Latest / The Diary of a CFO / Leading Finance with Curiosity and Cultural Intelligence, with Jenny Fuss
Transcript
- 0:04Welcome back to the Diary of a CFO podcast, the
- 0:07podcast where finance leaders share the lessons,
- 0:10challenges, and wins that shape their careers
- 0:12as well as their organizations. I'm your host,
- 0:15Waseya Kaman, and today I'm super delighted to
- 0:17have with me Jenny Fuss. She is the CFO of Crowley
- 0:20Maritime, where she drives finance forwards as
- 0:22a strategic partner. Over the course of her career,
- 0:26she has led finance across different continents,
- 0:28industries, and company sizes. She's known for
- 0:31her evolutionary mindset and passion for finance
- 0:34and digital transformations. She's always curious
- 0:37and challenges conventional thinking and sharing
- 0:40finance is not just reactive, but is a force
- 0:42for transformation and growth. Welcome to the
- 0:45show. Thank you for having me. I was waiting
- 0:48for a long time for it. I know I had to reschedule
- 0:51it once. That was so much looking forward. I'm
- 0:55a big fan of you and how you see your work and
- 0:58life that so resonate with me. So excited to
- 1:02have some quality time with you today. Oh, thank
- 1:05you so much, Jenny. I really appreciate it. I've
- 1:07been following you too. So super excited we could
- 1:10finally make it because I know as CFOs time is
- 1:13interesting, right? Yes, it is. So let's just
- 1:18start with your career journey, your fascinating
- 1:20career. over different continents, industries.
- 1:23So I wanted to start with what drew you to finance
- 1:26and accounting in the first place and then moving
- 1:29on to where you are now. I think there's one
- 1:32ingredient that sticks out for me is that I'm
- 1:35a very curious person and want to understand
- 1:37how business works, right? How decisions are
- 1:41made, how we can make them better. And so for
- 1:45me, finance is the lens where you have to understand
- 1:49the full picture. and you also get access to
- 1:52it. So my journey literally started on the shop
- 1:55floor. Of course, I was going through a very
- 1:58financial apprenticeship, but I was working in
- 2:00a manufacturing environment. So I raised my hand,
- 2:03let me get to the shop floor where the real things
- 2:06are happening. And it was wonderful to connect
- 2:09with the operations and then being able to connect
- 2:12to numbers. And over time, right, I realized
- 2:16that that's my passion to help others to grind,
- 2:20I call it a different set of sunglasses, right?
- 2:23Getting different perspectives. And why? I think
- 2:28that will help to create clarity. I'm able to
- 2:32bring the right data for decision making. And
- 2:35I think that really carried me throughout my
- 2:38journey, right? I'm German. It's probably very
- 2:41clear because of my accent. I lived in China.
- 2:44I'm now in the US. I'm now leading as a CFO of
- 2:48Crawley. I'm also super excited that in this
- 2:51role, I'm also taking procurement in my scope.
- 2:55And that is when you have the true end -to -end
- 2:58view of the entire value creation. That's great.
- 3:03And I worked before in procurement as a science
- 3:06professional that I truly think we have to elevate
- 3:09that people see procurement as a cost center.
- 3:13And really understand that's the performance
- 3:15engine where we have critical levers to drive
- 3:18results, save the strategy, and then fuel basically.
- 3:23And all companies are going through a transformation,
- 3:26and we have very uncertain times right now. But
- 3:29I'm just inspired being in finance, sitting at
- 3:32the table and shaping the future. Oh, that's
- 3:35awesome. And for me, when I was thinking about
- 3:38you and seeing how you went from Germany to China,
- 3:42then to the US, that's like a cultural crash
- 3:45course. So how would you say working in different
- 3:48parts have shaped the way you lead today? First
- 3:52of all, I feel truly gifted to have had the opportunity
- 3:57to live and work across three continents. Considering
- 4:01that I grew up in a very tiny village of 900
- 4:04people somewhere and nowhere in Germany, sometimes
- 4:08have this reflection like never in my wildest
- 4:11dreams back then, I would have imagined that
- 4:14I lead a global team, navigate in boardrooms
- 4:18in China and in the US. And I think that those
- 4:22experiences have really deeply shaped me. I think
- 4:27it's taught me about being you know, humility
- 4:30and the power of listening. Let's go a little
- 4:34bit of stereotyping or generalizing it, right?
- 4:36In Germany, structure rules, okay? In China,
- 4:41relationships is everything. In the US, it's
- 4:43all about speed and bold moves. And I think great
- 4:48leadership isn't just one size fits all. It's
- 4:53all about having that awareness to adjust your
- 4:56lenses to the team, to the culture. and to the
- 5:00moment. And I think that's the superpower that
- 5:04carries me every day. Oh, that's amazing. Amazing.
- 5:08I wanted to go back and maybe share with us a
- 5:11specific example of something that maybe worked
- 5:13great in Germany, but then in another country
- 5:16didn't work well, vice versa. Just think about
- 5:19teams and feedback. The drums are now to be very
- 5:22straightforward. And I admire that because there's
- 5:25also no BS. You're saying it was the intent to
- 5:29help, but in a different culture that may not
- 5:31be perceived that way, that can be very disrespectful.
- 5:35So when I started leading my team in China, I
- 5:38first started like what I had learned in my environment.
- 5:42If something is not to the expectations, you
- 5:45go say it as it is. No sugar coating, okay? Just
- 5:50very straight from the heart. That did not sell
- 5:53good in China. So I had to adjust that. And I
- 5:57had to learn that if I want them to do and see
- 6:01the right things, I have to take a different
- 6:04avenue to still give them feedback, but in a
- 6:07very different way. And what was for me the magic
- 6:11there by me and define what they all were doing
- 6:15great and good. Suddenly the areas that where
- 6:18I felt like behind expectations just got lifted.
- 6:22And that was a beautiful experience for me in
- 6:25my personal growth and how I lead. Oh, that's
- 6:29awesome. So today, how do you help your finance
- 6:32team go through transformation, regardless of,
- 6:35like you said, the state where you found them,
- 6:37the culture, or what are some of the things that
- 6:39you notice that as CFOs, we should be mindful
- 6:43of as we're trying to build up our teams? It's
- 6:47not magical, but I think it really starts also
- 6:49with creating the awareness we all have about
- 6:52ourselves, how we show up in the world. I always
- 6:55like to encourage people to work on becoming
- 6:58a better listener, not just to listen, but to
- 7:02understand, adding empathy to the leadership
- 7:07style. And then what we all want to expect from
- 7:13our peers, also for my operational peers, is
- 7:17thinking together around the edges. I would also
- 7:20say that start with, don't make assumptions,
- 7:24always invite for a debate, welcome different
- 7:27perspectives. And particularly right now, I would
- 7:31say really look through the multiple lenses.
- 7:36We live right now in even more uncertain times.
- 7:39I mean, changes are coming by the hour. You don't
- 7:42want to burn your team, right? You have to show
- 7:45up and build the resilience. And the other point
- 7:49to the resilience, I think, is the clarity. So
- 7:52I'd rather have the people asking, OK, what does
- 7:55it mean now? And let's strive through it. What
- 7:59is the short term and what's the long term? And
- 8:02always remind us it's our decision how we respond.
- 8:07And I feel like that's particularly in the last
- 8:09few weeks, super important. Yeah, that I think
- 8:13is the framework blending into my team right
- 8:17now, not to be subject to that we feel so much
- 8:22out of control. And I think that also makes me
- 8:29really proud of how the team is responding to
- 8:31it and approaching it open -minded and sharing
- 8:34their thoughts. And we can weather through this.
- 8:38It's yes. It's also how we do it right without
- 8:41going too crazy. Let's put it that way Without
- 8:45going too crazy. I love it. Yes, you you're right
- 8:48because even in uncertainty something I'm more
- 8:51certain than others right and if you have the
- 8:53right foundations You you really said you setting
- 8:56yourself up for success regardless of what what
- 8:59it looks like on the other end I love how you
- 9:02said clarity When you think about the finance
- 9:05function, sometimes we are focused on many deadlines
- 9:09at the same time. Maybe we forget about how the
- 9:13work that we do aligns with the overall strategy
- 9:16of the company. Can you speak a bit about that
- 9:19and how the CFO can be a strategic architect
- 9:22in all this? I think what always kicks in for
- 9:26me is to what end? So why are we doing this?
- 9:29What's the short -term outcome? Because that's
- 9:33maybe the deadline driven, but what's in the
- 9:35long run, in the long game? To what end we are
- 9:37doing that? I approach this like was really enabling
- 9:41everyone to be aware of that mindset shift. You
- 9:45know, when we think about we want to drive digital
- 9:48finance transformation, for example. And I feel
- 9:53still a lot of people see that as a technical
- 9:56project. that it's more, because it's a tool
- 9:59for us. It is where then the magic will happen
- 10:02when we can start asking better questions, challenging
- 10:06assumptions, and enabling faster decisions. But
- 10:10what I also always like to, as a second point,
- 10:14Lent is, it's not just, you know, first of all,
- 10:17it's not just about finance. I mean, we are all
- 10:18working in an ecosystem together. Collaboration
- 10:22with operation, with sales, everything is super
- 10:24important. Having that more customer centric
- 10:29mindset, how can we leverage AI? How we can build
- 10:33up digital capabilities and simplifying it in
- 10:39a way that doing business is just easy. And then
- 10:43when I blend back to maybe finance and procurement,
- 10:47I think if we really use the new technology in
- 10:50that powerful, complimentary way, we will reduce
- 10:54the manual work, we have more capacity to do
- 10:58the brain work and consequently have better outcomes.
- 11:03You see that many companies have their slogan,
- 11:05customers first, but then you also have to act
- 11:08like that and you have to enable your organization
- 11:11to do that because same for us, right, in logistics
- 11:15and shipping, our big differentiator is that
- 11:18we are faster. and can offer customized solutions.
- 11:23And that starts really with having this customer
- 11:26centric mindset, understanding how they perceive
- 11:30our services and how easy it is working with
- 11:34us. Oh, I love it. I love it. I love how you
- 11:38say easy to make business with us. But sometimes
- 11:41I feel like we saw in the numbers we forget that
- 11:44the ease of doing business is a strategic advantage.
- 11:47So how do you get to understand that customer
- 11:51perspective? Like, do you go out on service call?
- 11:54Like, what do you do for you or for your team
- 11:57to really understand how the customers view your
- 12:00services? So We're switching here to the internal
- 12:03lens, right? Like how finance or procurement
- 12:06is supporting the business. Also there, it's
- 12:09very simple. It's initiating a conversation.
- 12:12It's also about maybe bringing forward. You asked
- 12:16us to do all of this. What are you doing with
- 12:19that, right? Because all the time, you know,
- 12:23we have that all particular at FP &A. Once upon
- 12:26a time, somebody needed a report on something
- 12:28and then we keep generating that report. and
- 12:32asking that open question like, you get this
- 12:34report. Is it actionable? Is it just a nice to
- 12:38have? Or is there anything else you really truly
- 12:42need and we are not addressing? It always comes
- 12:45back to understanding from the FP &A perspective
- 12:47and accounting what the business does. But I
- 12:51think just this conversation and we're having
- 12:53that right now. Do you want us doing this? And
- 12:56if we do, I will ask the question, what are you
- 12:59doing based on that information? I have moved
- 13:03in the past few years through different companies,
- 13:05you know, and everyone is at a different stage
- 13:07of call it digital finance transformation. As
- 13:12a result, sometimes you enter an organization
- 13:14and you have hundreds of dashboards that we do
- 13:18not need hundreds of dashboards. We don't. And
- 13:21it's time to narrow down what we truly need and
- 13:25focus on what are we. So, you know, when I look
- 13:28at a dashboard and I'm like, so what? What is
- 13:31the action here? What are we going to do about
- 13:33that? And if the dashboard is not telling me
- 13:35that, then we should stop producing that. Nice.
- 13:40I love it. And I'm sure your teams are loving
- 13:43that too, because there is a lot of things we
- 13:46keep doing because that's the way we've always
- 13:48done it, right? The phrase we all do not like
- 13:50to hear. So for you, how do you help trim down
- 13:55maybe the dashboards and the KPIs? for people,
- 13:59like how do you balance maybe operational versus
- 14:02financial KPIs? How do you help people come together
- 14:05to understand the numbers better? So yeah, how
- 14:09I help my team, you know, my team is just also
- 14:11getting to know me. I just started a few weeks
- 14:13back, but what I have established is that we
- 14:16have an open conversation about it, not only
- 14:19within the finance team, but also, you know,
- 14:21connecting with our sales, commercial teams and
- 14:23operations. So narrow down what we really need
- 14:26because we are in a situation we have a lot of
- 14:28dashboards and a lot of them there's no action
- 14:31from it. So just by initiating that clarity and
- 14:35direction I can see already the early wins on
- 14:38it. Obviously we need to formalize that better
- 14:41so I'm about forming like a decision board like
- 14:46what are the dashboards so it's not just a wild
- 14:49growing grass landscape. And with the intent
- 14:53really to provide that clarity, I hope that that
- 14:56makes us also more effective and efficient instead
- 14:59of browsing through hundreds of dashboards. There
- 15:02should be probably just one in the morning with
- 15:05four KPIs and customized to the area. My sales
- 15:10people need something different than maybe the
- 15:13captain of a ship. I'm really excited about what
- 15:15we have ahead of us and where we can have much
- 15:18better influence. That's awesome. And I like
- 15:21that. I'm catching you right now in your exploration
- 15:24phase, but this is your second CFO role. So you're
- 15:27probably doing things better. You learn from
- 15:30all the years in your career. So what would you
- 15:33say a CFO stepping in should do in the first
- 15:3690 days or six months from your experience? Really
- 15:40connecting with the people and understanding
- 15:43the business. As simple as that. And I know everyone
- 15:47is referring to the first 90 days book and it's
- 15:51a good guidance. Reality is very different. As
- 15:54a CFO, nobody waits until you have 30 days and
- 15:57met everyone. Until you have 60 days and you
- 16:00got all the business in. Because when you come
- 16:02in, you will be immediately in the weeds, right?
- 16:06And balancing that. But take that also as a journey.
- 16:09That's part of it. I would say for me, in the
- 16:12first month, it's just like follow the money.
- 16:15and you will learn about the business. Oh, I
- 16:19love it. I love it. End to end. Love it. Great
- 16:24advice. Thank you for sharing. But what would
- 16:27you say have helped you throughout your career?
- 16:29Was it mentors? Because I can only imagine moving
- 16:33across different companies, industry, continents.
- 16:37What are some of the things that kept you grounded
- 16:39and growing throughout? I definitely would say
- 16:42it is you know, my personal board, let's put
- 16:45it maybe that way. And that is consistent of
- 16:48mentors, former bosses, a coach, friends who
- 16:54are working in a very different industry. And
- 16:57I'm very proud of my board, you know, that's
- 17:01also include my fitness coach, by the way. And
- 17:04that's very important to me, because you get
- 17:06to the point where like, am I on the right trace
- 17:09here? Like, you know, challenging myself. and
- 17:12having a good sounding board is just excellent
- 17:14because I think most remarkable and it goes back
- 17:18when I became CFO of a joint venture in China,
- 17:23so moving across the country as well, I felt
- 17:26very insecure. I'm like, can I do this actually?
- 17:30And there were mentors and bosses around me.
- 17:34They just took me out for dinner and we had a
- 17:37conversation and they were sharing like how they
- 17:39were growing up in the corporate world and taking
- 17:43on new adventures and encouraged me like you
- 17:47never will be 100 % ready for your next role.
- 17:51You have the ingredients and the rest will come
- 17:55once you start swimming in your new role and
- 17:58that's a very very true advice they gave to me
- 18:02and that absolutely kept me going and interesting
- 18:05enough I moved through different you know companies
- 18:09but also within companies different divisions
- 18:12where always culture is a little different and
- 18:14you kind of like start not from zero in your
- 18:17network, but kind of like a bit of reset. That
- 18:19is interesting that there's always a saying that
- 18:22kind of like got attached to me no matter where
- 18:25I went. You know, very early somebody said about
- 18:28Jenny, you can throw her in ice cold water and
- 18:31she will start swimming. And that is always coming
- 18:35back. And I'm very proud of that. And saying
- 18:38that just to encourage, you know, the next generation
- 18:42of professionals or of those who are at the stage
- 18:45and thinking about what next is, go in, no fear,
- 18:50be fearless, and then just start swimming. It
- 18:53works. Oh, I love it for two reasons. One, you
- 18:58work for a company called Crowley Maritime, so
- 19:00you're in the water, literally in your role.
- 19:04And two, because it reminds me of something you
- 19:07said on LinkedIn about be everything being figure
- 19:10outable, I think of what do you do when you're
- 19:14faced with a situation and you don't know where
- 19:17to start and that confidence, that mantra of
- 19:19you can figure it out. That is so empowering.
- 19:23And also be really okay and embrace to fail.
- 19:27It's kind of like fail and then there's of course
- 19:30an end, right? Fail, reflect and try again. Nice.
- 19:36That is amazing. And so and it leads me to another
- 19:40another part of digital transformation, because
- 19:43I see you posting a lot about digital transformation
- 19:46and leading team. What's your approach to that?
- 19:50Because I know earlier you mentioned is not just
- 19:52a technical part. It's also the collaboration.
- 19:55So how do you lead people like the change leadership
- 19:59part of we're going to change? How do you help
- 20:02people how you get their buy in? and also stay
- 20:06engaged during the whole journey to the end.
- 20:09Yeah, I think it really starts us again, leaning
- 20:13in on the conversation, providing the clarity,
- 20:16the clarity to what end we are doing it. And
- 20:19that's a long, long vision, right? Because I
- 20:22feel a lot of people take the shortcut and say,
- 20:25ah, it's just reducing head count. That it's
- 20:28more than that, right? I feel it's also for me,
- 20:30digital transformation is an enrichment of how
- 20:33we work. And just based on what I have seen over
- 20:38the last few years, a lot of companies spending
- 20:41only between 60 % and 75 % on data gathering,
- 20:46taking the data, people getting into their spreadsheets,
- 20:49cleaning the data, adjusting it. I mean, in my
- 20:53world, that's no fun, right? It is maybe doing
- 20:56it once to drill in is a good experience to understand
- 20:59where data are coming from. But we don't need
- 21:01to repeat that, right? We are smart people. shifting
- 21:06from less manual work to actually seeing it and
- 21:10then having the time to talk with your counter
- 21:16partner, be it in sales, be it in the operations,
- 21:19be it in procurement, to drive where you can
- 21:23have impact. I think that's much more fascinating
- 21:26than just having a job where you spend six, seven
- 21:29hours a day and just trying to get the data together.
- 21:34make some sort of sense. And I hope I will learn
- 21:36with my team now that they get inspired by that
- 21:39idea that their work is going forward much more
- 21:44valuable and much more impactful. And I will
- 21:48learn if I'm doing a good job on that, because
- 21:51I'm also a feedback seeker. Yeah, I just love
- 21:54to inspire them that, yes, we are in a change
- 21:57or call it evolution, that it is to a better,
- 22:01right, to a better setting. as finance or procurement
- 22:05at the table. That is awesome. That is awesome.
- 22:10And yes, I mean, anybody I know in finance of
- 22:12the county will say, yes, like don't want to
- 22:16copy paste all day numbers from one part to the
- 22:19other to do the same thing three, four, five
- 22:21times. But What I've also noticed is with so
- 22:24many technology or tools out there, it's difficult
- 22:27to find what solution will fit what you need.
- 22:31And sometimes we end up with three, four, five
- 22:33different software that solve three, four, five
- 22:36different things, different ways. Have you experienced
- 22:39it too? Like, how do you deal with it moving
- 22:41forward? Yes, and I think we have to realize
- 22:45we are all in that, right? It's happening. The
- 22:48way I found best to prove that we are making
- 22:52the right decision is, what is the problem statement
- 22:55we like to solve? Very often, I think there's
- 22:59not yet clarity what we are trying to solve.
- 23:02And I'm just going through that phase right now.
- 23:05It was announced I'm the new CFO of Crawley.
- 23:07I get called from vendors. And I literally saying,
- 23:12thanks for reaching out and making me aware that
- 23:16you do exist. That the way I do my business works.
- 23:21the other way around. I need to identify the
- 23:24problem statement because then I can better define
- 23:27what is what we need and the scope. And then
- 23:30I can go out and maybe see what is the capabilities
- 23:33of those tools, right? That's number one. Number
- 23:37two is, first of all, we do have already a lot
- 23:40of technology. So either people are not yet trained
- 23:45on how to really powerful use it. Or there's
- 23:50one connection in all those always complex landscape
- 23:53that's not connected yet well. But it also starts
- 23:57with teaching your people how to use it. And
- 24:00we're just doing that. Our leadership team is
- 24:03using Co -Pilot, and we do that to lead first,
- 24:07to encourage our people to do the same. And I
- 24:11love it, because when you see your CEO using
- 24:15Co -Pilot, how cool is that? And even like, you
- 24:19know, also that openness sharing, like, you know,
- 24:22sometimes we fail in using that new technology,
- 24:25but that share is very important one. So I just
- 24:28love that we have this mindset of let's try certain
- 24:32things, but also be cautious of we cannot, you
- 24:35know, just add all the fancy tools just to have
- 24:39them. We have to think through what problem we
- 24:43need to solve and then find the right technology.
- 24:46And I laugh when you said on LinkedIn, as soon
- 24:49as it was written, I was a CFO. Man, like the
- 24:54email starting flooding, the text messaging.
- 24:56I know you're looking into a new system for this.
- 24:59And I'm like, no, I know you're looking into
- 25:00this. So what would you say as some maybe advice
- 25:03to people when they're trying to sell something
- 25:05to a new CFO? Like, don't. It goes back to, for
- 25:10me that is, you know, if I would be the CFO of
- 25:13those companies, their sales performance. must
- 25:16suck because it goes back to have a customer
- 25:20centric mindset. Don't call me based on an assumption.
- 25:25It won't work. It's wasting your time, right?
- 25:28I have one company that has, I would probably,
- 25:32I would write to the CEO or CFO. I mean, whatever
- 25:35they are using a CRM tool, if they are using
- 25:38it, but they really suck. That company until
- 25:41now, eight different people are approaching me.
- 25:45I keep saying, take me off your call list. Oh
- 25:48my. Just take me off your call list. And you
- 25:53know, I'm just seeing it like, you know, watching
- 25:54out in terms of like, because maybe they don't
- 25:58have the right leadership, maybe they don't have
- 25:59the right guidance, right? And secondly is people
- 26:03have to do their homework first. If you call
- 26:06your customer, better have done your homework,
- 26:09right? Or you are prepared to ask the question
- 26:13that leads you to the insights on how you can
- 26:16serve that customer. That I'm not giving a contract
- 26:20to somebody just because they called me. Yes,
- 26:24absolutely. I 1 ,000, 1 million times agree.
- 26:27Thank you so much. But it's interesting how we
- 26:30all go through the same thing. And when you think
- 26:33about your first... 90 days the first six months
- 26:36in the cfo it is so overwhelming and it's definitely
- 26:38a pressure that you don't want to have in addition
- 26:41of all the things you're trying to learn the
- 26:44the new people because I like how you said earlier
- 26:46even within the same company if you were deputy
- 26:49cfo in this area and you switch it's a different
- 26:51culture it is yeah that you have to adapt to
- 26:55yeah awesome, so One of my last questions is
- 27:00what would you say is a recent trend or shift
- 27:04that you think leaders are not paying attention
- 27:06to enough? Is there something that you see maybe
- 27:10in the news or in how you see new finance talent?
- 27:15Like is this something that as finance leaders
- 27:16we should be paying extra attention to right
- 27:19now? That's a good question. That's about thinking
- 27:22around the edges here. Love it. I think It is
- 27:27around that example, like the digital finance
- 27:30transformation that really requires a mindset
- 27:32shift. It's not just about reducing costs or
- 27:36anything. It's really also creating a future
- 27:39workplace and opportunities in jobs to make people
- 27:45fulfilled. Because I strongly believe that that
- 27:49will drive also much better performance of a
- 27:52company. when people have the sense that what
- 27:54they are doing is valued and has impact and is
- 28:00not seen as an administrative burden or something
- 28:03like that. I think that sounds maybe very rosy,
- 28:06but I think going forward, that will be so important
- 28:09that as a company to attract the right talents.
- 28:12We're still talking about talent war, right?
- 28:16To get those people attracted to the company
- 28:19who have that sense for Yeah, being an influential,
- 28:24impactful contributor and just seeing, you know,
- 28:28technology as an enabler and not as the cue to
- 28:32everything. I love it because I think sometimes
- 28:34we use technology as a band -aid. Yeah. Thank
- 28:38you. Thank you so much for sharing. So last two
- 28:41questions. What is the best career advice you've
- 28:44ever received? Encouragement was to hear like
- 28:48stay curious because I'm known to ask a lot of
- 28:51questions. And obviously, sometimes I was not
- 28:54sure if that's really accepted. So stay curious.
- 28:57And then combined with don't wait for perfect.
- 29:02Lean in and learn as you go. Because also in
- 29:06my, you know, you and I are CFOs and sometimes
- 29:08people may expect that we know it all. No, we
- 29:11don't always need to know everything upfront.
- 29:14It's more important that we are courage enough
- 29:17to ask questions and stay open. what is the answer
- 29:22that's coming to you, right? Don't expect the
- 29:25answer you like to hear. Yeah, I think that that's
- 29:28served me always very good to challenge also
- 29:31myself, right? When people give me an answer
- 29:32and I'm like, that was not what I expected. So
- 29:35let's unpack that even more. Yes, love it. And
- 29:39my last question, what's your favorite thing
- 29:41to do outside work? I'm cycling to clear my hands.
- 29:46I'm doing weightlifting to grout me. I like to
- 29:50spend time with my husband in the evening. He's
- 29:53the chef, I'm the sous chef. And I love that
- 29:56we have really great conversations over dinner
- 29:59as well. And then as a CFO, yes, I do also dance
- 30:04to EDM music. I like that. And obviously now
- 30:09it's just, you know, moving to beach sites. I
- 30:13take my dogs and go for a walk and enjoy the
- 30:15breeze. And that's thing too. unwind and stay
- 30:20present. Yes. Yes. Wow. Thank you so much, Jenny.
- 30:24This was so, so helpful. So grateful to have
- 30:27you on the show. Thanks for having me. And I
- 30:30was really looking forward to it. Yeah. I also
- 30:32wish you all the best in your role. And I can't
- 30:36wait to see all your successes being shared going
- 30:39forward. And that's it for today's episode of
- 30:44The Diary of a CFO. Thank you so much for tuning
- 30:46in. If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to
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