Changes in CFO role

The future is anything but predictable and having a strong finance leader is crucial for any organisation as the CFO most directly contributes to a company’s financial health and resilience.

In the times of the current pandemic, CFOs are assuming a greater role and are likely to hold onto those greater responsibilities in the future.

What are the key competencies and skills required from future CFOs?

While every search is unique and there is no universal advice to finding the right CFO, these are the most sought-after attributes:

Strategic mindset

To serve as a right-hand of the CEO, CFOs need to be able to focus on shaping strategy, transformation and scenario planning. Today’s CFOs are responsible for much more than finance, they often oversee multiple functions from IT, Legal, Real Estate to Supply Chain. Control and compliance is not enough, companies need a strategic CFO who can look at the business through the windshield, rather than the rearview mirror.

Ownership mindset

CFOs must focus on protecting the bottom line but also are expected to view the financial performance through an ethical lens to ensure sustainability and value creation.

Adaptivity and openness to innovation

Digital skills and adopting new technologies has become priority, not just “nice to have”. CFOs need to have solid knowledge of technology and how to use it to both advance the business and protect it against cybersecurity and data privacy risks. Coping with rapid changes and decision making despite uncertainties are must haves.

Communication skills and leading with empathy

Though some CFOs have impressive technical backgrounds, that is not a key to success. In the past, CFOs might have been focused on communicating with investors and shareholders. Today, they have to manage remote teams, they deliver messages of company situation and prospects to all employees, customers, suppliers and the community. The pandemic is proving that ‘softer’ leadership qualities such as empathy, compassion and reflexion are more effective than dominance and directive style. We are finding that this is helping to expand the diversity of CFO candidates.

Conclusion

Resilience and adaptability became more important and will remain crucial for the uncertain times ahead. Technical skills and sector-specific experience remain important but past achievements do not guarantee future success and despite the clear benefits of hiring from within the industry, our experience has shown that companies are open to look beyond their own industry to find top talent.

Mary Keane
Andrea Chládková
Partners, Czech Republic

Deutschland hinkt in puncto Geschlechtervielfalt anderen europäischen Ländern hinterher. Was meinen Sie, wo liegt unser Problem?

Ich glaube, das hat auch viel mit unserer Sozialisierung zu tun. In den 70iger Jahren brauchten Frauen noch die Genehmigung ihrer Männer, um arbeiten gehen zu dürfen. Das ist nicht einmal 50 Jahre her! Es ist bei uns immer noch weit verbreiteter Konsens, dass sich vor allem die Frauen um die Kinder zu kümmern haben. Rabenmutter ist ein urdeutsches Wort und Symbol dieses Gedankenguts. Hier findet inzwischen ein Umdenken statt. Inzwischen sind ja z. B. ein signifikanter Prozentsatz der Kolleg*innen, die in Elternzeit sind, Männer. Aber es muss konsequent fortgeführt werden; die Infrastruktur muss angepasst werden. Wir brauchen bezahlbare Krippenplätze und ein gutes Ganztagesschulangebot. Frauen müssen die Chance haben, sich nicht nur für Kinder, sondern auch für eine Karriere entscheiden zu können.

Natürlich muss auch bei den Männern ein Umdenken stattfinden, aber auch sie brauchen Unterstützung. Es muss in Ordnung sein, dass sie ihre Kinder um 17 Uhr irgendwo abholen, ohne schief angesehen zu werden. Das machen beispielsweise die Niederländer so viel besser. Dort werden keine Meetings vor 9 oder nach 17 Uhr angesetzt. Das ist viel familienorientierter!

Gerade in Führungsetagen sind wir in Deutschland sehr rückständig, was die Akzeptanz dafür betrifft, dass Familie versorgt werden muss – ob von Mann oder Frau.

Wie bewerten Sie die aktuelle Entwicklung beim Thema Geschlechtervielfalt in Führungsgremien mit Blick auf Deutschland?

Da gibt es noch viel zu tun! Es muss ‚from the top down‘ gelebt werden, in die Zielvereinbarungen der Führungskräfte einfließen und in den Köpfen der CEOs verankert sein. Das Verständnis muss sein, dass Vielfalt einen Mehrwert bringt und Andersartigkeit förderlich für Teams ist. Das geht weit über die Frage des Geschlechtes hinaus.

Worauf sollten Frauen in ihrer Karriereplanung achten, um sich auf eine Spitzenposition vorzubereiten?

Ganz wichtig ist es, sich über sein Leben klar zu werden und ein Ziel zu setzen. Was will ich? Karriere machen ja, aber zu welchen Opfern bin ich bereit? Was ist mit Auslandsaufenthalten? Die Partnerwahl ist ebenfalls relevant. Unterstützt mich mein Partner in meinen Bestrebungen?

Im Übrigen gibt es nichts, was man nicht machen kann. Ich kann auch mit Familie ins Ausland gehen! Aber ich muss meine Ansprüche anmelden, klar formulieren und sagen, ich will das. Offen sein und keine Angst haben vor Herausforderungen.

Und wo sehen Sie die größten Hindernisse?

In den Köpfen! Wir Frauen neigen dazu, einen Job oder eine neue Aufgabe nur dann anzunehmen, wenn wir über 100 % der Skills verfügen. Da sind Männer ganz anders.

Wenn ich merke, dass es in einem Unternehmen für mich nicht weitergeht, ich so nicht ans Ziel komme, muss ich neue Chancen suchen. Dazu muss ich bereit sein, meine Komfortzone zu verlassen, Gespräche mit anderen führen und vielleicht auch mal privat einen Coach buchen. Sich selbst als Priorität sehen. Vielleicht muss man mehr delegieren – beruflich wie privat. Das kann so aussehen, dass man die Kinder mal zu den Großeltern schickt, um etwas Kraft zu tanken. Sich selbst Auszeiten zu gönnen und auf den eigenen Energiehaushalt zu achten – ohne ein schlechtes Gewissen zu haben – ist wichtig.

Denken Sie, dass der Gesetzgeber weitere Schritte unternehmen muss?

Ich beobachte die Entwicklung nun seit 30 Jahren und für mich geht es immer noch zu langsam. Wichtiger als eine Quote ist aus meiner Sicht, dass die entsprechende Infrastruktur bereitgestellt werden muss. Steuerliche Anreize schaffen, wie z. B. Kindergartenunterbringung oder Ganztageseinrichtungen und volle steuerliche Absetzbarkeit von Tagesmüttern etc.

Welche Frau bewundern Sie und warum?

Nicht eine, ich habe viele Vorbilder. Amelia Earhart als die erste Frau, die geflogen ist. Aber auch andere, wie die erste Frau, die eine Hose getragen oder einen Uniabschluss gemacht hat. Frauen, die sich also in ihrer Zeit haben extrem durchsetzen müssen. Es braucht diese Vorbilder. Ich bewundere aber vor allem auch Frauen in unserer Zeit, die es aus schwierigen Verhältnissen geschafft haben, die am Ball geblieben sind, oder auch alleinerziehende Frauen, die den Alltag trotz aller Widrigkeiten stemmen und meist mit wenig Geld auskommen müssen.

Brauchen wir einen International Women‘s Day heutzutage überhaupt noch?

Ja, brauchen wir! Noch ist er nötig, aber es bleibt die Hoffnung, dass wir ihn irgendwann abschaffen können.

 Wer hat Sie inspiriert?

Meine Mutter. Sie ging vor dem Mauerbau mit einem Einkaufskorb von Ostberlin nach Westberlin und hat ihre Familie zurückgelassen. Ihren Mut habe ich sehr bewundert. Sie wusste ja nicht, ob und wann sie ihre Eltern und Geschwister wiedersehen würde. Sie wurde 1931 geboren, ging 7 Jahre zur Schule. Immer hat sie mir signalisiert, du kannst alles erreichen. Mach dich nicht abhängig.

Ich hatte auch eine Grundschullehrerin, die mir geraten hat, mich nie abhängig zu machen und auf eigenen Beinen zu stehen. Mit einer guten Ausbildung können wir alles im Leben erreichen.

Hatten Sie einen Mentor*in?

Ja. Ich war im Mentorenprogramm der Deutschen Börse. Mein direkter Chef hat mich sehr unterstützt. Später hatte ich das Glück Reto Francioni als Mentor zu haben. Von beiden konnte ich viel lernen. Mir wurde viel zugetraut, sodass ich immer in die nächste Rolle kam.

Aber auch mein Mann war mein Mentor. Er hat einen ähnlichen Background, war mir beruflich aufgrund seines Alters etwas voraus und hatte viele Situationen bereits durchlebt. Mit ihm konnte ich alles besprechen. Er hat mir mit Rat und Tat zur Seite gestanden.

Und heute stehe ich selbst gerne vielen jungen Frauen als Mentorin zur Verfügung. Das ist mir sehr wichtig! Und wer keinen Mentor*in hat, sollte sich einen suchen. Eine Person ansprechen, die man bewundert, und fragen, ob sie diese Rolle übernimmt.

Was glauben Sie, welche Fähigkeiten sind notwendig gewesen, um Sie dahin zu bringen, wo Sie heute sind?

Dass ich an mich selbst geglaubt habe! Vertrauen in sich selbst zu haben, dass man das schaffen kann, ist ganz wichtig. Aber auch Mut, Beharrlichkeit und Authentizität.

Vielen Dank für das Gespräch, Frau Gruber!

Meltem Ay
Senior Consultant, Germany

CEOs face new and very specific challenges in supporting their organisations through, and then managing the lasting implications of, this current crisis.

According to recent work by Gartner, sixty-nine percent of boards accelerated digital business initiatives because of COVID-19, with almost half now actively looking for fresh technology expertise. Digital business models are now being pursued in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic - business strategy is changing.

Board members that are not themselves Digital Natives might lack the insights and expertise required to make informed decisions and reasoned judgements regarding, for example, AI, UCaaS, Digital Marketing, IoT, 5G - which are needed to ensure their business will survive.

We have talked with many companies over recent months that have made significant investments in the analysis of Big Data, automation and new forms of online collaboration. These moves, originally forced by the need for business continuity, are now finding permanence as processes change forever across all industries.

Technology enterprise leaders and industry analysts with whom we have spoken have confirmed that such shifts would be near impossible without a digital strategy and effective technology leadership. Long before the pandemic, strategic decisions by CEOs and boards, on behalf of shareholders, including the setting of company goals and assessment of the top teams’ performance were increasingly linked with investment and hiring decisions related to technology. That has simply been fast-forwarded by the virus.

Yet, despite the rapid and widespread adoption of digital business tools all around them, there are still many large companies that try to continue to function without the technology expertise of a CIO at the board table.

"As a CIO, the CEO and the board expect from me, not only to fix the WiFi... They also expect me to put the right priorities on the right strategies.... "

Rene Deist, CIO Faurecia

Technology is reshaping business models in almost every sector but securing the best technology leaders can be problematic...  However, Friisberg's Partners and Consultants are fully familiar with every dimension of the issue. Your business may not even know what it really needs, but we can help you shape your thinking and then identify and attract the right leadership, for your business as it will be - and needs to be - to thrive.

GARTNER ARTICLE

7 Traits of Highly Successful Digital Leaders

Lorri Lowe

Atila Yenisen, CEO of Metro Bulgaria.

Reducing gender inequalities is one of the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to transform our world and the topic about the role of women in business is becoming increasingly relevant today.

Atila is highly engaged regarding the role of women in business and is an active member in LEAD Network as Co-Chair in the Sales & Buying chapter where he is actively involved in projects aimed at increasing the influence of women in trade.

Why do you think a stronger female presence in management positions is so important?

Our industry is very dynamic and consumer behaviours are continuously changing and evolving. Real success comes from not only following the customers, but also from shaping their choices. It is therefore paramount to have the diversity of the market reflected into our decision-making processes  - only then we can move where the customers move and even move the customers towards our solutions.

As the CEO of Metro Bulgaria what actions towards this have you taken?

We have set targets at a local level within Bulgaria. We have a minimum of 50% women in our development programs and at least 50% of candidates interviewed for Level 3 and up positions are women. This helps us to manage our pipeline for all the levels in our organization including for leadership positions.

According to a global survey on the topic, having children was stated as the biggest challenge for female colleagues. We know that over half of mothers change jobs, over 30% contemplate leaving work entirely and nearly 20 % of women leave employment in the following 5 years after their child’s birth. Therefore, we decided to focus our maternity policy to help women not to disconnect during their maternity leave which then helps them to restart effectively when they choose to rejoin.

In METRO Bulgaria we also initiated the Women in trade chapter within the company. The aim was to promote awareness as well as engaging with teams giving them the opportunity to drive decisions. We have already 26 employees involved in the project. We are also in the process of adapting our Global Diversity and Inclusion training.

What is the role of men in women's careers?

I believe the role of leaders, regardless of their gender, is critical. Leaders set the context, they set the tone and they set the norms of culture. However, considering the male dominance in leadership positions, it is vitally important to actively engage men with diversity and inclusion.

The first step is increasing their awareness that diversity undoubtedly improves results. However, I would suggest we avoid only focusing on women and men, but more on real diversity including sexual orientation, religious and political views, as well as all cultures.

According to you what qualities does a woman need to be a leader in trade nowadays?

I can count numerous qualities of a good leader. However, let me highlight the three most important in my opinion:

1.       Self-belief: everything starts with confidence.

2.       Assertiveness: a good leader should not easily give up.

3.       Persistence: very few initiatives elicit good results at the first attempt and only the ones who try again and again make a difference.

Metro is a partner of the independent business in Bulgaria. What proportion of your clients are companies run by women?

We are delighted to observe that nearly 37% of our business customers are owned by women.

What particular challenges are faced in Bulgaria by female owners of small and medium business?

The biggest challenge for women business owners is to multitask. I have hard time believing that all women actually delegate all their historical responsibilities to men. So, managing everything can be quite a challenging task.  When it comes to managing their businesses, just like their male counterparts, there are many different areas about which they need more knowledge and support such as the legal requirements, fiscal rules, quality standards and measures etc.

Can you tell us more about your role in LEAD Network?

I have been part of LEAD for the last 5 years. My colleague Tanya was already part of it and invited me to join. I have been actively participating as a mentor for female leaders from different industries, companies and geographies. Being a mentor in this network has enabled me to appreciate different perspectives and realities which have subsequently shaped my opinions. This year I have also agreed to be the Co-Chair of a new Chapter which is called the “Sales & Buying Chapter”. Its mission is to equip emerging female leaders in Retail and FMCG with expertise, confidence and international exposure. It is a very exciting role in a very interesting chapter.

Finally, what is your personal and professional advice to women in trade?

I would like to invite women from the Procurement and Category management fields to join our sector. These roles are both challenging and strategic, requiring analytical skills. In the current circumstances the growth opportunities in organizations are bigger.

My most important advice to women in trade is to believe in yourself, follow your dreams and things will work out in the best possible way!

LEAD Network

Photograph: dnevik.bg

Interview: Nevena Nikolova, Partner, Friisberg & Partners Bulgaria

Doing the right thing is seldom easy, but doing the right thing is always the right thing.

Political and business leaders face hard decisions and sometimes they will get it wrong - that’s okay. We are human after all and we will all make mistakes – the imperative is not to make the same mistake twice.

After the tragedy of the slaughter of 26 innocent children and adults in Connecticut in 2012 there was a firestorm of controversy which revived the gun control debate in America. President Obama decided that it was time for him to do something even if it was not popular. He said, “We need to do the right thing” even though many in his own party didn’t agree with him. It was a risk to challenge the status quo by taking an unpopular position, but that is leadership.

In the UK our government’s approval rating continues to plummet. Some of this will be down to their handling of Coronavirus and Brexit negotiations (or lack of). The pandemic may be the largest test of political leadership the world has ever seen and every leader is reacting differently, in his or her own style and will be judged by the results.

Jacinda Ardern’s stands out as her leadership style is one of empathy. Her messages are clear, consistent, and somehow simultaneously sobering and soothing - and her approach isn’t just resonating with her people on an emotional level. It is also working remarkably well.

There’s a high level of trust and confidence in her because of that empathy. She doesn’t peddle misinformation; she doesn’t shift blame; she tries to manage everyone’s expectations at the same time as she offers reassurance.

“To me, leadership is not about necessarily being the loudest in the room, but instead being the bridge, or the thing that is missing in the discussion and trying to build a consensus from there…I’m very proudly an empathetic and compassionate leader. I am trying to chart a different path, and that will attract criticism but I can only be true to myself and the form of leadership I believe in.”

Jacinda Ardern

The success, of course, isn’t all Ardern’s doing; it’s also the product of an impressive collective effort by public-health institutions, opposition politicians, and New Zealanders as a whole, who have largely abided by social-distancing restrictions.

Often leaders must make the choice between popularity and to stand for what you believe in - and this is as true in business as it is in politics. Leaders are constantly faced with making tough decisions, but the hallmark of a good leader versus a great leader is courage. Doing the right thing may be as simple as challenging a naysayer, or as daunting as confronting your shareholders on behalf of your employees, customers or the public or fighting for an idea you think matters even if it’s not popular.

I recently turned down a search assignment because I was able to help my client see how to fix a problem without me. In the short term, I lost a large fee, but now and for the long term I have gained immeasurably more in trust.

Ethical leadership is a 'management style' that works everywhere for everyone, in any organisation. Leadership with integrity drives organisational success in some really powerful ways: attracting top talent, keeping people engaged, increasing job satisfaction, improving productivity and profitability, but is, in and of itself, the right thing to do.

Lorri Lowe
Partner UK