Latest / The Diary of a CFO / From CAO to EVP Supply Chain: How to Make a Big Career Pivot at the Executive Level

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From CAO to EVP Supply Chain: How to Make a Big Career Pivot at the Executive Level · The Diary of a CFO

0:00
Like, what's your routine or system to remain
0:03
sharp as an executive? I went to our executive
0:07
leaders and said, I can't work 24 -7. I need
0:11
to sleep. She was also named interim chief financial
0:19
officer. She held both roles for five months.
0:22
It's the balance of all the things coming at
0:25
you at once. And then it's the magnitude of decisions
0:28
that you're having to make. You're making decisions
0:31
around people's compensation and their livelihood.
0:35
And you have this impact upon thousands of families.
0:38
I had to give up some of the detail, some of
0:41
the curiosity. I just there isn't enough hours
0:44
in a day. And what would you advise? someone
0:46
that's probably a controller or a CEO right now
0:50
about transitioning to CFO, just from what you've
0:53
seen. Take the opportunity to... Today's episode
0:59
is brought to you by FISPEN. By embedding banking
1:02
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at fispen .com. I will drop the link in the show
1:19
notes. Christy is the Executive Vice President,
1:23
Chief Supply Chain and Business Systems Officer
1:25
at Southwire. A company that did $9 .7 billion
1:29
in revenue last year, Southwire's products deliver
1:32
power to multiple industries, including emerging
1:35
markets such as data centers, electric utilities,
1:38
transit, construction and residential markets.
1:42
But here is what makes Christy's story unusual.
1:45
She started in treasury, she became chief accounting
1:47
officer, and then she did something most financiers
1:50
never do. She left finance completely to run
1:52
the supply chain, and she recently served in
1:55
a transition role as interim CFL. I met Christy
1:58
a couple years ago at a manufacturing event right
2:01
here in Atlanta. She stood up to answer a question
2:03
I was struck by how sharp, charismatic, and full
2:06
of energy she was. I went up to introduce myself
2:09
afterwards and we have stayed connected ever
2:11
since. So I'm super excited to finally have her
2:15
on the show. Welcome, Christy. I'm so excited
2:18
to be here with you, Ossie. So it's so nice to
2:20
be here. Thanks for inviting me. Of course, because
2:22
I know we met a lot of one time at an event and
2:25
then every time after that was at some conference
2:28
in a different city. It has been. I don't think
2:30
we've actually seen each other in Atlanta in
2:33
a while, but we have seen each other all across
2:36
the. Yes, over the past few years. Yes. So curious
2:40
to hear like what brought you to Atlanta in the
2:42
first place. So I moved to Atlanta from Birmingham.
2:46
Alabama. My husband and I both moved for my opportunity
2:51
at Southwire about 19 years ago. Wow, but you've
2:55
been out Southwire ever since, right? Yeah, I
2:58
have. I've had tremendous opportunity to grow
3:00
my career and started in treasury and took other
3:04
roles, business unit, finance leader, in chief
3:08
accounting, in corporate accounting, and just
3:12
a lot of different finance roles and now in supply
3:14
chain. Yeah, it's awesome. What keeps, what?
3:17
What's keeping you there still? Because almost
3:19
two decades at the same company is very rare
3:21
these days. It is. It's very rare. And it has
3:25
a, South Fire has a fantastic culture. It's privately
3:28
owned and professionally managed. It's got a
3:33
great sense of community and the people that
3:35
work there are wonderful to work with. And so
3:38
when you come to come to work every day and you're
3:41
excited about it and you like the people that
3:44
you work with, that's what really keeps you there.
3:46
there, right? It's hard. You never say that when
3:51
you are looking at other opportunities, are you
3:53
running away from something, are you running
3:55
to something, right? And I come back to Southwire
4:00
and just think about how great of an experience
4:03
it has been for me and just what. what the business
4:07
does, but also what they do for the community
4:09
and giving back. Oh, good for you. Good for you.
4:12
Now, you were chief accounting officer and then
4:15
you let finance to run supply chain. What made
4:19
you say yes to that move? Because up until now,
4:22
when I looked you up, yeah, of course, you were
4:25
in accounting and finance, right? Treasury, accounting,
4:28
chief accounting officer. And then you went,
4:30
boom, supply. So a whole different unit. What
4:33
made you say yes? So when I was in Treasury over
4:38
10 years ago, I had the opportunity to work with
4:41
the supply chain team on supply chain finance.
4:47
was a peek into the commodity markets and how
4:52
the company's raw materials are sourced and I
4:56
really became super curious about it. And even
5:00
though I've had other roles, I've always had
5:03
this connection with that. with either with that
5:06
team or just what they do and understood the
5:10
importance of what they did. And so I think it
5:14
was just that curiosity and connection that I'm
5:16
like, I'd like to have a little bit more information
5:19
and be able to be a part of what they do. Wow.
5:24
And why then at that time? And not earlier. Yeah,
5:29
I think I felt like in finance, I had checked
5:33
a bunch of like the experience boxes. And so
5:37
obviously, Treasury did that for many years and
5:42
loved Treasury, but moved laterally into a business
5:47
unit finance role and had the opportunity. to
5:51
work across different businesses and loved having
5:54
that FP &A, had plant controllers reporting to
5:59
me for a bit of time, had a lot of different
6:02
things happening. And then I moved into the corporate
6:07
area and led as chief accounting officer, had
6:11
tax, had shared services, and really felt like,
6:15
hey, I had kind of done all these things and
6:18
what else could I do and how else could I contribute?
6:21
And so there was an opportunity that arose and
6:25
I really had made my availability kind of known
6:32
to the company that said, hey, I'm interested
6:34
in learning and leading and being a part of the
6:38
business in a more meaningful level. And if I
6:42
look back on my career, operations was something
6:45
that I wasn't super deep in. I hadn't had like
6:49
10 years of experience working in a plant. And
6:53
I wanted that opportunity to really see how things
6:57
happen in a manufacturing company. Wow. And now
7:00
you're seeing it. I am definitely seeing it.
7:03
I am definitely seeing it. What would you say
7:05
surprised you the most when you made that switch
7:09
from finance to supply chain? So at the core
7:13
of what we do is we convert materials into the
7:18
products that deliver power to millions across
7:21
North America. And every step in our value chain
7:26
is super critical. And I understood I understood
7:32
the criticality of the materials, but the importance
7:35
of flow and with all of the different geopolitical
7:39
things happening and where critical materials
7:42
are coming, my appreciation for elements has
7:46
grown. And when I say elements, I'm literally
7:48
talking about the periodic table. Like go back
7:51
to chemistry and think about the period. So I
7:55
have an appreciation for where things sit on
7:58
the periodic table now. based upon materials
8:02
that we need to make our products. And so both
8:06
all of these things has just grown my appreciation
8:10
for it. So I think those were the biggest things
8:14
that were surprising. Like, wow, I need to pull
8:16
out my chemistry knowledge and understand how
8:20
all these things come together to deliver our
8:24
products. So tell us more, because on the outside,
8:27
I'm like, oh, they do cables. What goes into
8:31
that? Like, now I'm curious, now that you said
8:33
elements, like, what are the intricacies you
8:36
probably had to learn probably over, you know,
8:38
your experience at Southwire of how do you actually
8:41
make a cable that electricity can go through?
8:44
Well, the conductor, the conductivity is done
8:47
through metals. So either copper or aluminum.
8:49
Okay. Normally part of the core and depending
8:55
upon the application is depending upon so if
8:57
it's inside a building It'll be made a certain
9:00
way so that it's protected. It could be behind
9:02
a wall And if it's outside a bit of building
9:05
if it's delivering power like in transmission
9:08
lines or through distribution It's maybe aluminum
9:12
conductor and it may have different applications
9:15
to be able to withstand weather or withstand
9:19
temperature changes or abrasive environments.
9:23
So all of those different pieces are around how
9:26
you start with basically the metal, the element,
9:30
and you are drawing and straining it, and then
9:35
you're putting some type of outer exterior, if
9:40
you think about just a cord, like we were talking
9:43
about even in the studio, there's cords, right?
9:45
So if you think about the different materials
9:48
that go on the outside of that, that's all, some
9:51
of them have fire resistance properties, and
9:55
so that material science, goes into the outer
9:58
side of the wire and all of those are then developed.
10:02
uh, delivering power to our customers or in our
10:06
communities. Wow. I remember when we first met,
10:09
we got to talk about ESG and now I understand
10:12
more why you'd be talking about ESG for so long.
10:16
Um, cause you were one of the first people talking
10:18
about how you were already thinking about ESG
10:20
when ESG was not a buzz word because of the industry
10:24
you're in. So, but I haven't heard much about
10:26
ESG. I feel like AI came in and then everybody
10:29
forgot about ESG, but ESG must be still part
10:32
of the of what you do every day. So how do you
10:33
view that now that you're in supply chain versus
10:37
when you were in accounting? Sure. So sustainability
10:41
is at the core of what we do. We have core values
10:47
that have tenants that are tied to sustainability.
10:51
And we just released I believe it's the 17 or
10:55
18th version of our year of our sustainability
11:00
report. So if you can imagine many years of sustainability
11:03
commitments and it's around carbon reduction,
11:07
but it's also about giving back to our communities,
11:10
building worth for our communities and our team
11:14
members and our shareholders. It's also about
11:17
doing right and ethics and compliance and giving
11:22
back. and growing green, and these are all part
11:27
of the fabric of what our company stands for.
11:31
And so being part of the supply chain is really
11:34
thinking about circularity, how things can be
11:37
recycled. We deal with critical minerals and
11:42
so elements, like I said, so their recyclability
11:46
and how they are able to be reused is important
11:50
to us and things that we can... continue to work
11:53
on. And wire is something that lasts a long time.
11:58
If you think about your house, you probably haven't
12:02
needed to replace the wire in your house because
12:06
it lasts a long time. So it's something that
12:11
is really sustainable as well. So when we think
12:15
about when we think about our commitment to sustainability,
12:19
it just continues because of the products that
12:21
we're delivering and the impact that we have.
12:24
So it's just part of the DNA. It's not something
12:28
special we do above and beyond. It's just part
12:31
of the core. And it goes along with the values
12:36
that we bring to our customers. And it's important.
12:38
Many of our customers really want circularity
12:43
or recyclability and a commitment. So it is important
12:49
to them. Glad to hear that because I felt like
12:53
a lot of people were in the wave, felt like a
12:55
wave and then it kind of disappeared and that
12:57
AI is a wave. So it's good to hear you guys are
13:01
still on that trajectory because it's part of...
13:03
who you are really at the core. Now, Southwire
13:06
did $9 billion last year. What does it feel like
13:09
to be in your current seat? So our products that
13:16
are out in the market do provide a lot of the
13:19
electricity in the United States. So it's an
13:22
awesome, awesome responsibility and humbling
13:26
to be in my seat because we're just... tremendous
13:33
to deliver power and to build products that are
13:37
in many homes and out in the communities. And
13:41
so for me, it's a great responsibility to be
13:46
a part of such a large organization and to make
13:51
sure that My group and our team can develop the
13:56
materials that we're going to turn into these
13:58
products so that we can serve our customers and
14:01
our communities. And it's just an awesome responsibility.
14:04
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Now let's get back to the episode. So how do
15:02
you feel like your accounting and finance background
15:05
helped you make that transition to supply chain
15:08
easier? Um, or maybe harder. I don't know. No,
15:12
I think I mean With finance, you have obviously
15:17
a keen appreciation for numbers. My background
15:21
lends itself to understanding markets. So with
15:25
having to deal with minerals and metals, I understand
15:28
the markets. So those pieces of my background
15:31
helped. Understanding negotiation and the value,
15:36
I think that has also helped. Being able to have
15:40
that perspective around things and then also
15:44
really being, there's lots of data. So being
15:47
able to digest data and filter data and that
15:50
those types of skills have been really, really
15:53
important. Okay. So what would you say your day
15:55
to day look like when you were chief accounting
15:57
officer versus now EVPO supply chain? So I think
16:01
in my old role, I was really helping at the corporate
16:08
level. So I wasn't impacting. I mean, it's just
16:11
a huge change to be kind of at a corporate level.
16:14
And it's not that we were only looking through
16:17
the rear view mirror. But when you are at that
16:20
corporate level, you're thinking about tax planning,
16:23
liquidity planning. You're thinking about collecting
16:28
cash, paying the bills, you're thinking about
16:33
risk mitigation and governance. handle every
16:40
day is around those tenants. And then when you
16:43
move to supply chain, you're managing what the
16:49
materials are that are needed to make the products,
16:52
and making sure that those relationships and
16:54
that resilience is there, and that you are critically
16:58
going to have what you need when you need it
17:01
for who you need it to serve. And so you have
17:04
tremendous customers, and you don't... particularly
17:10
you understand that you are looking at the demands
17:14
of the business and tying it all together. And
17:17
so I just feel like it's really close to the,
17:20
it is the heartbeat, part of the heartbeat of
17:22
the business. And I have the opportunity to serve
17:26
the business in a different way. So it's much
17:30
closer to the, I would say the nitty gritty of
17:33
what's going on and particularly at a manufacturer.
17:37
And so what were some of the things that you
17:39
would say worried you the most when you were
17:42
CAO versus now in supply chain? Because obviously
17:45
when you were talking clearly the people that
17:47
you deal with every day change, right? You're
17:49
no longer dealing with your tax people, your
17:51
treasury people. Now you're dealing with production.
17:54
Right. You know, all these other things. So what
17:57
would you say worried you the most now versus
18:00
when you were CAO? It's interesting because if
18:04
I think about it, it's a little bit of the same
18:07
thing. So when I was CAO, I worried a lot about
18:11
forecasting accuracy. You know, we're delivering
18:17
financial insight. And so we want to be able
18:20
to have the right reports to be able to say,
18:22
OK, this is where the plane is going to land
18:25
as far as the numbers go. And you're looking
18:27
at it from the role that I sat in at a very high
18:30
level. And so you want to make sure that you
18:33
have the right processes and systems and controls
18:36
so that that forecasting accuracy comes in. Well
18:40
on target right that's you you want to land the
18:43
plane on the runway. Uh -huh and so that side
18:47
it was Something that worried me like I wanted
18:50
to make sure we had good processes and good systems
18:52
and and visibility Now when I think about it
18:56
in supply chain forecasting accuracy is so incredibly
18:59
important because I got to make sure that I have
19:01
materials and the right demand plan for our Operations
19:07
to make the right thing and the timing to meet
19:10
the schedules and and demands of our customers
19:14
and whether it's something that's going to be
19:17
made to stock or made to order, have a real understanding
19:20
of where those materials need to be when they
19:24
need to be there. demand planning accuracy, or
19:27
again, forecasting accuracy, thinking about not
19:31
just what do we need to make tomorrow, next week,
19:34
month from now, two months from now, but also
19:37
thinking about what do we do for our supply chain
19:40
for the long term? How do we build it in? How
19:42
do we think about our company's growth and making
19:45
sure that we have a very resilient set of processes
19:50
and systems that support that? Wow, that's a
19:53
lot. It is, especially the reason I say that
19:55
is I think about AI and all these data centers
19:58
coming in that will need more electricity. Like
20:01
if anything, I'm assuming software is like, oh,
20:04
there's business coming and you're probably going
20:06
to go, oh, there is business coming. Like you
20:07
probably have a different appreciation for it.
20:11
So curious to hear, you were mentioning made
20:12
to stop, made to order. Like what are some of
20:15
the things people may not see? from the outside
20:18
that has to happen in the background. Like somebody
20:20
has to think about when something gets on a ship,
20:23
how long it takes to come here, from which part
20:25
of the, like, what are all these things that
20:27
happen in the background? Curious to hear. Well,
20:30
it's pretty interesting. So we source globally.
20:35
So we have a global supply chain. We think about
20:38
materials that we can get domestically as well
20:42
as internationally. And in some... If you think
20:47
about what's going on geopolitically, how the
20:51
US can be more resilient in being able to have
20:53
access to certain materials and some materials
20:56
we just don't have enough of. So when we think
21:00
about how all of these things, we're trying to
21:04
make sure that we can get the access to materials
21:07
for our customers and plan on what that demand
21:10
looks like and based upon what material it is
21:14
globally. where we're going to be able to source
21:16
that, then we need to make sure that those...
21:20
materials, if it's going to be global and outside
21:23
of North America, how we're going to get it to
21:26
the states, making sure that the maritime routes
21:30
are open or the Panama Canal is open or however
21:34
we're going to get the materials, we can get
21:37
them. So we're planning for that. And then once
21:41
we receive them, we are vertically integrated
21:44
in some processes. So we actually take some raw
21:48
materials and do the first step of converting
21:52
into the first step of metal, which is a rod,
21:57
which is a metal rod, if you think of copper
22:03
or aluminum. And then we take that, and we draw
22:05
it, and we strand it into some type of wire,
22:10
which starts there. And then we start to put
22:13
our coat. are compounding and the different materials
22:18
on it based upon the application. And so if I
22:21
think of make to stock, that is things that you
22:24
would see in big box retailers if you go down
22:27
the electrical aisle. And if you also would see
22:32
potentially make to order would be more what
22:36
an investor -owned utility might order for their
22:40
specifications around the power lines that they're
22:42
going to have that to distribute. and power their
22:46
electricity. So that's gonna be two different.
22:49
One might be highly engineered to specification,
22:52
and one might be more deliverable to a customer
23:01
and something that every electrician would use.
23:06
Okay. And so when you think about all these elements,
23:11
like how would you say, what would you say have
23:12
helped you? Learn those things quickly, especially
23:15
because you're an accounting background. You're
23:17
talking like a scientist right now What are some
23:22
of the things I helped you maybe bridge the gap
23:25
or Connect with your your new peers right example
23:29
in the process because regardless of the position
23:31
you in It's something that's so critical regardless
23:34
that you're an executive like you have to talk
23:36
with people that don't have your background.
23:39
Right. It's like when if I if I rely it back
23:42
to to finance when I had the opportunity to lead
23:47
the the tax group, I'm not a tax expert. I don't
23:51
know the tax code. Right. That's very complex.
23:54
And there are lots of. very seasoned specialists
23:57
that understand taxes. And so when I can't come
24:01
into this role, I'm really dependent upon such
24:04
a fantastic team that we have that are materials
24:08
specialists. They have long, long years of experience
24:12
and dedication and understand all of the formulations,
24:17
listening. I'm a note taker, like an old fashioned
24:22
note taker. I write everything down and I go
24:25
back and I digest it. I do a lot of listening
24:28
and I have insatiable curiosity, which is probably
24:33
why I really get into the details and I sound
24:36
like a scientist because I really do want to
24:39
understand and seek to really put all the parts
24:42
and pieces together so that I can, if somebody
24:46
is coming to me with a problem, or we want to
24:50
do a new, we want to have a new endeavor, a new
24:53
innovation, I can understand and speak their
24:56
language. And so it's about listening and asking
25:01
questions and understanding that they're the
25:06
experts and that they're always going to be the
25:08
expert and that I'm very humbly respectful of
25:13
all of the knowledge that they have and let them
25:16
know that I'm really super interested in what
25:19
they're doing and and how how they do their job
25:23
every day and how I can make you know Remove
25:29
obstacles and make things better for them. But
25:32
really it's about listening and learning and
25:35
Probably a bit about my note -taking. Okay, and
25:39
just being able being curious and asking a little
25:42
bit and And so all of those things combined.
25:45
Now you bring up a great point, especially when
25:47
you were talking about when you're still taking
25:49
over tax. I feel like a lot of people are afraid
25:52
to make those moves as executives because it
25:54
was not their expertise. Right. Right. So what
25:57
would be your advice for someone who's stepping
26:00
like what you did stepping into tax and tax was
26:03
not what you did in college or for the past 10
26:06
years of your career? How do you effectively
26:08
step in and still lead the department? Well,
26:12
you you have awesome people that work there they
26:15
know more than you know and so Recognize that
26:20
you're not going to be an expert overnight We
26:23
all have when you take a new opportunity you
26:27
want to jump in so fast and so for me You know,
26:32
I was nervous. I knew that I didn't know everything
26:36
and had to really decide, OK, what is it? And
26:39
I think that's with every new role, right? How
26:41
deep am I going to get in? What do I want to
26:44
accomplish in the first 30 days? And how deep
26:46
do I want to go into details? And then what are
26:48
my do now, do next, do later priorities? And
26:53
really, again, understand what their workflow
26:57
looks like, particularly like tax. In a company,
27:01
they have, you know, the season of of what they're
27:04
doing for tax provisions and for accounting.
27:07
Then you have the other side of doing the tax
27:08
returns. And so those are two humongous processes
27:12
that they're leading and working on. And so I
27:17
just understand what I can do, but they know
27:19
that I'm not going to get in their spreadsheets
27:21
and start messing around with their formulas
27:23
or in their systems. I'm going to rely upon,
27:27
they're the experts. They know more than I will
27:30
ever know. And so I really... humbly. I think
27:35
humility is a great thing and so I would say
27:40
respect what they know and be there to help them.
27:45
remove obstacles and also understand that you're
27:48
going to be nervous and you're not going to know
27:50
everything. And I put a lot of pressure on myself
27:52
to really kind of know all the details. And I
27:56
just remember thinking to myself, you know, in
27:59
these different rules, like, oh my gosh, am I
28:01
going to be able to do this? And then if I stuck
28:04
with my plan, usually around day 90, it was like
28:08
I'd wake up one morning and I'm like, oh. I got
28:10
this. I know what's coming at me today and I
28:16
can handle it and whatever the curve ball is,
28:18
I'll be able to catch it. It'll be fine. Oh,
28:21
nice. Nice. So what would you say was probably
28:24
the hardest thing for you to do in your career?
28:27
The hardest thing? I think the hardest thing
28:33
is and continues to be is being a people leader.
28:39
That's the hardest. The things that you'll get
28:43
around, whether it's accounting or finance or
28:48
supply chain, you can learn. I mean, a lot of
28:52
people can learn that, but the people side of
28:55
things is really tricky. It's tricky, right?
28:58
You have to be somebody who develops fellowship,
29:02
somebody if you want to be a leader and you want
29:05
to lead people. And I think early in my career,
29:08
I was a super bumpy leader. And so I wanted everybody
29:16
to live up to a certain expectation and people
29:20
learn at their own pace and deliver results at
29:23
different paces. And so I had to realize that
29:26
not everybody wants to be Christy. And so I think
29:29
about that. I would say people have been... you
29:34
know, something that I continue to work on, and
29:36
I work on it every day. I'm always asking other
29:39
people for, you know, hey, was that conversation?
29:43
Did it land right? Did I use the right terms?
29:48
Because literally every person is an individual.
29:51
So it sounds weird, but it's the leadership of
29:55
people and development of people because it's
29:58
a big... personal tenant of mine to treat people
30:03
fairly and to treat people with respect and dignity.
30:08
And I want to make sure that I'm always doing
30:10
that. And I think that's probably been something
30:15
that I can, it's a continuous improvement project.
30:18
Thank you so much for sharing that and sharing
30:20
it so openly because I think we're all bumpy
30:23
leaders because we don't really go to school.
30:25
or training programs before we actually manage
30:28
people. At least I didn't. Like I became a people
30:31
manager and then I was like looking up for training
30:33
on how to be a people manager. Like after the
30:37
fact. So curious to hear what are some of the
30:40
ways you have actually sharpened your skills
30:42
in that area over time? Really, some of it is
30:46
360 and asking people to give me feedback. Oh,
30:49
360. 360s are hard. But it's also really asking
30:55
people. So I'm a very transparent person. And
31:00
it's just part of how I am a straight shooter.
31:02
You know that from our relationships of how I
31:06
approach things. And so I ask for people to give
31:09
me critical feedback. And if I'm seeing body
31:14
language that I'm making somebody uncomfortable,
31:16
I'll tell them. give me that feedback if this
31:20
is not you know if what I'm sharing with you
31:23
or coaching you is not the way that you like
31:25
to like to learn um working with um how to build
31:29
teams and getting to know your team members beyond
31:34
um what what they why they came to work that
31:37
day beyond beyond that because you do have to
31:41
know what else is going on in their world so
31:44
um that was those those are things that I continue
31:47
to have to remind myself. So I don't think you
31:51
can learn to be a people leader from a book,
31:55
but it's interesting because I was sharing this
31:59
story this morning with someone. I was listening
32:02
to a podcast and they were talking about how
32:06
to... how to meet people. And it was interesting
32:11
because they, the person, and I apologize to
32:14
whoever it was that I listened to, they talked
32:16
about smiling with your teeth and how it could,
32:19
how it like really is a bonding experience. And
32:22
that if you smile with your teeth, that people
32:24
will, will, um, understand that you're a happier
32:28
person. And I've taken that really seriously
32:30
because, um, trying to bring about new teens
32:35
and be a new leader into new orgs for me. Orgs
32:39
in established processes, but I'm new. And so
32:42
smile on my face and try to be approachable.
32:46
And then we can build a relationship. Yeah, my
32:49
face is loud. So sometimes I have to tell my
32:51
face, face. Let's not do that. Thank you for
32:56
sharing. But yeah, it's just like you said, it's
32:58
a journey. It is absolutely a journey. And you
33:01
learn from all those, like the podcast, the book
33:03
here, but yeah, there is nothing like actually
33:05
doing the reps. Yes. You have to put in those
33:09
reps. You have to put in the reps. You have to
33:10
put in the time with the team. Wow. Now at some
33:13
point, like in your supply chain journey, you
33:16
had to be interim CFO for some time at Southwire
33:21
and then jumping back. What was that experience
33:23
like? It was, it was great. It was, uh, it was
33:27
really. I had to learn prioritization. I had
33:32
to learn that I couldn't do everything because
33:35
I had both the supply chain role and the interim
33:38
CFO role. So really making sure that I was aligned
33:42
with our leadership team on their priorities
33:44
and making sure that both teams were in a good
33:49
space and understood that I couldn't be there
33:51
for everyone all at once. And my teams were super
33:56
respectful of that. And so really prioritization,
34:01
leaning hard into understanding that I'm not
34:05
going to be able to do everything. And so setting
34:08
myself up to succeed and understanding things
34:12
would fall through the cracks and that I would
34:14
eventually get to them. But it was very interesting
34:19
having the opportunity to talk about our results
34:24
and be a part of communication. to our global
34:29
or broader organization from a financial leadership
34:33
position, helping to explain the numbers to other
34:36
leaders and our board, presenting to the board
34:40
our financials, that all of that, the preparation
34:44
that goes into that and practicing all of that
34:48
was a very interesting and great experience.
34:54
And so I thought, I mean, It was just a very
34:58
humbling opportunity and something that I felt
35:03
very prepared for. And because of all the finance,
35:07
like I said, I've done treasury, done business,
35:09
you did. So I think from my perspective, it was
35:13
a really... a really good opportunity. And actually
35:17
there's so many things, little things that I
35:19
took away from that interim responsibility now
35:22
back into my supply chain around process optimization
35:26
and understanding how we should deploy strategy
35:31
that now I can take into my... role where I am
35:35
today and be able to start working on all those
35:38
things. Nice. And so how would you say now you
35:42
view the world differently, right? Because you've
35:44
done supply chain and you were sitting at some
35:47
point in a CFO seat, when you walk through a
35:50
plant or when you look at, you know, when people
35:53
start talking about supply chain, what are some
35:55
of the things you say you now pay more attention
35:57
to because you've seen both sides of the world?
36:00
Like I'm pretty sure your perspective. around
36:03
either the numbers change when you were in the
36:05
CFO seat or now in supply chain. Like what changed
36:09
in between how you view things now? So there's
36:12
a couple of different things that I noticed when
36:14
I walk through a manufacturing location more
36:17
so than I did when I because I had some supply
36:24
chain experience and as a CFO. So one of the
36:28
things that I thought about in a finance role,
36:32
which you also think about in a... in a supply
36:36
chain role, but now I think about it a little
36:39
bit differently, is we are a manufacturer. We
36:42
do create some scrap. And so I'm very, very,
36:47
very focused on scrap. But now when I walk in
36:52
in the supply chain, I'm really interested in
36:54
what the kind of scrap that it is. Like, hey,
36:57
what is that? Can we recycle it? How are we going
36:59
to, you know, how's that? What's the next phase
37:02
for that? So the life of scrap is important to
37:05
me, which before I thought of it, I haven't lost
37:11
the how can we reduce scrap, but I'm thinking
37:15
about what happens to scrap after it leaves that
37:17
particular spot. There's a low ROI out of that.
37:20
Yes, yes. So I am. I think about that. I also,
37:25
when I rock through our operations, I now have
37:30
a deeper appreciation for continuous improvement,
37:33
which is around the lean culture, how they are
37:37
trying to always do better each day, how they're
37:40
working on efficiencies, the lean projects that
37:44
they have going on. And I think when I was in
37:48
the finance role, I thought of those as just,
37:50
okay, well, how can we improve this particular
37:54
through a thousand little changes that we're
37:57
going to make. And now I'm more focused on, okay,
38:00
what are the thousand little changes that we
38:02
can make to have that continuous improvement
38:04
and how are they using lean tools to do better?
38:08
every day and standardizing their work, I'm very
38:13
appreciative of that and visibility around KPIs
38:17
and understanding how they're part of the accountability
38:21
to the numbers. And so really sharing with those
38:24
teams, I think in my current role, I didn't think
38:29
about those as closely as I did when I was in
38:33
finance. So I definitely, my awareness is and
38:38
curiosity is at just another level around us.
38:42
I bet. So how do you make life easier for your
38:45
finance people or your supply chain people? Because
38:47
now you've seen what causes headaches in finance
38:50
because you've been on that side. And now you
38:52
know also how people are like, let's not get
38:55
close to these finance people, maybe on the supply
38:57
chain side. Like how do you bridge the two function?
39:00
Like where do you see opportunities to make things
39:03
better for each group? So I think where I help
39:08
potentially is I can help. the storytelling with
39:12
numbers, because the drivers to certain things
39:16
in the business, which may not be as visible
39:20
to an FP &A person or a controller, I'm able
39:25
to tie things together and say, OK, well, remember
39:28
when this happened here, or you heard of this
39:33
geopolitical thing that's going on? That's going
39:37
to impact us this, this, and this. So I'm able
39:41
to help the finance team. understand, again,
39:45
kind of forecasting accuracy, but also how things
39:48
might change, how inflation might impact something
39:52
and how we should be preparing that and how we
39:55
can better communicate with our product management
39:57
team or how we should be thinking with our R
40:00
&D team around innovation and material science
40:03
to try to make sure that we're using just the
40:06
right amount of a material and not too much and
40:09
not too little. So all of those things, I think,
40:13
help me do better are things that I have a much
40:17
closer appreciation for. And what you said there
40:21
about how an event that you see in the news can
40:25
impact your business. It is so important. It
40:28
is so important, but I don't think we talk about
40:31
it enough. Whether it's when we hire or when
40:34
we onboard people. Because at some point I was
40:37
working for a lottery company. And by the jackpot
40:42
amount, we could tell if a recession was coming.
40:45
Oh, wow. Because people play more. Try the lottery
40:50
more when things are tough. So when the jackpot
40:54
start being higher and higher and higher, it
40:57
is a sign that a recession is probably coming.
41:01
Interesting. And so I'm going to be looking at
41:04
the boards now. It changed my perspective. And
41:07
that's why I keep asking you questions about
41:09
how your perspective changed, because it will
41:11
change when you're in different, even within
41:13
the same business, right? When you're in different
41:15
departments, because now you see the world differently.
41:19
You probably incentivize differently or your
41:22
goals are just different. So your view of the
41:25
world will be different. But you were a CAO,
41:28
right? Chief accounting officer. You were close
41:30
to the CFO. What took you by surprise when you
41:32
got into that interim CFO? Because I was close
41:34
to a CFO before and I was like, oh, I can do
41:36
this job. And then I got in, I was like, Lord.
41:40
Well, it's the balance of all the things coming
41:43
at you at once. And then it's the magnitude of
41:46
decisions that you're having to make and understanding
41:49
that, you know, you're creating incentive programs
41:54
for people or you're making decisions around,
41:59
you know, people's, you know, people's compensation
42:04
and their livelihood, and you have this impact
42:07
upon thousands of families. And so I think the
42:11
magnitude of all these, you know, what might
42:15
have seemed like a smaller -ish decision, but
42:18
the impact that they could have on a community
42:22
or on an operation. So I think those impact as
42:28
well as just the sheer flow. And really for myself,
42:34
I had to give up some of the detail, some of
42:37
the curiosity. I just, there isn't enough hours
42:40
in a day for me to be able to dive deep on something,
42:44
which meant, you know, My team's awesome, so
42:48
trusting them, delegating to them, and asking
42:51
them to take a little bit more, as well as trying
42:56
to keep myself at the right level for the CFO,
42:59
which is at a higher strategy, being strategic.
43:03
every day and working in the strategic space
43:07
and not the tactical space. Yes. So would you,
43:11
do you see yourself ever going back to finance
43:13
now that you're in supply Jane? I think the finance
43:15
will keep with me. I mean, I think it's going
43:17
to be hard and always going to be there, right?
43:23
background or DNA. It's part of my DNA. So I
43:26
think the finance will always be there. It'll
43:27
be something that I carry in my pocket every
43:31
day with me. My calculator is not going away.
43:36
And so I think I will always have that with me.
43:40
And so it just adds to the skill set. It makes
43:44
things. It makes your perspective broader. And
43:49
I think with my curiosity, I'm always going to
43:51
have a passion for numbers and explaining the
43:54
numbers. And so this role just gives me the opportunity
43:57
to really understand some of the drivers of the
44:00
numbers. Okay. And what would you advise someone
44:03
that's probably a controller or a CAO right now
44:07
about transitioning to CFO, just from what you've
44:10
seen? Like, I know one of them, like you. So
44:14
well described because of the magnitude of decisions
44:16
you can't be in the details. Right. Right. What
44:18
would be something else? Well, the one thing,
44:23
things that I think about is your career, take
44:27
the opportunity to learn other parts of the business.
44:31
You can always go back to finance, right? Finance
44:35
is not going to, my, the door to finance is not
44:38
closed. It's just not, not right now, not. not
44:43
know ever, not know never. It's just something
44:48
that I'm going to be pivoting to this other opportunity
44:52
to learn the business. There's a lot of cool
44:55
things that a finance person can do. And that
44:58
may mean a lateral move. It doesn't necessarily
45:01
mean, Hey, I'm going to go into this next move
45:04
because if you aspire to be a CFO, you have to
45:08
have that operational understanding of what makes
45:12
the business tick of what creates value for shareholders.
45:16
And so you have to understand how does capital
45:19
get deployed? How do, how does exec, how do executive
45:22
teams make decisions on what they're going to
45:25
spend their precious capital on. What are those
45:29
next big investments that they want to make,
45:31
those next bets that they want to make, organically
45:34
or inorganically. And so when you are aspired
45:38
to that level, having the experience of being
45:41
able to say, well, I'm very deep in this, but
45:45
I have experience in business partnering. I know
45:49
how to trust and influence people. to gain trust
45:53
and influence people. I know how to tell stories
45:56
with numbers, and I understand how the business,
46:00
I have a real appreciation for how the business
46:03
works. Those are all characteristics that you
46:06
might not get from just being a controller. You
46:09
might get half of it, but maybe being in a different
46:12
role might help you. It might give you a perspective
46:18
that you never thought of before, and that might...
46:21
mean a lateral to something or a pause on that
46:27
next role. But I think that for me personally,
46:30
I took laterals, I moved around, I had to be
46:33
patient and things didn't always happen when
46:36
I wanted them to. But I think it does work out.
46:41
Yep, it does work out in the end. Curious to
46:44
hear what advice would you give to your younger
46:46
self? Patience. Okay. Patience. Be patient. Be
46:51
more patient, right? Like that sense of urgency.
46:55
Because I have such an energy that I like to
46:57
bring to everything. And sometimes not everybody's
47:00
going to want to move at the pace that I do.
47:03
That one is hard. Yeah. Getting people to move,
47:06
especially when they don't report to you or there
47:10
is other things going on. Right. Everybody has
47:13
their own priority list, right? And so you have
47:15
to be respectful of the things that they need
47:17
to do and that they have at the top of their
47:20
priority list and if you need to influence someone.
47:23
So my younger self... I would say if an opportunity
47:27
presents itself, don't be afraid. Don't worry
47:33
about it. Don't worry about what other people
47:35
are going to think about it. If it's something
47:37
that you're attracted to, that you think about
47:41
particularly. when you get home from work at
47:45
the end of the day or when you close the laptop
47:48
or whatever for the end of the day and you're
47:51
thinking, man, this was a good day, kind of think
47:53
about what you did that day, like how it warmed
47:56
your heart and fulfilled you and say, okay, what
47:59
was that? Because I want to do more of that,
48:01
right? And so that is something that I would
48:04
think about more. as far as like as the, I took
48:09
on assignments or I walked into different things,
48:13
but just keep your curiosity and don't let anybody
48:19
slow you down. Ooh, I love it. Now, how do you
48:22
stay grounded? Like what is your favorite thing
48:24
to do outside of work? Like what's your routine
48:27
or system to remain sharp as an executive? Because
48:31
you're doing a lot, okay? Like, yeah. So I am
48:37
I'm blessed to well, first of all, I have a passion
48:40
for water. So whether it's the beach or the lake,
48:43
I am a water person. You just if I'm going to
48:47
the beach and you kind of cross that bridge to
48:48
get to the ocean. Like, everything just drains
48:51
right out of me, yes. And my husband and I have
48:56
a lake house, and we enjoy every bit of it. So
49:01
if I'm not in Atlanta, you'll find me at the
49:04
lake or the beach, which this time of year in
49:07
the summer, I'm there quite a bit. And so I just
49:11
love being on the water. It's something peaceful
49:14
that just takes everything kind of. I mean, my
49:19
whole body language. Like even when we're driving
49:22
there, I know when I'm like 15 minutes out and
49:25
like things just start to kind of drop away.
49:29
Yes. So I think that's my happy place. And so
49:33
I'm fortunate to do that. But also, you know,
49:38
breathing. And I also am really focused on on
49:45
protecting my time. And so I need, I mean, this
49:50
was one of the things when I took on the interim
49:52
CFO position and had my supply chain role as
49:56
well. I went to our executive leaders and said,
50:01
I can't work 24 -7. The one thing that I need
50:05
to function at my best is I need to sleep. I
50:09
function the best on eight hours. And a lot of
50:12
people are like, oh my god, eight hours? And
50:13
I'm like, well, that's a goal. I might only get
50:16
six. I might only get five. But the goal is I
50:20
have a time where I'm not going to be answering
50:25
emails in the middle of the night. And I'm not
50:27
going to be answering emails Dark 30, you know,
50:33
I'm not I'm not gonna do that. So I I had a time
50:35
where I kind of protected for myself Okay, and
50:38
and that boundary really was a key survive You
50:43
know for me a key way for me to survive during
50:46
that time Wow, that's great because protecting
50:49
your time, it is so hard to do sometimes, especially
50:53
when you go, go, go. Were you always like that,
50:56
able to say no, or do you have to grow into?
50:59
You have to grow into it. You absolutely have
51:01
to grow into it, right? Because when you're earlier
51:03
in your career, a lot of times you want to...
51:06
you want to please or you want to do what's needed.
51:09
And certainly there's lots of times when I couldn't
51:12
protect my sleep or I had a really, you know,
51:14
I had a really, really long day or I was traveling
51:17
somewhere and then I got up and I got two hours
51:20
of sleep and then got up and attended a meeting
51:22
and things of that nature. So those types of
51:24
things are going to happen and you have to understand
51:26
that. But when you can protect those, that that
51:30
time for yourself. You just have to start slowly,
51:33
get comfortable with what you need. You have
51:36
to understand that again, like I said, there's
51:38
going to be headwinds that are going to come
51:40
your way that are not going to allow you to do
51:42
that. Schedule some time for yourself put it
51:45
on your calendar block out that hour for whatever
51:49
it is that you need reflection or meditation
51:52
or Taking a nap. Yes, whatever it is that you
51:58
need to refresh and recharge super important
52:03
and so I think making sure that you have that
52:07
time. Okay and so what are some exciting things
52:10
you currently working on either as a company
52:13
at Southwire or even yourself? Well, right now
52:16
I have recently taken over the continuous improvement
52:21
and business systems. So I'm helping the company
52:24
with lean into our focus on continuous improvement.
52:28
So I'm super excited about that. As I mentioned,
52:32
I'm very detailed and I have a passion for it.
52:35
And I love what we're doing across our operations
52:39
and want to expand that and do more of it. So
52:43
that's something big that I am personally leading.
52:48
And our company is in the midst of a super cycle.
52:52
So with electrification and data centers and
52:59
all things electricity, I even had a colleague
53:03
as we were running through some numbers, I was
53:08
questioning how long the super cycle could last.
53:15
And the person, super smart person, said, how
53:21
many devices do you have in front of you right
53:23
now that need electricity? Do you think that's
53:25
going away? And I'm like, well, probably not.
53:28
So I think the company has an awesome opportunity
53:32
to serve the wave of electrification coming.
53:37
And it's just a great time to be a part of the
53:38
company. part of this growth that we're seeing.
53:41
Nice. And you guys do such great work in the
53:44
community. I don't know if you wanted to share,
53:46
but I saw some of the programs you do for youth.
53:49
It's so cool. We do. We just had back to school.
53:52
So we were just talking about school starting
53:54
in Atlanta next week. And, um, and so we are
53:58
in, in our communities where we have manufacturing
54:01
locations. We have a part of, um, our giving
54:04
back programs, what is around back to school
54:07
supplies. very cool nominating a teacher. So
54:11
the people who come to the back to school events
54:14
and get the school supplies, they can also nominate
54:16
their favorite teacher. And we give a gift to
54:20
them to help stock their classroom. So that's
54:23
super cool. And we do that across many of the
54:26
communities that we're in, in West Georgia, but
54:30
in Alabama and Indiana and Kentucky and the different
54:33
places that we have locations. So that's super
54:37
cool. We do a very big, we're big on Toys for
54:41
Tots. We have a lot of programs with veterans
54:46
and the Veterans Network. We work, we do an awesome
54:49
event with veterans and partner with the Braves.
54:53
Me personally, I work with the Atlanta chapter
54:56
of the American Heart Association and the Go
55:00
Red in women's heart health. So that's a passion
55:03
for me, as well as STEM. young women and inspiring
55:08
women to go in and explore science and technology
55:14
and engineering and math. I am obviously, as
55:18
you could tell, fueled by math. I think it's
55:20
so interesting and want to make sure that young
55:22
people don't get intimidated by it and have the
55:28
opportunity to be a part of STEM careers because
55:30
there's a lot of need out there. So really love
55:35
our commitment to to STEM as well and education.
55:39
So lots of things. Yeah. Cause I saw one of your
55:41
training programs even for people to learn, you
55:46
know, what you guys do. It's amazing. Right.
55:48
We have this awesome program called 12 for life,
55:51
which is a partner with the school systems. And
55:54
we do that in, um, in Georgia and in the state
55:57
of Alabama where we have at risk youth come and
56:00
they go to school at a manufacturing location.
56:04
And, um, they also. have a job at our manufacturing
56:08
location as well. So they're getting a paycheck
56:10
as well as finishing and also getting some technical
56:14
skills and certifications that they can take
56:16
on to their next level. And so it's called 12
56:19
for Life because we're trying to make sure that
56:21
they get that high school degree. And we have
56:25
really great success with them going on. And
56:28
we know that the statistics and the math or the
56:30
research shows that if you can get that high
56:32
school diploma, it exponentially will help your
56:34
family. and building worth for themselves. So
56:38
that's something that we are as a company is
56:43
close to my heart and something that keeps me
56:45
at the company when I talk about how great we
56:47
are partner with our communities. I love it.
56:51
Oh, love it. So I'm a foodie. So I always want
56:55
to ask. Okay. Cause you, you, you, you are pretty
56:59
much all over Atlanta. So curious to hear what's
57:01
your favorite place to go to when you think about
57:03
food in the area, one or two places. So, uh,
57:08
I love Boca Lupo and Old Fourth Ward or Inman
57:12
Park Old Fourth Ward. Okay. Um, Italian, it's
57:15
a small restaurant. It has, they make their own
57:18
pastas. They have a small menu. It is wonderful.
57:24
I love it. It's a super treat for my husband
57:28
and I to get to go to. We live close by so we
57:30
can walk, but yeah, it's BocaLubo. Definitely.
57:35
Definitely. Thank you. Adding into my list, just
57:37
asking for a friend, right? Yes. Well, thank
57:40
you. Thank you so much for being on the show.
57:43
I had such a blast and learned so much. Love
57:46
your passion, your energy. You're just so good.
57:49
Oh, thank you. I appreciate it. It's been great
57:51
to sit down and catch up with you. And thank
57:53
you so much for having me. Of course. And that's
57:57
it for today's episode live in Atlanta. I love
58:00
doing this in person. You probably feel a difference.
58:02
If you felt it too, subscribe and share this
58:04
with someone who needs it. And I'll see you in
58:06
the next one.