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When Carla Trotman took over the reins of Electro Soft, a family-owned contract electronics manufacturing company, she had already worked there long enough to change the style of clothing in Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania from “lifestyle.” , I knew some things had to change. Transform your business into a growth engine. The three most important things she came up with to take advantage of today's reshoring phenomenon and scale her company are: Revolutionize the sales process by leveraging the Internet and e-commerce. and promote the benefits of manufacturing employment, particularly at Electrosoft. “We changed the entire structure of the company and are…
Ask most CEOs about this word heritageAnd perhaps their responses will reflect the lasting mark they hope to leave on the organization. But legacy says much more than the contributions of any one leader, regardless of the length of their tenure. When everyone at every level, from the new hire to the CEO, embraces, embodies and expresses a shared mission and values, we can have a broader impact. The importance of living your values and giving to others was part of my upbringing, but in the business world I learned a lot from William, who served as chairman and CEO…
In this episode, Scarlett O’Sullivan, CFO of Leaf Home, joins Jack McCullough to discuss her journey from investment banking to becoming a leading CFO in the home improvement industry. O’Sullivan shares insights into her role at Leaf Home, strategies for navigating volatile markets and the importance of strong leadership and innovation in driving company growth. Listen in as they explore the challenges and rewards of scaling a high-growth company and the vital relationships that support successful financial leadership. — Listen to the podcast here Introduction To Scarlett O’Sullivan And Leaf Home We have a great CFO whom I’ve been looking…
Startup executives often wear multiple hats and juggle a myriad of responsibilities. Josh Epstein is not typical. He manages both the finance and revenue generation functions at Coder, a startup based in Austin, Texas that provides cloud development environments and open source tools. Coder raised $35 million in Series B2 funding in June, but like most ventures, spending needs to be closely monitored. As CFO and chief revenue officer, Mr. Epstein has certain advantages. It is important that an organization's capital deployment choices include not only new customers but also new customers. right customer. We spoke with Epstein about how…
Tensions arise whenever negotiations take place. This is not surprising. Sitting down to negotiate or participate in mediation is like preparing to throw a punch or defend. To become a better negotiator, it's important not to try to avoid tension. Tension teaches us. But first you need to know that you have to feel the tension and respond calmly and strategically. As a result of my work as a negotiator over the past 40 years, I have come to study negotiation tension and break it down into seven distinct components. By recognizing the seven tensions, knowing when to expect them,…
From a tactical perspective, activists have the ultimate advantage. You can choose whether and when to run your campaign. Inevitably, they will be ready when they choose to launch. Meanwhile, the targeted companies begin the campaign with a defensive stance. Therefore, it is paramount that companies properly prepare for activism before the arrival of activists to level the tactical playing field. strategy The best defense against shareholder activism is a clear strategy that is clearly explained to shareholders, skillfully executed, and evidenced by financial and operating results. When considering important strategic and operational decisions, it is often helpful to consider…
Werner, USAA, First Command, RecruitMilitary and Scrum were recognized today as winners of the 7th Annual Patriots in Business Awards for their leadership in supporting America's veterans, active duty military and military spouses. Ta. This award is given every year chief executive officer The magazine and Thayer Leadership are part of an ongoing effort to raise awareness among corporate leaders about best practices to support these important communities. The awards ceremony, in partnership with Nasdaq MarketSite, will take place at the 12th Annual Veterans Day event in New York City on November 11th. This year's Patriots in Business Awards are…
In 2018, Marie Myers left HP after a decade and a half to become CFO of RPA software company UiPath. Although her stay was only one year, the detour was pivotal to her career journey. Myers began working with several programmers on the “frontier” of AI and RPA. “It gave me a better context and awareness of technology and the role that AI and digital transformation play within the enterprise,” said Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), now a spin-off server, storage, cloud and networking company. Myers, CFO of ). It exited HP's PC and printer business nearly a decade ago. After…
External hiring of CFOs at large publicly traded companies reached the highest level in a decade this year, with 44% of finance chief positions filled by external talent. Many CFOs enter the organization, and sometimes the industry, with a cold attitude. A recent high-profile example is Jim Lee, who worked for PepsiCo for 26 years and was named CFO of Target. While climbing an organization's corporate ladder before becoming a CFO is invaluable, work experience across multiple companies and industries is equally valuable. A finance executive with experience in the latter is Arthur Carrier, finance director at edtech company Ziplines…
The level of shareholder activism in the United States is near an all-time high. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, more than 150 new or incremental positions were created by activist investors. In addition to this, we are likely to see more accumulation by broker-dealers. Dissidents continue to use the threat of proxy fights to encourage mergers and acquisitions that oust CEOs, destabilize companies, and force breakups. At the same time, activist tactics have become more aggressive, less predictable, and riskier all year round. Campaigns are increasingly targeting individual directors, and no board or company is immune in this…