Disconnecting has been key for Herbalife CFO

Coworking is a recurring segment where we talk with CFOs and other leaders in the finance space about their experiences, their companies, and the larger economy. Let us know if you are—or you know—a CFO we should interview.

The CFO job can be a stressful one. Being responsible for risk, and the financial health of the company, and navigating it during an uncertain or volatile time can be a burden.

John DeSimone has been at Herbalife for many years and has held the CFO role twice during his tenure. He shared with CFO Brew how he learned to disconnect, and how being a veteran at the company affects his role within it.

You’ve been at Herbalife since 2007. How has being at the company for so long impacted your role as CFO?

It gives me more credibility within the organization, and therefore more implied authority than maybe a new CFO would have because of my experience. I think it’s pretty recognized in the organization that I understand the company, that I’ve seen a lot, and that experience builds credibility within the organization, and so it just makes my job a little easier.

Are there any downsides?

I had to disconnect emotionally from the result of the work we were doing. The CFO of a public company can be a high-anxiety type of job that I had to learn not to take that home. And so I wish I had learned it much younger.

Do you have any advice for CFOs on how to disconnect?

I was emotionally tied to it. I was doing the best I can. I had a great team. But then, if things didn’t work out exactly right, I took that as a failure, and it was personal. I had to personally disconnect, emotionally disconnect, from that outcome, knowing you do the best job that you can, you build the best team you can, you communicate the best you can, but there are things outside of your control.

You stepped away from the CFO role and then boomeranged back to it. How did that influence your approach now?

I don’t think it’s a different approach. When I left the CFO role originally, I became co-president, and then president. That allowed me to even further understand the business. And so I think that makes me a better CFO.

Is there anything unique about being the CFO of Herbalife that we wouldn’t expect?

For me, the learning was, what is Herbalife? We are a nutrition company—at least, I thought we were a nutrition company. What I realized is, we’re a people company that sells nutrition products. So we’re in the business of people, and that’s a skill set that I had to learn that’s not traditionally something that comes along with the financial world.

The CFO role has evolved to more of a strategy position. How do you think that evolution will continue?

I definitely think it’s evolved from number-crunching to being more forward looking, to being more strategic. I think the next evolution is the integration of technology, which is going to be incredibly important for the CFO…The world’s becoming much more digital. In five years from now, you can only imagine what AI can do, and the CFO is going to have to integrate technology into their organization to be successful, to be cutting edge, to be leading their company to success over the long term. So that’s the big change.

If you weren’t a CFO, what would you be?

I’d be a physicist if I could do my life over again…I have a love for physics and understanding how the universe works, and I’m just so intrigued by it.