Strategy & Leadership

The strategic CFO in a rapidly changing world

May 01, 2018

Global

May 01, 2018

Global
Jake Safane

Editor

Jake is an editor for The Economist Intelligence Unit’s thought leadership division in the Americas. Based in New York, Jake’s areas of focus is financial services. Previously, he ran his own content marketing firm, primarily helping startup software firms develop their blogs, social media channels and website copy. Prior to that, Jake worked as a B2B financial journalist covering asset management and asset servicing. He has also covered a variety of other topics as a journalist, ranging from local small business issues to sports. Jake received his bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from Boston University.

As businesses grapple with global economic uncertainty, an increasingly technology-driven world, changing consumer preferences and other factors that affect corporate performance, CFOs have an opportunity to take on a more strategic role and guide their companies to success.

To identify the strategic priorities of CFOs and senior finance professionals,  The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) conducted a survey, commissioned by Coupa, of 507 finance executives across industries and located in the US, UK, France and Germany. Seventy-five percent of respondents are CFOs, and 25% are corporate finance professionals who are at the VP-level or above.

The report is based on survey findings, as well as interviews with the following finance executives: 

  • Elena Gomez, CFO, Zendesk
  • Stephen Hodes, CFO, Driftwood Acquisitions & Development
  • Jennifer LaClair, CFO, Ally Financial
  • Paul Venables, CFO, Hays
  • David Zinsner, CFO and senior vice president, Micron Technology

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