CFO Leadership Council head talks strategy, risk, and talent

As the president of the CFO Leadership Council, Jack McCullough has his ear to the ground of the profession like few others. He’ll be sharing what he’s been hearing from finance leaders with us at “Next-Gen Finance: Future-Proofing Your Business Operations,” CFO Brew’s May 2 conference in Manhattan.

We recently spoke to McCullough via email about strategy, managing risk, and developing talent—all of which he’ll be speaking about at the conference, for which you can get your tickets here.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

What have CFOs been telling you about their strategic priorities?

You will be surprised—perhaps even shocked—to know that embracing how Generative AI and other advanced technologies can give the organizations they lead is the strategic priority.

And the evolution has been remarkable, because CFOs are not exactly the early adopters for technology. But in the last two years, Generative AI has gone from a mystery, to a curiosity, to something to be explored to a strategic priority. CFOs are still doing their duty around cybersecurity, privacy, and data protection, but they see the future and are not going to be left behind.

How have they been managing some of the macroeconomic uncertainties we’re still seeing and, also, the ongoing political volatility?

Mike Tyson famously said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” CFOs know exactly what Tyson meant. All of the areas you cite are top of mind for CFOs because we have had such a volatile last five years with no signs of a return to what we once thought of as normal.

CFOs are building in contingencies and backup plans because they are acutely aware of the impact of outside events, and how little control we have over them. Even things like the recent collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge is something CFOs are paying attention to. I’m not sure if that was the case five years ago. A prominent VC recently told me that resiliency was one of the two leadership traits they most value in CFOs. It’s easy to understand why.

Talent is obviously a huge topic. What have CFOs been focused on—both for the people they’re looking to hire and for developing themselves?

Obviously, the digital skills are critical. Professor Erik Brynjolfsson [of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab] recently said that AI won’t replace CFOs, but CFOs who embrace Generative AI will replace those who don’t. So those are the skills they focus on. But, for themselves, they are really focused more on their leadership traits, which I call TRICE: transparency, resiliency, inspiration, collaboration, and empathy. There are many people who have the skills to be a CFO, but those with leadership skills and a strategic vision are the ones who excel.

Interested in connecting with the industry's leading CFOs about how to future proof for tomorrow? Come to our May 2 IRL event in NYC. Click here for tickets.