Business leader, not 'human calculator': The role of the CFO, with Chris Ortega
Chris Ortega, the driving force behind Fresh FP&A, believes it's time to rethink the role of the CFO. Instead of being just a number cruncher, today's CFO should be a strategic partner, helping the business grow.
No longer simply the guardian of budgets and forecasts, today's CFOs are expected to be proactive business partners, guiding businesses towards sustainable growth. This shift requires a fresh perspective, one that Chris champions.
From CFO to CEO: A Growth Journey
Transitioning from CFO to CEO taught Chris invaluable lessons. According to him, becoming an effective CEO involved understanding clients’ pain points, letting go of perfectionism, and thinking like a business person rather than just a numbers expert.
"Jumping up to CEO, I had to intimately know our clients. I had to intimately know their pains. I had to know their frustrations. I had to know our market. For me to be a great CEO, I had to shed some of that perfection that most CFOs have - that attention to only looking at the numbers".
Added to that, Chris believes in the power of emotional intelligence (EQ) over mere IQ. He argues that great leaders are those who possess high EQ, enabling them to be in tune with their teams and cultivate meaningful relationships across departments. This approach enriches the finance function, making it a central pillar in driving business success.
"What separates a good leader from a great leader is not the intellectual, not the IQ, right? It's gonna be high levels of EQ."
Encouraging Innovation in Finance
A key message from Chris is the importance of embracing failure as a learning tool.
He draws on personal experiences, such as his time as an amateur boxer, to highlight that success lies not in avoiding failure, but in learning from it.
"You either win or you learn. You only lose. You only fail if you don't learn."
This mindset shift towards innovation and experimentation is crucial for today's finance leaders who are in pursuit of growth. Chris shares his thoughts on adopting a 'fail fast' philosophy, akin to startups. He underscores the significance of testing, iterating, and refining finance functions to ensure they are truly adding value. For CFOs, this means questioning what business problems they are solving and ensuring that their financial models and reports are impactful.
Building a Collaborative Finance Team
Building a finance team that collaborates across the business is central to Chris's philosophy. He encourages CFOs to step out of their silos, engage with other departments, and ask how they can help solve their challenges.
"Sometimes as a CFO you have to put on that 'chief feelings officer' hat. You got to go get in tune. Sometimes you got to take off the pragmatic, the quantitative, the very linear financial hat. And one of the things I would do, even with my team, I would walk around and just pop into sales meetings and pop into operations meetings. Just say, 'Hey guys. Finance isn't here to do anything. I just want to learn. I want to know what you guys are going through. I want to see how I can help'. I just want to know the pulse of the organization."
By developing a consultative approach, finance professionals can bridge departmental divides and contribute more significantly to business growth.
A New Finance Mindset
Chris’s energy and forward-thinking approach emphasize the need for finance professionals to challenge the status quo. And much of that comes back to how finance professionals see themselves:
I never wanted a business partner to look at me and say, 'man, Chris knows ASC 606, and he can calculate CAC in his mind, and he looks at customer lifetime value all the time'. I never wanted them to look at me as just a great calculator".
At Fresh FP&A, Chris personifies this new finance mindset. As someone who doesn’t fit the traditional CFO mold—with his open demeanor and a penchant for wearing Jordans—Chris's journey inspires finance leaders to embrace authenticity, emotional intelligence, and collaboration.
Key Takeaways from the episode:
Embracing failure as a learning opportunity: Chris highlights the importance of embracing failure as a stepping stone to growth. By learning from mistakes and setbacks, we can become stronger and more resilient leaders.
Fostering a culture of innovation: As CFOs, we have the power to drive innovation within our organizations. By encouraging experimentation and risk-taking, we can unlock new opportunities and drive growth.
Building strong relationships: Strong relationships are the foundation of effective leadership. By building trust and rapport with colleagues and stakeholders, we can create a more positive and productive work environment.
Developing emotional intelligence: Emotional intelligence is crucial for effective leadership. By understanding and managing our own emotions and the emotions of others, we can build stronger teams and achieve better results.
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