CFOs wear many hats, face many challenges
The Great Recession has put a new emphasis on creative problem solving, on doing more with less and on focusing on the core mission.
Nowhere have those challenges been felt more acutely than by the chief financial officer.
Long gone are the days of the green eyeshade and the stereotype of the chief financial officer as the humorless bean-counter in the corner office. Today’s CFOs are actively engaged in virtually every aspect of the modern business.
They provide the analysis that drives strategic decisions. They often have their hands deep into the IT infrastructure. Often, they play a role in human resource functions, labor relations and regulatory compliance. And then there is the core workload of producing financial reports, a task made harder and more complex as state and federal financial-reporting requirements spiral ever upward.
Never has an organization’s finance chief been burdened with more responsibilities and expectations as he or she manages, advises and guides an organization’s financial direction.
In these tough economic times, they are being called upon to make tough calls. Yet, as one of this year’s winners says, they also are often the conscience of the organization. As another winner points out, they also are a cheerleader and advocate for skilled, frontline workers.
In this week’s issue, we celebrate four Greater Hartford leaders with the Hartford Business Journal’s 2012 CFO of the Year awards. They are drawn from Connecticut’s broad spectrum of industries and organizations, for-profit and nonprofits alike. And their stories are inspiring.
The common theme is overcoming adversity. They have done it well.
We also pay tribute to a larger group of finalists. And collectively they were honored at our luncheon celebration Nov. 6 at the Marriott Hotel in Farmington.
In this special section, we’ll tell you a little more about the winners and their organizations. Together, they have presented a compelling tapestry that captures the tough task being performed daily by these CFOs.
In terms of methodology, the business community was invited to submit nominees in four categories — nonprofit (full-time paid); private company (less than or equal to 100 employees); private company (greater than 100 employees) and public company.
Our judges — Matthew O’Connor, dean of the business school at Quinnipiac University, and Lisa Bagley, vice president, finance and administration for AEG Management CT LLC, and a winner in last year’s competition — reviewed the nominations and came up with our four winners.
We’re glad these CFOs are on the job making our community a better place to live. They possess special skills to help keep our organizations financially sound and operationally strong, and they seem to thrive under immense pressure that might make most of us weak in the knees.
Please join me in congratulating our winners. They’re helping keep Greater Hartford’s businesses strong — and that’s good for all of us.
– Gail Lebert
Publisher
Hartford Business Journal
MEET THE WINNERS
Edward Hackett, Chief Financial Officer
The Village for Families & Children Inc.
Robert Guertin, Chief Financial Officer
Specialty Printing LLC
David Mudano, Chief Financial Officer
Orthopedic Associates of Hartford
Glenn Purple, Vice President-Finance and CFO
EDAC Technologies Corp.
THE 2012 FINALISTS
William Blaskiewicz, Senior VP and CFO, Gunther International
John Conroy, CFO, McPhee Electric Ltd
Paul DeSantis, CFO, Jefferson Radiology
George Eighmy, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Bristol Hospital and Health Care Group, Inc.
Gary Gagnon, VP of Finance, Rockbestos Surprenant
Robert Guertin, Chief Financial Officer, Specialty Printing, LLC
Edward Hackett, CFO, The Village for Families & Children, Inc.
Shawn Harrington, Vice President for Administration and Finance, University of Saint Joseph
Tammy Maguire, CFO, BlumShapiro
Anthony Mastroianni, Clinical Lab Partner, Clinical Lab Partner
David Mudano, CFO, Orthopedic Associates of Hartford
Donald A. Neel, Vice President, Administration and Finance, Corporation for Independent Living (CIL)
Glenn Purple, Vice President-Finance and CFO, EDAC Technologies Corporation
Joseph Savidge, CFO, Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA)
Lisa Terryberry, Cheif Financial Officer, Community Residences Inc,
Yaping Xu, Chief Financial Officer, TicketNetwork
ABOUT THE JUDGES:
Click HERE to view the 2012 CFO of the year judges.
