INTHEBLACK March 2025 - Magazine - Page 16
MEMBER PROFILE
“I think the role of CFO gives you a helicopter view
of the whole business. It’s a very privileged position
to be in because you are involved in decision-making
and then you see those decisions come to life.”
reporting and leading a finance team
to support the business. We’re a relatively
small company of about 170 people, which
means I’m often hands-on with various
aspects of the financial side of the business,
from the strategic to the everyday.
For example, we include a packet of
Tim Tams [chocolate biscuit] in every order.
Though it was introduced before I stepped
into my role, I oversee the evaluation of the
costs involved in that gesture, and how it
affects the unit economics of our business.
We know that when customers receive that
Tim Tam, it’s more than just a treat — it’s
like sending a little hug. It creates a delightful
surprise, and that emotional connection can
be just as impactful as any financial return.
We constantly ask ourselves, “If we stopped
this, would it be the right decision?”
There’s also a great deal of operational
work that keeps the company running.
On any given day, I could be preparing
board papers, signing off on store leases
or approving bank payments.
GAME CHANGERS
Saying yes
The biggest game changers in my career have
been saying yes and advocating for myself.
I don’t have a traditional CFO background
and it wasn’t on my bucket list, to be honest.
It happened because I studied economics,
majoring in industrial relations at Sydney
University, and thought I’d pursue a career
in that field; but I realised it wasn’t for me
and found myself in a business analytics role,
where I became involved in finance systems.
I really enjoyed being the interface between
the business and tech teams, helping to
implement systems that made operations
more efficient.
I worked in different roles at the University
of Sydney and later at St.George Bank,
16 INTHEBLACK March 2025
handling everything from Y2K testing
to implementing budgeting and forecasting
systems as a project manager.
It all led me to Coca-Cola Amatil,
because I had a speciality in a budgeting
and forecasting system that no one else had.
After a couple of years, an opportunity came
up to move into a commercial role, which
involved moving to Melbourne and I said,
“Yes, absolutely, why not!”
I think that attitude has set me up for
all the other roles I’ve had. I could have
been pigeonholed into being a finance
systems person, but instead I moved
to Melbourne and was able to gain a lot
of different experiences by moving around
the business.
MY CHALLENGES
Learning under pressure
Listing Adore Beauty on the ASX has
had a profound impact on my career.
Though I was already in a CFO position,
I hadn’t anticipated being the CFO of
a publicly listed company so soon.
The listing process was both quick and
intense — it took just over 60 days, all during
the height of the pandemic, which meant
it was all conducted over Zoom. The timeline
was accelerated because we saw a narrow
window for listing.
The process was challenging. At the time,
my team was even smaller than it is now,
and the finance team is heavily involved
in the listing process. While we had great
support from advisors for things like
forecasting and modelling, the responsibility
of validating all the financials in the
prospectus fell largely on us. It required
a lot of hard work and attention to detail.
I think another challenge was how the
pandemic forced us to be incredibly agile.
I had only been with the company for four
