CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Getting to CEO

Rich Brady knew he wanted to become a CEO from an early age. When he was a teenager, he read an article that said military service was good preparation for leadership positions. It prompted him to join the Marine Corps, he told CFO Brew, where he spent nearly 30 years.

But Brady wasn’t only a Marine before he became the CEO of the Military Entrance Processing Command, and, later, of the American Society of Military Comptrollers—a title he holds today. He was also a CFO with the Marine Corps Installations Command.

CFO-to-CEO moves have become more common among large companies in recent years. According to Crist Kolder’s latest Volatility Report, 8.4% of CEOs at Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies were promoted directly from CFO roles in 2023. That percentage has climbed from 5.8% in 2013.

CFOs make good candidates for the top spot because of their broad reach, Ankur Agrawal, a partner at McKinsey who hosts its Finance Academy for CFOs, told CFO Brew. “In finance, you see everything in the company,” he said. “You get to have a 360-degree view of performance…That gives you an opportunity to demonstrate your leadership in a multifunctional way.”

Click here for more on the path from CFO to CEO.—CV

PRESENTED BY VTEX

Welcome to the era of profitability in retail

In the world of retail, one word has resounded above all others this past year: profitability.

This concept has crystallized into three strategic imperatives essential for e-commerce businesses in our post-pandemic reality—and they’re all here in VTEX’s latest white paper, Three Investments to Drive Ecommerce Growth.

Jordan Jewell, former IDC analyst, sat down with dozens of e-commerce leaders and analysts to understand the key to not just growing an e-commerce business but growing it profitably.

Amid a changing e-commerce landscape, retailers face new challenges across consumer demands, digital ecosystem shifts, and economic fluctuations.

Tack on other harsh realities—like a 38% reduction in digital ad effectiveness, thanks to iOS 14.5 updates—and it’s clear that retailers need to rethink their approach to digital success.

We know. It’s a lot, but—breathe. VTEX’s white paper can help put you on track to profitable growth this year. Download it here.

TALENT MANAGEMENT

Upskilling for retention

Mark Schwartz, CFO of employee recognition platform Workhuman, spoke with us about how learning and development can be a way to help retain key personnel—and how CFOs can foster learning in their own organizations.

This interview took place over phone and email, and has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What are some things that CFOs can do to help promote learning and development?

At a high level, it’s promoting that curiosity and creating an awareness of the programs that exist…And it’s a matter of the team believing that you care about their career development…Part of the measure of success for any leader is the growth of their teams…I don’t think you can be successful if you’re not measuring yourself in part on your ability to create the next set of leaders and do that succession planning.

Want to improve employee engagement? Click here.—CV

FRAUD

Fake out

If a $25 million digital heist in Hong Kong is any indication, it’s time for businesses to start worrying about thieves wearing their employees’ faces.

The South China Morning Post reported in February that a finance worker at a multinational firm’s Hong Kong branch wired HK$200 million (approximately $25.6 million) after scammers targeted him with video and audio deepfakes of other company personnel.

In both scope and complexity, the heist appears to outdo prior reported incidents such as a 2022 effort to impersonate an executive at cryptocurrency exchange Binance. The thieves reportedly not only impersonated the firm’s chief financial officer, but in at least one instance lured a victim into a video meeting populated entirely by deepfaked colleagues in an attempt to convince them to conduct a secret transfer.

Two experts told IT Brew the technical requirements to pull off deepfake scams are becoming trivial, while defending against them is mainly a matter of employee awareness and training.

To keep reading IT Brew’s story on deepfakes, click here.—TM

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