CFO Studio Magazine - CFO Innovation Award Winners

WINNER 2nd QUARTER 2015 WWW.CFOSTUDIO.COM 17 CFO as COO Award Ralf Hermkens Chief Financial Officer Festo Didactic, Inc. “Our organization’s innovative moves, processes, and systems came about as a result of learning from each other and building on top of each other’s best ideas. Having the benefit of a global group, with operations and finance functions in many regions and countries, we learn from each other through direct interactions and workshops. We may not have groundbreaking innovations in terms of inventing the iPad, but we are definitely looking at processes and products at other locations that can be reproduced and can quickly result in local innovations —which may just create the next cycle of [more significant] innovations. …As to creating a place to work where innovation can thrive, we encourage team spirit and a positive culture with flexible working hours, rewarding of teams and not individuals, positive thinking, no fear of mistakes, a learning culture, and most importantly, managers as role models. Walking the talk (literally walking around the office with a smile) has more impact than the nicest furniture.” Finalists for CFO as COO Award • David Feit, Chief Financial Officer, Pearl Capital Rivis Ventures • Debbie Williams, Chief Financial Officer, Hennion and Walsh • Eric Wukitsch, Chief Operating and Financial Officer, Vantage Custom Classics, Inc.