be data-driven and grow [your skills in] predictive analytics, like I mentioned before.
Who’s a CFO you admire or try to emulate?
The one that comes to mind very quickly is Jeff Epstein. He was the former CFO for Oracle, and he happened to be a former board member for Poshmark. What I love about Jeff is he’s a very straight shooter, he provides very good advice, but he’s always available. Not only for folks like me, who are more senior, but even for folks early on in their career.
If you weren’t a CFO, what would you be?
It’s going to be funny, but I would love to be a computer programmer. I have a passion for precision and numbers, [and] I’ve chosen to apply that to a profession that is not necessarily programming. It’s funny; we’re in the deep portion of a project for implementing some pretty big software here, and I’m very much excited when I go and talk to the engineers and the programmers who are actually helping us implement the tool.