CFO Studio Magazine - CFO Innovation Award Winners

28 WWW.CFOSTUDIO.COM 2nd QUARTER 2015 cultures into one company culture. Lisa Strassman, director of financial services and corporate controller of Daikin America, Inc., a Japan-based manufacturing company active in air-conditioning, chemicals, and oil hydraulics, spoke about forming teams of Japanese and non-Japanese employees around a common goal, such as operating- income teams or cost-reduction teams. These bicultural teams consisted of employees from all levels, from administrative assistant up through a vice president. Everyone’s voice had equal importance on the teams, said Ms. Strassman. “It was very effective for getting employees to feel valued by the company because we went for years with little wage growth and we had very little turnover.” Mission and Morale Many of the other executives shared similar stories about effecting a positive impact on employee productivity by including workers in larger goals. Curt Allen, vice president and CFO of Subaru of America, spoke about an annual promotion that has been effective among employees. “We’ve been doing a ‘Love Promises’ promotion for the last seven years,” said Mr. Allen. “The message we send to employees with this promotion is that the customer comes first.” The Love Promises promotion sale runs from the end of November through December. Throughout that period, Subaru of America donates to a charity $250 per car sold. During the 2013, promotion, Subaru retailers sold more than 40,000 cars and the company donated $10 million. Last year, Subaru of America allowed the dealerships to choose charities in their own communities. “In [the 2013 promotion period] 340 of our 625 Subaru retailers nationwide were involved in this,” said Mr. Allen. “Last year, more than 600 participated, and we donated $15 million.” Phillip Ferrigno, CFO of Bijoux International, designer and manufacturer of backpacks and handbags, said he ties motivation to mission by presenting his company’s financials in a quarterly town hall meeting. “I had quarterly town meetings where I actually present the P&L,” said Mr. Ferrigno. “Not down to the granular line level, but down all the way to net income, sales margin, and other big-picture figures, because I was finding the whispers in the hallways and the talk that happens were invariably worse than the reality.” Similarly, Joseph Budd, CFO of Elementis, an $800 million chemical company publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange, says that explaining how employees’ productivity could potentially impact the share price has been an effective motivator. “With 1,500 people globally, we’re small enough to be able to send very succinct messages about what’s going to drive that share price,” said Mr. Budd. “We work on something called the quadruple bottom line, and if we grow our sales, improve our working capital, deliver cash flow, and innovate, it’s going to drive the share price.” David Eatwell, CFO of Genmab, Inc., a biotechnology company developing human antibody therapies and treatments for diseases, says he finds that employees become motivated by the work they do. “What really unites the company is the whole purpose of our company,” said Mr. Eatwell. “We’re a biotech, and our focus is on cancer. Our reason to get up in the morning is to say, ‘We’re inventing new drugs for unmet medical needs for people who’ve got an absolutely horrible disease which is cancer.’ ” Andrew Zezas, publisher of CFO Studio and CEO of Real Estate Strategies Corporation added, “Trying to cure cancer is a tremendous binder to bring people together. It’s a purpose, and a purpose doesn’t get much more important than that. Most of us are just companies. What are some of the ways you bind your company culture if you are not saving lives?” Lalit Ahluwalia, CFO of Ferring Pharmaceuticals, a research-driven bio- pharmaceutical company, said that if your company is not working toward producing a life-saving drug, you could get employees similarly excited to wake up for work if they are proud of the quality of the product they do make or sell. Mr. Ahluwalia added that creating a culture that welcomes innovation is another essential way to keep employees productive. Failure to foster innovation will not only hurt productivity, but could generate other negative feelings and the best and brightest employees will go looking for other opportunities. Andrew Savadelis, CFO for Angion Biomedica, a biopharmaceutical company, spoke about the impact a risk-averse culture can have on employees. “A company will become stagnant because everybody’s afraid tomake a mistake,” saidMr. Savadelis. “And if everybody is afraid, you’ll have employees looking for opportunities elsewhere.” Neil Glasser, CFO of Michael J. Hennessy Associates, a leading provider of healthcare market research, education, and communication services, makes sure everyone in the company understands the company’s mission: “I tell employees that if we provide timely, relevant information to health care providers, the clients will be there. Our clients don’t care if we’re making money, so we have to be absolutely sure we are providing something of value to them. If we provide what they want, where they want, why they want, and how they want, then the money will find us.” Mr. Tassello summed up the sentiment of many in the room. “There’s a lot that goes into motivating people,” he said, “but it comes down to making people feel important. As CFO, it comes down to being a leader who helps them through bad times and gives pats on the back during good times.” C CFO STUDIO EXECUTIVE DINNER SERIES L. to R.: Gideon Naim, Neil Glasser, and Joseph Budd L. to R.: William Baldwin, Philip Ferrigno