dent of finance at Oticon, Inc. “You really
need to find people that want to understand
the business rather than just be at the office.
The career path I grew up with is you start in
public accounting and then you go into an
industry, but I’m not so sure that model really
works that well anymore in private industry.”
Edward Imparato, chief financial officer of
St. Dominic’s Home, personally benefited
from leaving finance for a period of time.
When he was at a public company, his CEO
informed Imparato that he would be running
a division.
“I didn’t see how that move made sense, but
in hindsight, it was the best thing I could have
done,” he said. “When I came back to become
CFO, I actually knew the business from the
ground up. I knew the issues about running
plants, running distribution, [and] marketing,
[plus] when I became CFO… I carried a lot
more credibility with the folks who were actu-
ally running the business divisions.”
Finding a Fit
Leadership skills, intellectual curiosity, and
subject matter expertise are what every boss
seeks, but how about finding employees who
fit in with the finance group’s dynamics?
Jonathan Stearns, founder and managing
director of Stearns Associated Partners, LLC,
discussed conducting a psychological profile
of the finance team prior to beginning the
hiring process. “Instead of narrowing the
focus to looking for a person with a particu-
lar skill or experience, we start with how we
work and our tribal knowledge, and then we
profile employee candidates who would fit
into that.” Many of the other executives had
similar, but less formal, methods of evaluat-
ing the characteristics of candidates who
would fit.
Defining the A Team
What makes an A player versus B player
versus C player, and where are those players
needed on a team that consists of all levels
from clerical workers to a VP? Many of the
participants agreed that sometimes an A
player isn’t the employee who is hungry for
advancement but one who is passionate
about what he or she does.
However, in smaller companies the terms
A, B, and C players really are of little conse-
quence. “I have a very small staff,” said Rob-
ert Arnold, VP of finance at MonoSol RX.
“The colleagues who head up my accounts
receivable and accounts payable areas have to
be highly competent. …That person might
not be my next general accounting manager
or next assistant controller, but if she doesn’t
do her job very well, I have a real problem.”
How do the financial execs ensure that
they have placed the right players in the right
seats? Most agreed that annual evaluation
is key. Thomas Bongiorno, VP, corporate
controller, and chief accounting officer of
Quest Diagnostics, shared an organizational
evaluation process his company uses. After
documenting the organizational chart for
each department, he determines what type of
employee is needed in each role. Some roles
require subject matter experts, some require
big-picture thinkers, and others require em-
ployees who are on a promotional track.
Development Plans
Bert Marchio, CFO of Edge Therapeutics,
mentioned the challenge finance chiefs face
developing talent in today’s environment
1st QUARTER 2014
27
The Unique Talent
Challenges of High-
Growth Companies
F
inance executives face a unique staffing
issue when their departments are evolv-
ing quickly in order to keep pace with the
business’ fast growth. “Most of my career
has been in high tech, high-growth areas,” said
Lisa VanPatten, CFO at Kitara Media. “I was
VP of finance and controller of Vonage. When
I joined the company, we were a $30 million
business. Two years later, we were at $600 mil-
lion, so the skill set that I needed in employees
at $30 million was not what I needed at $200
million, at $300 million, and at $600 million.
There was no middle ground to grow. … The
people who can handle the stress and who can
develop quickly are the ones that stay. I’m in the
business of getting the talent that I need at the
moment.”
Andreas Rothe, CFO at Harsco Infrastructure,
also has experience in high-growth companies
and said that anticipating the challenges his
department would face in the future, and hiring
to meet those challenges, is key. “A former
company of mine went from $200 million up to
a billion with the same key staff,” said Rothe.
“You just have to say, ‘What will be my chal-
lenge tomorrow?’ That’s what you hire for. You
may not be sure what your challenge will be the
day after tomorrow but that’s where you have
to focus your attention in order to develop the
people who can keep up.”
Businesses growing through acquisition and
businesses actively raising capital face similar
issues. “I’m in the private equity world and
we’ve doubled the business three times in three
and a half years,” said Brian Giambagno, CFO of
Action Environmental Group. “I look out for the
next step, knowing that if I have another round
of acquisition, another round of finance, and
another round of growth, the skills that make an
A player [will] keep changing. My challenge is,
can I stretch my A players today to be A players
tomorrow? I give the incumbents the opportu-
nity by making sure they have the necessary
resources and by putting the right people below
them to help lift the whole organization.”
Robert Arnold discusses why each person on your
finance team should be an A player
Mark Mishler (left), pictured with Jay Shepulski,
debates the value of a candidate’s individual capabilities
vs. industry experience
