26
1st QUARTER 2014
DEVELOPING
TOP TALENT IN FINANCE
C
FO Studio
recently held its inaugural
Executive Dinner Series Meeting at
Boulevard Five72, in Kenilworth, NJ,
on the topic of finance talent acquisi-
tion and retention. Richard Veldran, SVP
and chief financial officer of Dun & Brad-
street, led the discussion with more than 20
finance executives from dynamic companies
around New Jersey. Event sponsors were the
accounting firm Rothstein Kass and Real
Estate Strategies Corporation.
For CFOs, the topic of finding — and
retaining — talented employees is urgent.
“It is critical for us as CFOs and executives
to have a great set of people working under-
neath us,” said Veldran. “At the end of the
day, I’m not the expert in every single area of
finance, but it’s my job to find the right tal-
ent in those areas, to help them to develop
and grow in the company, and retain them.
The CFO’s job is really about talent scout-
ing, talent acquisition, and talent retention.”
Here are excerpts from the discussion.
For complete coverage of the event, as well
as a review of the restaurant, Boulevard
Five72, go to
/
ExecutiveDinnerSeries-Talent Acquisition.
Hiring for Experience
or Character
Andrew Zezas, CEO of Real Estate Strate-
gies Corporation, host of CFO Studio, and
publisher of
CFO Studio
magazine, asked
the group if past experience in the same
industry was an important factor when
selecting job candidates.
“I’m not just looking for industry experi-
ence because business is business, in any
sense,” said Veldran in response. “For me, it’s
really about leadership, intellectual curiosity,
and attitude… [T]hey’re going to jump in
and learn to understand the business.”
Mark Mishler, EVP and chief financial of-
ficer of Breeze-Eastern Corporation, agreed,
saying, “It has to do with individual capabil-
ity, not industry experience.”
Accounting vs. Business
Experience
At first, attendees were split during the
discussion on the importance of past in-
dustry experience, but the executives found
common ground while discussing the value
of candidates with experience in functions
beyond accounting. “You have to be really
patient when hiring, and not rush into
things,” said Gene Cancellieri, vice presi-
CFOS FROMAWIDERANGE OF BUSINESS INTERESTS SHARE
STRATEGIES ON TALENTMANAGEMENT
BY DARIA MEOLI
Photography: Jibran Aslam
CFO STUDIO
EVENTS
EXECUTIVE DINNER SERIES
THIS EVENT SPONSORED BY:
