Good morning. For modern-day CFOs, managing a company's financial activities is just table stakes.
During a panel at the Fortune Future of Finance conference on Thursday in New York City, I asked Yanela Frias, EVP and CFO at Prudential Financial, Xihao Hu, CFO at TD Securities, and Wetteny Joseph, EVP and CFO at Zoetis, a global animal health company, to share their perspectives on how their roles keep evolving.
CFOs spend a lot of time on "what the strategy and the direction of the company should be, and the execution of that strategy," Frias said. And that includes everything from operational efficiency and implementing technology to spending time with investors and customers, she added. "We're really becoming a second spokesperson for the organization," she said. "You have the CEO, then there’s the CFO.”
Hu said at TD they’ve created a “finance blueprint” with four key expectations for any future finance person or CFO: deliver strategic advice, build strong capabilities and tools, provide effective challenge and effective control, and give a “rewarding experience to all of our colleagues in finance so we can grow together."
From Joseph’s perspective, “You're in the middle of everything,” he said. “And over time, I think it's going to continue to evolve, but becoming a lot more like a COO.”
“We're operating in a world that's so dynamic that you wake up every day to something that's shifting and changing, whether it's with your customer or the markets,” Joseph added. And CFOs, even when forced to shift or make changes themselves, also need to not lose sight of key objectives, like asking the right questions when a business case is presented—some of which will be more easily attainable as tech like AI plays a larger role in operations.
“It’s a competitive edge now to win over customers, and also make your colleagues' lives a little bit better,” Hu said. “In order to execute some of that technology, especially AI, you’ve got to have good quality data, and also [you] need to fetch that data more easily."
Frias added: “Technology has always been an aid and enabler, but now it's a strategic enabler.”
As finance and tech continue to become more closely intertwined, the CFOs also said they're seeking talent with diverse skill sets. “We have data scientists within finance,” said Frias, offering a sports analogy: “When we think about hiring people, we’re looking for athletes who can play different positions on the field.”
You can watch a video of the complete panel session here.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
