2012 FINANCIAL EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR Awards [Business Journal, The (Central New York)]
| By Anonymous | |
| Proquest LLC |
FINALISTS - PUBLIC OR PRIVATE COMPANIES WITH REVENUE OF
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
* How long have you been at this company? 18 years
* How long as financial executive? VP, controller 1994-2000; SVP, CFO 2001-present
* Year company was founded: 1859
* CNY employees (2011): 111
* Total employees (2011): 111
* Annual revenue (2011):
* Company description:
* What are the major challenges facing your company today? The continued and prevailing lowering of interest rates presents the greatest challenge to earnings growth. Keeping current with the dynamic and changing accounting regulations and heightened
* How has your role as financial executive changed in the last few years? A greater emphasis is now being placed on more detailed planning and oversight. The creation and monitoring of a detailed strategic plan and the reporting of progress of plan initiatives and projects have also changed my role.
* Looking forward, what is the biggest challengefacing your profession? As accounting rules, public-company disclosures, and banking regulations continue to change, keeping current with the depth, breadth, complexity, and velocity of change represents a significant challenge.
* What is one thing you do outside your profession to offset the mental stress/workload to manage your work/life balance? I consider myself a consummate spectator. I love to travel to take in concerts, sporting events, and festivals, and all that this great country has to offer.
* What guidance and/or special training have you received that has had a positive impact on your success as a financial executive? For the past five years, I have been teaching an accounting class at
VICE PRESIDENT FOR FISCAL AFFAIRS
FRANCISCAN COMPANIES
* How long have you been at this company? Six and a half years
* How long as financial executive? Same
* Year company was founded: 1985
* CNY employees (2011): 194
* Total employees (2011): 194
* Annual revenue (2011):
* Company description: Franciscan Companies, an affiliate of
* What are the major challenges facing your company today? The changing health-care environment is requiring Franciscan Companies to adapt. Trying to manage expenses with shrinking reimbursement is a constant challenge. Our dedicated, professional, and caring employees are among our most valuable assets. Retaining our employees and providing stable employment and benefits, while still preserving our profit margin, is a priority - and a challenge.
* How has your role as financial executive changed in the last few years?The ever-changing health-care environment forces us to look at business differently and to adapt to the environment. It is no longer business as usual. We are continually looking at ways to diversify and introduce new opportunities for growth.
* Looking forward, what is the biggest challenge facing your profession? All financial executives are faced with the country's trying economic conditions. Each industry has its own unique challenges and financial executives have been subjected to additional scrutiny. In our business, the scrutiny comes in the form of insurance-claim payment audits and trying to protect the revenue being generated by our services. As reimbursements shrink, the protection of revenue is more important than ever.
* What is one thing you do outside your profession to offset the mental stress/workload to manage your work/life balance? I enjoy time with my wife, Barb. We go camping, and like to travel, and especially enjoy visiting our two sons in
* What guidance and/or special training have you received that has had a positive impact on your success as a financial executive? I earned both my undergrad accounting degree and MBA at
ACCOUNTING OPERATIONS LEADER
* How long have you been at your company? Nine and a half years
* How long as financial executive? Same
* Year company founded: Founded in 1906 as
* CNY employees (2011): 94
* Total employees (2011): 99
* Annual revenue (2011):
* Company description: Full-service insurance broker providing commercial, employee benefit, personal, and surety lines of insurance to a wide client base.
* What are the major challenges facing your company today? Growing the revenue base both organically by securing new business opportunities, and also through the acquisition of quality, existing insurance agencies.
* How has your role as financial executive changed in the last few years? The role has expanded from primarily an accounting leader function to an overall operations leader.The operations leader is responsible to for ensuring that all areas of the agency are functioning efficiently and cost-effectively.
* Looking forward, what is the biggest challenge facing your profession? Making sure that proper internal controls continue to be in place with the increased use of electronic processing and other technological changes.
* What is one thing you do outside your profession to offset the mental stress/workload to manage your work/life balance? Exercise on a regular basis.
* What guidance and/or special training have you received that has had a positive impact on your success as a financial executive? A strong leadership team that supports the activities of the finance function and promotes a quality culture. An accounting-department staff that is composed of hardworking, top-notch individuals who contribute greatly to my success.
CFO
CASCADE SPORTS (SPORT HELMETS INC.)
* How long have you been at this company? Eight years
* How long as financial executive? Eight years
* Year company was founded: 1986
* CNY employees (2011): 59
* Total employees (2011): 69
* Company description: Cascade designs, develops, and manufactures high-performance, game-changing headgear to the lacrosse, hockey, field hockey, swift water rescue, and white-water sport markets.
* What are the major challenges facing your company today? The company recognizes that to stay a market leader in lacrosse helmets, and take more market share in hockey, we must continue to work passionately on product innovation and offer best-in-class service to our customers.
* How has your role as financial executive changed in the last few years? The impact of the ever-changing economy on our vendors and customers is an increasing concern. Understanding how those dependencies impact everything from cash flow to product availability is now essential to my role. Where in the past no news from the finance department was good news, now the executive team is looking for insight to make decisions.
* Looking forward, what is the biggest challenge facing your profession? A financial executive needs to be involved in many areas of the business, especially those in smaller companies. It's a challenge to balance day-to-day operational needs with taking on a role in strategic planning and decision-making. Finding the time to continually develop staff and upgrade information systems is a challenge.
* What is one thing you do outside your profession to offset the mental stress/workload to manage your work/life balance? I love to travel, anything from a day in
* What guidance and/or special training have you received that has had a positive impact on your success as a financial executive? Obtaining an MBA opened doors for me early in my career. Over the years, I have been very fortunate in working for people who provided me with opportunities to expand my experience into new areas and challenged me to stretch my abilities beyond my comfort zone.
FINALISTS - PUBLIC OR PRIVATE COMPANIES WITH REVENUE OF
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
BTI THE TRAVEL CONSULTANTS
* How long have you been at your company? 13 years
* How long as financial executive? Three years
* Year company was founded: 1988
* CNY employees (2011): 29
* Total employees (2011): 29
* Annual revenue (2011):
* Company description: BTI is a travel-management company specializing in domestic and international business travel, meetings, group and incentive planning, and vacation travel consulting and planning.
* What are the major challenges facing your company today? The travel industry has changed radically over the years and we have needed to stay ahead of the changes to be successful. Since 9/11 there have been dramatic changes in the entire industry, but especially in the airline portion.The airlines have gonefrom a service industry to a commodity-driven product. Staying in a financially positive position has been critical.
* How has your role as financial executive changed in the last few years? My role has gone from a typical accounts-payable position to a truly CFO/COO position. My leadership in both areas has put us in a very favorable financial position for the first time since 9/11. Our growth in financial stability has been essential to achieve the success we had in 2010 and 2011.
* Looking forward, what is the biggest challenge facing your profession? My biggest challenge is related to the work with our technology vendors and our travel vendors - ensuring total access to information and the accuracy of that information. Additionally, making sure we retain our leadership role regarding both service and technology for our travel customers.
* What is one thing you do outside your profession to offset the mental stress/workload to manage your work/life balance? My hobbies include golf, skiing, and generally anything outdoors. Family also plays a big role in my personal time and keeping balance.
* What guidance and/or special training have you received that has had a positive impact on your success as a financial executive? Any of the successes I have achieved in my current finandal role are absolutely attributable to the direct team of coworkers and associates I work with and draw from on a daily basis. BTI's team has been together and worked through all of the challenges we have faced for an average of 10 years. I also try to attend as many vendor/supplier related events as possible to keep on top of the rapidly changing issues that impact our services to our customers. Interaction and open-mindedness with other area business professionals and increased involvement within the community have also helped me develop a stronger impact in my role for BTI.
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
* How long have you been at your company? Six years
* How long as financial executive? Six years
* Year company was founded: 1958
* CNY employees (2011): 125
* Total employees (2011): 175
* Annual revenue (2011):
* Company description: Supplier of welding supplies and industrial gases.
* What are the major challenges facing your company today? One of the most prevalent challenges we face in our industry is the increase in surcharges by suppliers. Whether they are driven by the cost of fuel, cost of manufacturing, or pure product availability, the process of passing these on to the end-user is becoming more difficult. We have also had to deal with a worldwide shortage of helium over the past six months and making sure we can supply our customers.
* How has your role as financial executive changed in the last few years? Everything in today's business environment revolves around how to do more with less. There were certain areas within a corporation that went untouched by outside financial influences, but since 2009 and the recession, corporations including Haun are looking at every single function of the business and relating it to how it impacts the bottom line, growth strategies, and even employee relations.
* Looking forward, what is the biggest challenge facing your profession? We have not seen the kinds of changes to our financial markets in my lifetime as we have seen over the last few years. The uncertainty of these changes and what impact they will have on private companies during the next decade is a challenge we try to plan for everyday, while still focusing on our growth and expansion plans. Businesses must move on and we must continue to satisfy customers with the highest level of service we can regardless of the outside business environment pressures.
* What is one thing you do outside your profession to offset the mental stress/workload to manage your work/life balance? I have been the vice president and coach in the
* What guidance and/or special training have you received that has had a positive impact on your success as a financial executive? Graduating from the business school at the
FINALISTS - PUBLIC OR PRIVATE COMPANIES WITH REVENUE OF
VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
* How long have you been at your company? Three years
* How long as financial executive? Three years.
* Year company was founded: 1885
* CNY employees (2011): 50
* Total employees (2011): 52
* Annual revenue (2011): Confidential
* Company description: The company designs, manufactures, and installs stage rigging and theatrical equipment.
* What are the major challenges facing your company today? A lackluster U.S. economy, unstable international economy, and delayed new construction starts.
* How has your role as financial executive changed in the last few years? During the last few years, our company was put on the market and ultimately sold on
* Looking forward, what is the biggest challenge facing your profession? Dealing with the challenging economic conditions and keeping up with the technology.
* What is one thing you do outside your profession to offset the mental stress/workload to manage your work/life balance? I spend as much time with my family as I can during my off-time. I get involved with their school functions and other outside activities and volunteer as much of my time as I can to support these activities.
* What guidance and/or special training have you received that has had a positive impact on your success as a financial executive? My many years of experience have taught me the most about being successful as a financial executive. Three of the most important lessons that I have learned and at-tempted to follow are: work hard, be a good listener, and never compromise your integrity.
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
* How long have you been at your company? Eight years
* How long as financial executive? Eight years at
* Year company was founded: 1866 in
* CNY employees (2011): 700
* Total employees (2011): 1,800
* Annual revenue (2011):
* Company description: Financial-services company, principally a commercial bank.
* What are the major challenges facing your company today? Slow economic growth in most markets we service, historically low interest rates, much higher regulatory oversight, and compliance burdens.
* How has your role as financial executive changed in the last few years? Increased time and effort in regulatory and compliance reporting. Significantly more effort in business modeling, capital and contingency planning, and corporate-governance related items.
* Looking forward, what is the biggest challenge facing your profession? As always, finding ways to attract and retain talented professionals (in accounting and finance) in our markets. Retaining high-performing young people in our slower growth, less-metropolitan markets.
* What is one thing you do outside your profession to offset the mental siress/workload to manage your work/life balance? My wife and I have four children between 13 and 20 years old, so we are and have been very involved in all their activities (school, sports, music etc.) for the last several years. We also have a lake house on
* What guidance and/or special training have you received that hashed a positive impact on your success as a financial executive? I have been very fortunate to have had a wide range of professional ekpedences in my career. From public accounting, where I had the opportunity to see multiple industries, to the
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
* How long have you been at your company? Three years
* How long as financial executive? Three years at Welch Allyn; 30 years, in total
* Year company was founded: 1915
* CNY employees (2011): 1,141
* Total employees (2011): 2,766
* Annual revenue (2011): Confidential
* Company description: Welch Allyn is a leading global provider of medical diagnostic equipment and a complete range of digital and connected solutions. Welch Allyn is a family-owned business that specializes in helping doctors, nurses, and other frontline practitioners across the globe provide the best patient care by developing innovative products, breakthrough technologies, and cutting-edge solutions.
* What are the major challenges facing your company today? The health-care industry operates in a constant state of transformation, especially since new technology and customer requirements evolve at such a rapid pace. Aging populations, chronic disease, and the need for more efficiently managed health-care spending are some of the biggest challenges ever faced.
* How has your role as financial executive changed in the last few years? My role is now focusing much more on growth opportunities and funding that growth. We are facing a much slower growth environment and companies, including Welch Allyn, will need to be nimble to both make and take advantage of opportunities, wherever they may arise.
* Looking forward, what is the biggest challenge facing your profession? Increasing regulatory changes coupled with the need to drive profitable growth in a much less certain global environment create the biggest challenge for my profession. Accounting rules and regulations are continually evoking, making it necessary to focus resources on maintaining our financial reporting to exacting standards while needing to carve out ever-increasing time to create value for the company by focusing our finance resources on teaming with business partners to drive the company forward.
* What is one thing you do outside your profession to offset the mental stress/workload to manage your work/life balance? I spend time with my family to decompress. We make a point to share dinner together, more often than not, in addition to reading and discussing books and spending time on the lake (at least in the summer).
* What guidance and/or special training have you received that has had a positive impact on your success as a financial executive? The best training I received was taking a position outside finance in a line role leading a couple of businesses for several years. I believe the time I spent in the business made me a more balanced finance partner.
FINALISTS - PUBLIC OR PRIVATE COMPANIES WITH REVENUE OF MORE THAN
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
* How long have you been at your company? 15 years
* How long as financial execurive? 15 years at
* Year company was founded: 1960
* CNY employees (2011): Approximately 1,000
* Total employees (2011): More than 16,000 employees across 13 states in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and Midwest.
* Annual revenue (2011):
* Compamy description:
* What are the major challenges facing your company today? Having just completed the acquisition of 278 restaurants from
* How has your role as financial executive changed in the last few years? The capital markets are very different than before the financial crisis and accessing capital has been much more challenging than it was a few years ago.
* Looking forward, what is the biggest challenge fadng your profession? Rebuilding trust with"
* What is one thing you do outside your profession to offset the mental stress/workload to manage your work/life balance? Playing golf, but in CNY we obviously can't do this year-round. I also enjoy cooking and music, and am more inclined to spend time in the kitchen or my in-home studio during the "non-golfing season."
* What guidance and/or special training have you received that has had a positive impact on your success as a financial executive? I started my career at one of the big CPA firms, so I received strong technical training very early including public company and
CFO
CARRIER ENTERPRISE
(joint venture between
6500 New Venture Gear, E.
* How long have you been at this company? 24 years
* How long as financial executive? 12 years
* Year company was founded: 1956 -
* CNY employees (2011): 77
* Total employees (2011): 2,207
* Annual revenue (2011): More than
* Company description: U.S. & international HVAC equipment (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) and parts & supplies distribution company.
* What are the major challenges facing your company today? Similar to other businesses, the key challenges are: economic uncertainty, both domestically and internationally; high unemployment levels; poor housing starts (residential new construction); and consumer confidence.
* How has your role as financial executive changed in the last few years? The economic issues we have faced in the last few years have definitely increased the challenges encountered in the CFO role. In order to continue to grow revenues and earnings year over year, it requires the CFO (working daily and hand-in-hand with the leads of other functional areas of the company) to identify all areas that have the ability to drive desired results.
* Looking forward, what is the biggest challenge facing your profession?The challenge of identifying, recruiting, and hiring the most qualified finance candidates, as well as retaining high-performing employees is critical to our company and the profession.
* What is one thing you do outside your profession to offset the mental stress/workload to manage your work/life balance? Spending time with my family would be number one. However, running 3 miles each morning is a great way to energize for the start of the day and walking the dogs in the evening is good for end-of-day decompression.
* What guidance and/or special training have you received that has had a positive impact on your successes a financial executive? The internal training and guidance by key leaders in the company assisted in my development and success as a leader. A few of the key principles I operate by include: Attitude is everything; employees are your greatest asset; provide the highest level of customer service to both your internal and external customers; be flexible and open to different perspectives; continuous improvement is part of our DNA; foster the team environment; challenge individuals to exceed both their and my expectations; recognize superior performance; celebrate wins; effective communication skills; promote education; accumulate, analyzeyand utilize timely data fprbusiness growth opportunities; operate daily at the highest ethical standard.
FINALISTS - NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS WITH REVENUE OF
CONTROLLER
HOME HEADQUARTERS, INC.
* How long have you been at this organization? Seven years
* How long as financial executive? More than 30 years in financial industry
* Year organization was founded: 1996
* CNY employees (2011): 35
* Total employees (2011): 35
* Annual revenue (2011):
* Oganization description:
* What are the major challenges facing your organization today? As with other not-for-profits, it has been challenging to maintain our community impact during the current economic climate. We have had to be creative and proactive rather than reactive in redesigning programs to maintain or exceed impact to communities.
* How has your role as financial executive changed in the last few years? The role of financial executive has transcended merely reporting on the numbers, to also reporting on the numbers by visually telling a story about the numbers you are reporting on. Further, to maintain our mission and achieve scale, we have had to form new entities that are related, but separate companles.This has made financial reporting much more complex.
* Looking forward, what is the biggest challenge facing your profession? As a not-for-profit, the continued need to diversify funding to exceed mission impact. As a financial executive, keeping the awareness to adapt to change as the current volatile economic dynamics evolve and web technologies such as cloud services become the new norm.
* What is one thing you do outside your profession to offset the mental stress/workload to manage your work/life balance? Nothing like a good book and a quiet spot!
* What guidance and/or special training have you received that has had a positive impact on your success as a financial executive? The most positive impact on my success as a financial executive is always being part of a great team.
ACCOUNTANT
LONGHOUSE COUNCIL INC.
* How long have you been at the council? Two years
* How long as financial executive? Two years
* Year council was founded: 1913
* CNY employees (2011): 13 regular full time (plus 43 seasonal staff)
* Annual revenue (2011):
* Council description:
* What are the major challenges facing your council today? The major challenges facing my organization are: (1) Fundraising/funding. As the number of nonprofit organizations increase, competition for donations from both public and private sources is rising; (2) Communication. With so many avenues of communication, it can be diffcul to maintain the technological presence to raise program awareness and reach the most potential donors (via their preferred method of communication); and (3) Striving to just "break even" in both the operating statement and a cash-flow sense.
* How has your role as financial executive changed in the last few years? One of the biggest changes I have seen comes in the use of technology. Years ago, the financial personnel would submit a request for an ADHOC report for analytics; today, financial personnel prepare their own reports utilizing EXCEL to present data in any number of formats.
* Looking forward, what is the biggest challenge facing your profession? The biggest challenge facing the accounting profession from a small nonprofit point of view is producing timely, high-quality financial statements for executive use while simultaneously performing other duties (for example, human resources, technological, legal, and educating all levels of staff regarding their financial impact on the organization).
* What is one thing you do outside your profession to offset the mental stress/workload to manage your work/life balance? To help manage my-work/life balance, I enjoy participating in group exercise classes and spending time with my family.
* What guidance and/or special training have you received that has had a positive impact on your success as a financial executive? My experience in public accounting had the largest impact on my success. This experience provided me an opportunity to be in the detail of the corporate financials, yet present a top-level view of the same to upper management and boards of directors.
FINALISTS - NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS WITH REVENUE OF
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
FOOD BANK OF
* How long have you been at this organization? 11 years
* How long as financial executive? 11 years
* Year organization was founded: 1985
* CNY employees (2011): 48
* Total employees (2011): 48
* Annual revenue (2011):
* Organization description:
* What are the major challenges facing your organization today? The recession has impacted
* How has your role as financial executive changed in the last few years? As the organization has grown, the focus of my work has steered away from the day-to-day transactions and has evolved into that of a strategic manager. My experience in food banking has positioned me to help the staff through changes that have occurred. As a change agent, I have helped navigate staff through growth initiatives, including hardware and software conversions, a facility move, and staff succession planning.
* Looking forward, what is the biggest challenge facing your profession? As our local economic trend continues, the biggest challenge for
* What is one thing you do outside your profession to offset the mental stress/workload to manage your work/life balance?? I like to spend time with my husband and our two daughters and enjoy being an active parent in their activities.
* What guidance and/or special training have you received that has had a positive impact on your success as a financial executive? The role models I had in my mother and father taught me about hard work, dreams, and belief in myself. This has led me to follow my dreams. Years of working for a local CPA firm and attaining my CPA license prepared me for taking on this role, where I am surrounded by a wonderful leadership team and an executive director who all challenge me to continue to grow and be the best that I can be.
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
ACHIEVE
* How long have you been at this organization? One and a half years at ACHIEVE, 22 years prior at a similar organization.
* How long as financial executive? 32 years, eight years at a not-for-profit financial institution and 24 years with nonprofit human-service agencies.
* Year organization was founded: 1952
* CNY employees (2011): 315
* Total employees (2011): 315
* Annual revenue (2011):
* Organization description: ACHIEVE provides leadership, advocacy, and opportunities that enable persons with intellectual and other developmental disabilities and their families to enhance the quality of their lives. To this end, all of our services help to advance the skill levels of our participants, promote inclusion, integration, and socialization, and encourage independence.
* What are the major challenges facing your organization today? Our service-delivery system is in the initial stage of a major reform that will move us from a fee-for-service to a managed-care system. As a provider of service, there is a lot of uncertainty as to the direct impact these changes will have on us and more importantly,, to the services that we provide to the individuals that we support.
* How has your role as financial executive changed in the last few years? Agencies in our field have experienced numerous regulatory changes over the last few years that have resulted in major funding changes and significant budget cuts. In order to deal with the funding changes (cuts) and maintain a healthy fiscal position, financial executives have had to become more involved with the programmatic aspects of the services that are provided.
* Looking forward, what is the biggest challenge facing your profession? AAs NYS continues to implement changes to our delivery system and improve its fiscal situation, we know that we will be faced with changes in the way we do business. The biggest challenge is trying to be proactive and staying at the forefront without knowing how the changes are really going to affect us.
* What is one thing you do outside your profession to offset the mental stress/workload to manage your work/life balance? My husband and I have five children and two grandchildren that keep us busy outside of work. We enjoy spending time participating in school activities, sporting events, and family outings.
* What guidance and/or special training have you received that has had a positive impact on your success as a financial executive? I have had the opportunity to "grow" during my career. Starting as a finance director in the late 1980s, there was a lot of opportunity or program expansion. There were key individuals at the state who were willing to share their expertise! took advantage of this and they became my mentors. Also, there is a statewide association for financial managers of rehabilitation facilities with which I am involved that offers networking opportunities in addition to the direct linkage to fenders and experts in our field which is a valuable resource.
FINALISTS - NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS WITH REVENUE OF OVER
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER,
* How long have you been at this credit union? 10 years.
* How long as financial executive? 20 years total experience
* Year credit union was founded: 1950
* CNY employees (2011): 250
* Total employees (2011): 250
* Description:
* What are the major challenges facing your company today? One of our biggest challenges is to comply with continuing changes in government regulations. We are always revising and/or adding processes and procedures to respond to new regulatory requirements. Also, it is always a challenge to stay abreast with changing technologies and to remain competitive within electronic-delivery channels. Finally, in this interest-rate environment, our margins are extremely thin, putting a great deal of pressure on our return on assets.
* How has your role as financial executive changed in the last few years? The turbulence of the financial-services market, coupled with the advent of social media, has given the consumer more information and greater power. More than ever, financial institutions must be responsible corporate citizens and provide total transparency.
* Looking forward, what is the biggest challenge facing your profession? The biggest challenge facing my profession is regulation. At a time when financial institutions are struggling to prevent another global economic crisis, we are faced with the challenge of maintaining compliance in a fast-paced regulatory environment while continuing to attract and retain customers and drive down operational costs.
* What is one thing you do outside your profession to offset the mental stress/workload to manage your work/life balance? I have three children - twin girls 20 years old and a 12-year-old son. I have coached my children's sports teams and that is very relaxing for me.
* What guidance and/or special training have you received that has had a positive impact on your success as a financial executive? I attended the
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
CFCU COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION
* How long have you been at this credit union? 15 years
* How long as financial executive? 10 years
* Year credit union was founded: 1953
* CNY employees (2011): 150
* Total employees (2011): 150
* Annual revenue (2011):
* Description:
* What are the major challenges facing your company today? Conditions resulting from the economic recession and financial crisis continue to pose challenges for our industry and institution. Loan demand, interest margins, and other factors have to be monitored closely.
* How has your role as financial executive changed in the past few years? In addition to the traditional roles of planning, directing, and controlling all activities related to fiscal management, I'm responsible for ensuring the integrity of CFCU accounts, procedures, and investments.
* Looking forward, what is the biggest challenge facing your profession? Staying current with the changing world of technology will be critical. Not only understanding what's out there now, but also evaluating emerging technology. Along with this will be our ability to evolve operations to be relevant -and competitive as the next generation of members moves from traditional services and delivery channels.
* What is one thing you do outside your profession to offset the mental stress/workload to manage your work/life balance? I enjoy spending time with my wife, Liz, and my children, Tyler and Alivia.This includes family vacations and day trips to support my son's ice hockey pursuits.
* What guidance and/or special training have you received that has had a positive inspect on your success as a financial executive? I participated in a three-year training program as part of the
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
* How long have you been at the university? 37 years
* How long as financial executive? 37 years
* Year school was founded: 1870
* Total employees (2011): 5,248
* Annual revenue (2011): Approximately
* Description:
* What are the major challenges facing the university today? The major challenges that SU faces are similar to those facing all American higher-education institutions. Among them are preparing students for success in an increasingly competitive employment market while keeping costs affordable for families and ensuring access for students from fast-growing demographic groups that historically have lower college participation rates. The university also strives to increase the impact of faculty scholarship on the most pressing problems of the day, from fostering sustainable communities, to reversing the failing urban school systems, to leveraging the arts, humanities, and design as catalysts for economic development. Tying these together is the overarching challenge to pool our expertise, while creating engaging learning opportunities for students outside the classroom, in the world.
* How has your role as financial executive changed in the last few years? The role of a financial executive involves increasing government compliance and staying up-to-date with advancing technologies.
* Looking forward, what is the biggest challenge facing your profession? Affordability, while sustaining high quality.
COORDINATOR OF FINANCIAL SERVICES
THE
How long have you been at this agency? 26 years.
* How long as financial executive? 17 years
* Year agency was founded: 1872
* CNY employees (2011): 490
* Total employees (2011): 490.
* Annual revenue (2011):
* Agency description:
* What are the major challenges facing your agency today? Like many not-for-profits in today's economy, we are challenged with funding. State cutbacks have led us to rely more heavily on private dollars. Thankfully, we live in a generous community, that in times of need responds with financial donations, time, and support for our programs.
* How has your role as financial executive changed in the last few years? Over the last few years, I've attended more meetings and given more guidance to the agency's upper-management staff As funding sources change, we have needed to calculate more individual program budgets and revise programs. Recently, my department found itself hit by the ever-changing environment and has had to do more with fewer employees.
* Looking forward, what is the biggest challenge facing your profession?The biggest challenge is to retain the good, quality employees that we have in a competitive work environment.
* What is one thing you do outside your profession to offset the mental stress/workload to manage your work/life balance? My husband and I take long rides on the motorcycle whenever the weather permits.
* What guidance and/or special training have you received that has had a positive impact on your success as a financial executive? Attending state-run conferences regarding our billing rates has always been helpful to gaining a better understanding on how to maximize our income. The sessions with the most lasting impact on me were the
| Copyright: | (c) 2012 Central New York Business Journal |
| Wordcount: | 7668 |
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