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Ever since the first management consultants brought Uber out of the primitive corporate soup, they have wrestled business leaders with how to strike the delicate balance between comfort and tension needed to build and maintain a healthy company culture. I did. Ultimately, successful organizations must strive to balance internal interests, drivers, interests, and outcomes with agility and constant interaction. Times change, cultures adjust, norms change, but nothing remains the same. But as companies try to attract younger generations, I sometimes wonder with frustration if there's a point where the pendulum swings too far into the warm and fuzzy direction that…

Grameen America is more than microfinance—it is a lifeline for women striving to build a better future. Their CFO, Lucas Ramirez, sits down with Jack McCullough to share how they prioritize social impact over financial gain to make actual and tangible change in community and society. He shares how Grameen America garnered impressive growth through its unique approach to microfinance and operational efficiency. Lucas also shares how he found himself in the CFO role, emphasizing the importance of work-life harmony, networking and financial depth.Listen by clicking below. The Q&A, lightly edited and trimmed for clarity, follows.—Listen to the podcast hereI’m…

As workplace dynamics evolve, stripping employees of their flexibility and encouraging them to return to the office, as evidenced by major companies like Boeing mandating nearly an entire week in the office. The trend to mandate is gaining momentum among companies. Leaders often cite improved productivity and financial results as the driving force behind these decisions. However, this trend is questionable given the growing body of evidence supporting the benefits of flexible working arrangements, particularly when it comes to productivity, employee engagement and organizational growth. A recent study led by Professor Mark Ma and graduate student Yue Ding at the…

The future is indeed bright for dealmakers. As 2025 approaches, the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) landscape is poised for a major transformation, with mid-market deals expected to become mainstream. This shift is being driven by lower interest rates, lower inflation and a new U.S. administration, leading to widespread optimism among those in the trade. Our Quarterly Deal Performance Monitor, conducted in collaboration with Bayes Business School, shows a significant increase in deals over $1 billion over the past 12 months, inspiring confidence across corporate boards. I'm giving. 5 M&A trends for 2025 After a difficult few years marked by inflation…

As boards grapple with continued advancements in AI, a pressing challenge is how to protect their organizations from increasingly sophisticated cyber threats without stifling innovation. in CBMAt our recent Board of Directors Summit, Alicja Cade, director of Google Cloud's Office of CISO, and David Homovich of Google's Office of CISO presented a solution-driven framework for tackling this complex problem. They pointed out that cybersecurity, especially in the age of AI, is not about discrete technology solutions, but rather the integration of digital defense, comprehensive risk management, regulatory compliance, and AI-powered innovation. Here are five key points.1. Adopt a “common destiny”…

Despite their vociferous voices, most Americans continue to praise corporations and their leaders as important forces for innovation, prosperity, and stability.In the wake of the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in midtown Manhattan, the most popular posts on social media are those expressing support, if not glee, at the brazen assassination. . Indeed, UnitedHealthcare's own bereavement message was brutally mocked online by 77,000 hilarious posts, and SNL faced massive backlash from viewers after running a skit mocking its response to a murder, and in cold blood. The killer's cartridge was engraved with the words “denial, denial.'' Defend him, depose…

The year is 1993, and former U.S. Treasury Secretary and Alcoa CEO Paul O'Neill is sitting on his first board of directors at one of the world's largest companies. Just as the meeting was coming to an end, O'Neill asked, “Where is the safety report?” As the story goes, the safety report was not planned, but the question had significant ramifications. This set the company on a path that led to superior safety, embedding safety as a cultural value. Below are four powerful questions board members should ask to similarly embed safety into their organization's culture.1. How do we know…

Neal Naor, CFO of Alachua, Fla.-based Axogen, Inc., has had a financial career spanning countless areas of life sciences, where a CFO's smart resource allocation and spend optimization can bring great value. It spans types of business.After working as CFO at Arbor Pharmaceuticals Mr. Naor will join Axogen, a provider of peripheral nerve repair products, in late 2023, joining Sweden's Medtech Mölnlycke. His current focus is on helping 15-year-old companies achieve bottom line profitability and positive cash. What's the key? Cost-effective sales growth.We asked Naor about his first-hand experience with the variation in CFO positions depending on an organization's maturity,…

If management believes that people are its most important asset, why is payroll considered a cost center rather than an investment? Labor costs are one of the largest line items on the income statement is. Managers often look first to control costs and increase profits. But the instinct to keep labor costs as low as possible can be destructive.Too many employers view employee compensation for low- and moderate-wage earners as an expense with little or no return. They recognize the short-term costs, but not necessarily the long-term value. They're missing something pretty basic: investing in paying low-wage workers more can…

Geopolitical turmoil, international conflict, and the president-elect's “America First” policy are upending the trade landscape for U.S. companies, forcing CFOs to question their assumptions about “the way the world works, the way America works, pretty much everything.” I will have no choice but to have it. Beth Sanner, who served as assistant director of national intelligence during President-elect Donald Trump's first term, said: Sanner delivered the keynote speech Monday at StrategicCFO360's CFO Leadership Awards event in Midtown New York. ben haider photoAmid ongoing unrest around the world, including recent conflicts in Syria and South Korea, Sanah told the audience, “We…