In a recent interview with CFO.com, Riveron CFO Tony Ciotti delved into the evolving landscape of finance leadership, highlighting the increasingly intertwined relationship between finance and operations. Ciotti's unique perspective, stemming from his operational background, offers valuable insights for CFOs and company leaders seeking strategic financial guidance in today's dynamic business environment.
The interview underscores several key takeaways. Ciotti emphasizes that the traditional path to CFO is shifting, with more operators stepping into financial leadership roles due to their broader organizational perspective—a trend that is giving rise to the blended role of Chief Operating and Financial Officer (COFO), which is becoming more prevalent in the leadership rosters of some organizations. He also provides actionable advice for navigating economic uncertainties, advocating for leaders to view challenges as opportunities, embracing emerging technologies like AI, and strategically deploying capital to foster continued growth.
Excerpts from the interview are provided below, and you can read the complete article on CFO.com.
Tony Ciotti, on making necessary AI and technology investments amid disruption and uncertainty: "...changes are coming, agnostic of whatever the economy looks like in six months or a year. Take the time to sharpen your pencil on things like forecasting, managing P&L, and cash flow. You need to understand where precious capital can and should be deployed. I would advise businesses not to sit on the sidelines. And for those businesses that are challenged with top-line growth or stagnancy, I'd emphasize that you can't cut your way to prosperity either. Yes, you've got to manage profitability. But the challenge is finding creative ways to make investments even during hard times."
On a professional perspective that stems from a background in operations and finance: "My experience in operations has set me up for success, as much as my experience in finance has. In my mind, it's all about having the ability to span across different functions in an organization while maintaining a strong financial perspective. ...As for Riveron specifically, I was attracted to the company's mission and team. The firm is full of people who've sat in the CFO seat for private equity companies, for portfolio companies, for publicly traded companies and privately held companies."
On the evolving role of the CFO and "blended" finance-operations leaders: "In my case, for example, I'm in the boardroom all the time. I'm not just talking about what happened, but also about what will happen and why, and what I'm doing about it. (CFOs have) become strategy enablers. ... I'm seeing regulatory, tax compliance and the more traditional focus of the past gradually landing with highly capable controllers and accounting teams... (enabling a CFO) to step up and focus on bigger picture things. That's also enabling many other modern CFOs to focus on strategic priorities in tandem with the CEO... And that's where I see that blended COFO role being very powerful."