L.A.’s leading chief financial officers were recognized for their efforts in meeting those challenges during the Business Journal’s annual CFO Awards last week.
The virtual event kicked off with a panel featuring Fifth Third Bank’s Brandon Ferrera, MarshMcLennan Agency’s Brian Hegarty and RSM’s Nelly Montoya, who work extensively with CFOs.
The panel quickly moved from recapping the pandemic’s impact to talking about how business leaders are moving through pandemic fatigue and into 2022.
According to RSM’s middle-market index, things are looking up, said Montoya.
“For the first time, this August, the reading is 145,” she said. “Anything above 100 is great news. A lot of leaders are feeling very optimistic about the outlook.”
M&A is “as hot as it’s ever been,” said Ferrera, and “availability of capital from the banking community continues to be high.”
But uncertainty about what’s coming next for business models and remote or hybrid workforce structures is still keeping CFOs up at night.
“Hybrid work model is the way to go,” said Hegarty. “I think the key is flexibility. I also think things should be more case by case. … Face-to-face interaction can’t be overlooked. We’ve been gone for so long that we forget.”
The emphasis on collaboration was a common theme as panelists shared examples of how CFOs can creatively diagnose inefficiencies in payment systems or identify new strategies for handling debt capacity and as winners thanked their teams for their contributions.
Such an appreciation for creativity and teamwork will serve business leaders well as the competition for talent heats up. Providing resources for employees’ mental health and opportunities to upskill are becoming paramount.
“If leadership does not care about these issues, the long-term viability of our organization or any company is at risk,” said Hegarty.
For the complete list of honorees and finalists, see page 21.
