The Forward Thinking CFO

In today’s episode we speak to Rob Haxton, a Board level Group Finance Director, currently working at Blast. TV. Rob’s career is about as varied as they come. He’s always kept an eye on his CV with his career moves – making sure he builds on his experience and becomes as well-rounded as possible. As he points out, being a great CFO means understanding the whole business, not just your own area of...

Welcome back, for the second part of our conversation with Microsoft Excel’s Head of Product, Brian Jones. In today’s episode, we delve deeper into the evolution of Excel and the innovations that are keeping it ahead of the competition. We discuss what the future holds for Excel and the various opportunities for its customers, including: - How it’s catering to a range of different users and making...

Today’s guest is the first non-CFO to feature on the podcast, but it’s fair to say he has a profound impact on almost every Finance professional’s working life. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Microsoft’s Head of Product for Excel, Brian Jones and we had so much to talk about that we’ve decided to split this episode into a two-part special for you. Having started his career at Microsoft m...

In today’s episode we speak to Duncan Hayward, CFO at Pacific Life Re. Duncan’s impressive career is testament to the importance of spotting opportunities when they arise. As he points out in this episode, he has only had five job interviews in his entire life, and while in almost every case he’s been offered a role, it’s not always been the one he initially went in for. With such a successful car...

In episode 6 of the Forward Thinking CFO, we speak to Darrell Cox, Chief Financial Officer at our technology partner, Vena Solutions. Vena is a leading cloud technology platform in the corporate performance management arena and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Darrell joined Vena in 2014 as CFO at the very early stages of its growth journey and was the first non-founding member of the manageme...

In today’s episode we speak to Richard Evans, Finance Director at IT specialists, Excalibur Communications. Richard joined the team in 2017 to help make their latest management buyout a success, within just 18 months. Successfully managing a disposal, acquisition and management buyout is a career-defining moment for many finance professionals. Richard has ticked all three off his list already, gai...

We speak to Finance professionals on a daily basis and almost all of us got into the industry because we were good with numbers. But as today’s guest will tell you - to successfully progress to the top and become one of the very best CFOs, there’s many more skills you’ll need to master. In today’s episode, we speak to James Davis, Advisor at BGF, one of the UK’s most active investment companies, p...

In today’s episode, we speak to Sahil Rishi, CFO at Sedgwick International UK, the leading provider of insurance and company benefits solutions to businesses all over the world. Unlike many who know that Finance is the career for them from the time they go to university, Sahil’s journey was rather different. He was set on making it in the world of entertainment before a chance call from a recruite...

In today’s episode, we speak to Sean Watherston, CFO at UENI – the London based tech company, dedicated to shifting the balance between independent business and larger franchises, by helping small businesses find the services and tools they need to succeed. Sean started his career at Ernst and Young, before moving into investment banking with Credit Suisse and then Commerzbank. Following his time...

In today's episode, which is the very first episode of our brand new series, The Forward Thinking CFO, we had the pleasure of speaking to Mark Stevenson, Director of VTG AG – one of Europe’s leading rail logistics companies. Mark’s rise through the ranks to CFO is fascinating, especially considering he studied Modern Languages at University – not the most obvious springboard for a future CFO. Mark...