INTHEBLACK August 2025 - Magazine - Page 16
MEMBER PROFILE
Every day is different. Working in such
a diverse, unique and growing business
is about staying one step ahead. Number
crunching is the easiest part. What really
matters is what’s behind the numbers,
telling that story so the business has a clear
and honest understanding of performance.
Building and creating trust between the
CEO, board and team is crucial. If the trust
isn’t there, it is hard to deliver on anything
else. It’s always easy for the CFO to say “No”.
I need to say, “Yes, but here’s the risk,” to bring
perspectives around dimensions that others
in the business might not always see.
GAME CHANGERS
Change management
Taking a leap out of the corporate world
into the non-profit space for about five years
was a big game changer for me.
In 2016, after a successful career in
multinational, fast-moving consumer goods
companies and earlier in management and
technology consulting, I decided to seek
opportunities in non-profit and smaller
organisations to diversify my experience and
work somewhere with strong community
and purpose. I worked in a senior executive
position leading finance, IT, operations,
marketing, HR and governance in a top
private girls school in Brisbane, and later in its
sister school in the eastern suburbs of Sydney.
READ
an article on how
climate change will
impact business
across the next
decade
LISTEN
to a podcast
episode on Hays’
CFO Viewpoint
Report
16 INTHEBLACK August 2025
In multinationals, you can sometimes
take good process and governance for
granted because it’s already there when
you arrive. Until you’re at the top, the
changes you make and the influence you
have can feel quite incremental and siloed
to your own patch of expertise.
One of the schools I worked in was
having challenges with funding, which
wasn’t understood until I arrived. It was
quite a shock when I announced the need
to refinance immediately and reduce costs.
Given the size of the turnaround required,
I needed to move fast.
However, the organisation wasn’t ready
for the changes. I needed to phase in
the plan and convey it to the rest of the
executives as well. Compliance with work,
health and safety, as well as bank covenants
and controls, couldn’t wait. So anything
relating to that, or solely in my team’s
remit, had to be dealt with at speed.
We renegotiated significant external
contracts to remove overhead costs without
impacting teaching or student wellbeing
services and delivery.
For me, it was a huge lesson in change
management. Even when something
is critical, you need to align absolutely
everyone in the organisation and choose
what to do first. By the end of my four years
there, the school was ready to embark
on a major capital investment program.
LESSONS LEARNED
1. Rise above: When things get emotional, political or chaotic,
the CFO has to stay calm and grounded.
2. Multidimensional decision-making: When numbers come
naturally, it is easy to get fixated on them, but be sure to take
multiple perspectives on big decisions from staff, customers
and shareholders.
3. Build and maintain trust: Make trust between the CEO, board,
executives and your team a priority.
