Happy Friday!
Here’s what went on this week:
As debate surrounding the viability of Bitcoin continues, I wrote earlier this week that companies like Time are searching for a CFO comfortable with cryptocurrency. Will those seeking a CFO position, in general, need to brush up on Bitcoin? Well, it’s complicated, Paul Manning, managing director of software and technology at The Bowdoin Group, told me. “It’s not just about the resume—it’s someone that’s got a belief in the market,” Manning said. A CFO candidate may have crypto experience on their resume, but that isn’t enough. The individual’s philosophy towards the currency has to match, he explained.
The same finance textbook from 2011 is certainly not being used today. “There’s been an amazing transformation when I think about what finance professionals were being asked to deliver on 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago compared to today,” says Steve Gallucci, Deloitte’s U.S. national managing partner and head of its CFO program. We talked about the role of CFOs in 2021 and beyond, and Gallucci pointed to three areas financial leaders will need to increasingly focus on and why. Deloitte’s first-quarter CFO Signals survey also found that CFOs are looking to sharpen their skillsets—63% of respondents would like to improve in FP&A reporting, and 46% seek improvement in management reporting.
“I took a very unconventional path to the CFO chair,” Laurie Krebs, senior vice president and chief financial officer at Red Hat told me. Krebs became CFO in October 2019 but had joined the software company in 2016 as the vice president of global tax. In July 2019, IBM acquired Red Hat for $34 billion. In her career in public accounting and then the industry setting, she learned that “yes, you have to know numbers, but it’s a lot about people.” From collaborative departmental meetings on technology purchases to focusing on employee needs during the coronavirus pandemic, Krebs has “a very empathetic leadership style,” she said, which made her choose numbers over nursing.
Although research consistently points to diversity significantly improving a company’s financial performance, the needle hasn’t moved much within executive leadership ranks. My colleague Phil Wahba’s latest piece for Fortune magazine, “Want progress on diversity? Link it to your CEO’s pay,” explores how linking diversity goals with executive compensation can produce accountability. Take Nike. As Phil writes, “Even as the sports-gear maker promised to prioritize racial inclusion, some of its own workers took to social media to decry racism at the company, citing microaggressions, lesser advancement opportunities for Black employees, and instances of Black shoppers being profiled at Nike stores.” Now CEO John Donahoe’s pay will depend on righting those wrongs. Read more here.
See you Monday.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
Big deal
EY's report, "Is your capital allocation strategy a long-term plan or a short-term fix?" revealed that CFOs expect investing to rebound through 2022. "The key is how to decide on the best areas to focus that investment," the report states. However, this may pose challenges "especially when many companies do not have the capital to fund all their projects, future customer demands and competition may change rapidly, and the metrics by which companies are measured keep evolving," EY found.
Going deeper
Here are a few good weekend reads:
4 challenges companies need to grapple with after the way we work has changed forever by Rachel Schallom, Maria Aspan, Erika Fry, Aaron Pressman, and Anne Sraders
Slammed by ‘significant’ Archegos losses, Credit Suisse shakes up its executive ranks by Jan-Henrik Förster, Patrick Winters, Saijel Kishan, Gillian Tan, and Bloomberg
6 revelations about Coinbase's business ahead of its hotly anticipated direct listing by Shawn Tully
Should investors be worried about the S&P 500 hitting new highs? No, and here’s why, says UBS by Anne Sraders
Leaderboard
Some notable moves from this past week:
Baris Oran was named CFO of GXO Logistics, Inc., the intended spin-off of XPO’s logistics business. Oran will join XPO as CFO of the logistics segment, effective May 2021, and will lead GXO’s global finance organization when the planned separation is complete.
Marlene Pelage was named global CFO at IPG Mediabrands, the media and marketing solutions division of Interpublic Group, effective immediately. Pelage is replacing Guy Beach, who is being promoted to the role of global president at IPG Mediabrands. She was previously a CFO at Charles Schwab Bank.
Sean Douglas, EVP and CFO at Huntsman Corporation announced his resignation from the company, effective July 1. Douglas has accepted a “a full-time calling to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” the company said in an announcement. Huntsman Corporation, a publicly traded global chemical manufacturing company, has initiated a search for a permanent CFO.
Dave Anderson was appointed executive vice president and CFO at Corteva, Inc., effective April 12. Anderson succeeds Gregory R. Friedman who is retiring from Corteva.
Overheard
"We cannot recover sustainably from coronavirus, eradicate global poverty, achieve net-zero emissions, or adapt to climate change, without investing in nature."
— Prince William commented during an IMF and World Bank meeting that banks should invest in measures to protect the environment such as reforestation and sustainable agriculture, calling them "cost effective," as reported by the BBC.
