Guido Torrini loves “technology and its endless applications”. With more than 20 years in finance at companies such as Cisco Systems, Dell, and Groupon, he has witnessed extensive transformations that are changing the finance function for the better. He has also lived through the boom and bust times of the technology industry. It began in the early 2000s, when networking equipment became extremely popular and Cisco overtook Microsoft to become the world's most valuable company.
Currently CFO at OneTrust, a privacy and security software provider, Torrini's understanding of how to be an effective CFO and run a successful finance team has been shaped by the fast-paced markets in which he has worked. For Torrini, agility is not just a software development concept, but also a characteristic of finance teams that can proactively improve business outcomes.
Reporter Katie Kuehner Ebert spoke with Torrini about navigating times of economic uncertainty, more flexible budgeting, and developing a finance team beyond textbook roles.
What skills do finance executives learn during times of economic uncertainty? What did they learn?
There is a tendency to categorize leaders by how they behave in “wartime” or “peacetime” and to try to understand why leaders are effective in either environment. Peacetime does not only mean prosperity. It's about the lack of threat. You'll have the leeway to focus on your organization's long-term development, take advantage of a lower-risk environment, and translate your philosophy and principles into sustainable strategies and operations.
The first thing to understand about wartime is that it is the result of not only macro-level issues like a global pandemic or geopolitical events, but also corporate-level and market-level issues that are often unpredictable. That is to say.
For example, what happens if competition changes overnight? In wartime, decision-making needs to be centralized. There is no time to set up the situation. A good wartime CFO thrives in survival mode, understands the value of creativity, makes quick decisions even with imperfect information, turns pressure into innovation, replaces rigidity with flexibility, and improves the company's performance. Continually re-evaluate your position.
Leadership in peacetime can be learned from textbooks. That's basic. Wartime leadership is learned on the job. Those tend to be the most formative experiences. When you are put in a tough environment and have no safety net, you can push the boundaries of what is possible and succeed, even when the odds are against you.
What's surprising is that OneTrust doesn't operate on a budget. How does it work?
It's a change in mindset. It starts with a statement of desired business outcomes and goes through a capital allocation process to fund those efforts, in near real-time and as efficiently as possible. It requires planning, execution, accountability, and executive buy-in.
As with agile software development, flexibility and repetition are key to success. Adjusting a company's capital allocation by even 10 to 15 percent every quarter can significantly increase the efficiency with which the company achieves its intended results. If you maintain a monthly and quarterly pace and operating structure, you can continually adjust and follow your revenue growth. It creates room for you to make smart capital allocation decisions that would otherwise be constrained by your annual budget, without losing sight of your long-term goals.
What kind of people do you look for in your finance team, and what do you look for to keep them active??
The CFO's role continues to expand as finance teams influence corporate strategy and drive organizational change. Technology is further changing its capabilities, as most core processes have been digitized and finance executives are now assessing where generative AI can fit into their businesses. This has changed the type of talent we are looking for, with a greater emphasis on data science and analytical skills, strategic agility, and broader execution capabilities.
One of the things I discuss with my team is our role as the “architect” of the company and the “drummer” of the business. We are responsible for designing the company's revenue and profit equation. We take an active role in planning and execution.
By developing your finance team, you can evolve your finance team beyond reporting functions. By explaining how business inputs can be moved to produce the right financial outcomes, alignment and prioritization occurs across the company, from capital allocation to execution. I believe that building a finance team based on business input makes any organization successful. Such a finance team not only reports the news, but also predicts what will happen.
You've been able to ride several technology waves during your career. Please tell me what you learned.
There will always be specific industries or segments where capital, intelligence, and innovation come together to drive widespread transformation. We saw it in enterprise software, followed by cloud computing, CRM systems, the emergence of SaaS models, and the emergence of consumer-driven digital marketplaces.
We are in the midst of a new transformation with GenAI. From a leadership perspective, I think there are incredible benefits to joining the company in this position. Not only are you surrounded by the best experts and brightest minds, you also have the potential to make a huge impact.
We are currently at a tipping point, where the responsible use of data and AI has become more complex and mission-critical than ever before. The rise of GenAI means businesses need to innovate at the speed required for data and AI initiatives while protecting against future risks. However, this challenge is further complicated by regulatory complexity, the proliferation of data, and a lack of resources to manage it effectively.
