Daimler Truck Holding’s board members said they had specific qualities in mind for the firm’s new CFO, who’ll be tasked with guiding the business during a “historic transformation” of the industry.

Enter Siemens AG veteran Eva Scherer, who will begin at Daimler Truck as CFO, and as a member of the board of management, on April 1. Scherer, the company announced on Thursday, is receiving a three-year contract as the first female CFO at the multibillion-dollar German vehicle manufacturer, which produces buses and trucks under brands such as Mercedes-Benz. 

She’ll succeed Jochen Goetz, finance chief since July 2021, who died unexpectedly in August. (Chairman Martin Daum has been serving as interim CFO.)

Daimler Truck ranks no. 56 on the first-ever Fortune 500 Europe list that debuted in November. It was spun off from Daimler AG in 2021 and listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange. Daimler Truck registered $53.6 billion in revenue in 2022, its first year of independent operations, returning $2.8 billion in earnings. Its revenue reached $53.58 billion as of Nov. 8.

Alyse Bodine, co-lead of the Financial Officers Practice at executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles, told me the firm’s proprietary data indicates that within the Europe 500, 28% of CFOs hired in 2023 were gender diverse, up from just 11% in 2021. “This points to an intentional focus on diverse talent in searches for the top finance role,” Bodine added. 

When the CFO position became vacant, the board embarked on an “intensive” selection process, Joe Kaeser, chairman of Daimler Truck’s supervisory board, said in a statement. In addition to professional expertise, the board placed a “particular emphasis on open-mindedness, diversity, potential and enthusiasm to drive change,” Kaeser said. “Eva Scherer has shown these attributes in a convincing manner.”

Scherer most recently served as EVP and global head of investor relations at Siemens AG, where she began her career in 2003. After earning an MBA, Scherer took on leadership roles including VP and head of finance solutions and services Asia Pacific/Middle East. She later became CFO for the Rail Infrastructure and Mobility Software business units.

“A topic that has been close to my heart for a long time is sustainable transportation and I will contribute to this topic in a new capacity,” Scherer wrote Thursday in a LinkedIn post about joining Daimler Truck, which is focusing long term on low-carbon vehicles. By the end of 2022, the company had eight zero-emission bus and truck models in production, and in 2023 it launched Rizon, a line of zero-emission trucks in the U.S.

‘Open-mindedness, agility, and an overall growth mindset’

In reading the statements from Daimler Truck board members about Scherer’s appointment, there was a continual theme: The board didn’t want a traditional back-office type of CFO. Kaeser mentioned open-mindedness, diversity, and the ability to drive change. And Michael Brecht, deputy chairman of the supervisory board, said that Scherer “convinced me in seeing herself as a real team player,” adding, “we can only master the historic transformation of our industry if management and employee representatives work together in trust.”

Are more organizations reconsidering the dynamics of a CFO role?

“We’ve seen an increased focus on finance executives being good business partners and creative problem solvers and possessing strong leadership traits—including demonstrating open-mindedness and strong communications skills—all while having traditional finance acumen,” Bodine said.

Jeff Constable, who leads the executive search firm Korn Ferry’s Financial Officers Practice in North America, and co-leads it globally, also told me that while “companies are generally looking for strong leaders,” they also want CFOs to “score high” on the financial, strategic, and operational dimensions of the job. And they’re always in need of great communicators and diverse ideas, he said.

“I cannot think of an executive search in recent memory,” Constable said, “where a diverse candidate-sourcing effort was not a priority for our client—or for us.”

***

CFO Daily is off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday and will be back in your inbox on Tuesday, Jan. 16.

Have a good weekend.

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

Leaderboard

Some notable moves:

Saori Casey was named CFO at Sonos (Nasdaq: SONO), a developer and manufacturer of wireless, portable speakers and home sound systems, effective Jan. 22. Casey succeeds Eddie Lazarus, who will become chief strategy officer and remain chief legal officer. She joins Sonos after serving almost 13 years as VP of finance at Apple. Before that, Casey spent 15 years at Cisco, holding several finance leadership roles.

Mark Schwartz was named CFO at Workhuman, a provider of cloud-based human capital management software. Schwartz, a former attorney, has over 20 years of experience in corporate finance, previously holding CFO positions at Trax, as well as Markforged and Fabrinet, both of which he led through the public listing process. He will lead the financial and legal functions at Workhuman.

Janet Chou was named EVP, CFO, and treasurer at Navitas Semiconductor (Nasdaq: NVTS), effective upon the filing of Navitas’ 2023 annual report on Form 10‑K expected at the end of February. Chou will replace Ron Shelton, SVP, CFO, and treasurer, who announced his intention to pursue other opportunities, effective March 15. Chou was previously VP and CFO of global operations for Western Digital Corporation. 

Michael Testa was promoted to CFO at Trinity Capital Inc. (Nasdaq: TRIN), a provider of diversified financial solutions, effective immediately. Testa succeeds David Lund, who will remain on the team as a consultant. He joined Trinity Capital in 2020 as chief accounting officer. Before joining Trinity, he served as VP and controller at Oxford Funds.

Tom Sansone has been named CFO and COO at SoundCloud, effective immediately. Sansone brings more than 20 years of experience. Most recently, he served as CFO of Kobalt Music Group for seven years. Previously, Sansone was COO and CFO of Gilt Groupe for eight years. 

Haji Glover has been named EVP and CFO at Scholastic (Nasdaq: SCHL), a global children's publishing, education, and media company, effective Jan. 22. Glover will succeed current CFO Ken Cleary, who will become president of international. Most recently, Glover served as the director of finance at Amazon. Before that, he held the role of SVP of corporate finance at Scholastic from 2020 to 2022.

Adrian Downes will step down as CFO at The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE: GBX) on or around March 31. Downes continues as Greenbrier's principal financial officer until he transitions to serve the company as a senior advisor to the CEO through March 2025. Greenbrier, an international supplier of equipment and services to global freight transportation markets, has begun a national search for its next CFO.

Big deal

Ford's recently released 2024 Trends Report is based on a global survey of consumers in 16 countries and addresses changing attitudes toward life, work, family, and the influence of AI. 

A key finding is that many employees are willing to reduce their salary for flexibility. In the U.S., overall, 51% of adults said they'd be willing to take a 20% pay cut to prioritize a better quality of life. Millennials surveyed expressed this the most (60%), compared to less than a third of baby boomers who feel the same. 

Going deeper

Here are a few Fortune weekend reads:

"Goldman Sachs quietly shuts down diversity investment program Launch With GS after meeting $1 billion pledge to fund companies led by women and people of color" by Emma Hinchliffe 

"The European bureaucrat who sends a chill through Big Tech just said she’s looking closely at Microsoft’s relationship with OpenAI" by Paolo Confino

"Bitcoin gains more than 5% as crypto industry celebrates SEC’s approval of spot ETFs" by Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez 

"Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s pregame meditation routine helped lead the Wolverines to victory. Here’s how it works" by Alexa Mikhail 

Overheard

"Recharging on vacation trips is different. Taking mental space away from work can lead to myriad benefits in our work and in life."

—William M. Washington III, global CFO at Baker McKenzie, wrote in a LinkedIn post on Thursday about how he recharged on his vacation over the holidays.