The Role of a CFO: motivating people, managing assets and hedging risks - страница 10

I ventured into the banking sector, managing relationships with large corporate clients and gaining experience in supporting banking operations and structuring financing deals across industries such as machinery, production of equipment for power plants, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, and other heavy sectors. I spent five years in a leading foreign bank in Russia and another seven years abroad, in two Western European countries.

A decade into my career, it became evident that the banking industry was increasingly subject to strict regulation and operational automation, reducing the need for manpower. Consequently, a surplus of unemployed experienced specialists would emerge, leading to wage decreases due to heightened competition. Recognizing this, I considered my profession at the time, where I had found success and earned a good income, to offer limited prospects for career advancement. I viewed employment in modern technology companies digitizing traditional industries with mass customer demand as more promising.

After exploring entrepreneurship and gaining corporate finance experience, I transitioned to managing technology startups. Here, I developed skills in company finance management, scaling operations, and honed managerial competencies in leading a growing team amidst annual doubling or tripling of workloads and rapid expansion across various geographies. Concurrently, I mastered related skills in database management, IT tools, and product development. I view this as proactive career planning and self-development towards becoming a T-shaped specialist.

Leading career development experts are already discussing the future for π-shaped specialists (greek letter «π», which also defines the mathematical constant 3.14). Unlike T-shaped specialists, who possess expertise in one core professional skill, π-shaped specialists deepen expertise in two professional areas, typically related.

For instance, for a financial analyst, this could entail expertise in financial analysis and database management, financial planning and econometric modeling, or statistical analysis coupled with profound knowledge of marketing tools and related fields. For a manager, it might involve developing process automation skills and studying and implementing flexible management methodologies (agile management).

As is evident, the demand for specialists encompasses not only polished communication skills and the ability to effectively engage with all types of employees and stakeholders (soft skills) but also expertise in automating routine processes and data analysis (data management), coupled with a willingness to continually develop in this direction. The trend towards an increasing demand for «negotiating analysts-automators» is unmistakable.

Among the primary areas of focus for a financial director, I prioritize people management. This is not arbitrary; in today’s world, a business’s success hinges on its human element. I firmly believe that a leader who recruits individuals less intelligent than themselves is making a mistake. In every pivotal position within the financial department, there should be a specialist who possesses a deeper and more nuanced understanding of their area of responsibility than their manager – the CFO.

The «people first» priority applies not only to product development, core production, and operational functions but also to internal business processes like financial management. I will continue to adhere to this principle throughout the main discussion.