good morning. As the CFO role continues to evolve and executive turnover increases, the demand for stopgap professionals with serious financial skills is skyrocketing.
Business Talent Group (BTG), a Heidrick & Struggles company that connects the industry's top companies with interim executive talent, this morning released its 2024 High-End Independent Talent Report, based on analysis using proprietary data. Announced. The study found that of all interim roles requested, 56% were at the executive level.
Interim CFO requests increased 46% year over year in 2023, while demand for VP or SVP level finance talent, such as controllers and heads of financial planning and analysis (FP&A), surged 114%.
What is driving that demand? Sunny Ackerman, global managing partner for on-demand talent at Heidrick & Struggles, says there are many factors, but it's usually to solve a specific type of challenge or problem. For example, the CFO recently left the company or the company is changing. “The wave of interim leadership continues to grow, with companies increasingly relying on experienced leaders to parachute in during times of transition and change,” Ackerman said.
According to BTG, requests for on-demand leadership roles have increased by 170% since 2022 across finance, human resources, technology, and other functions. Most temporary jobs tend to last between 6 and 12 months, but in some cases it can be long enough for a company to decide they don't want the person to leave.
“There are organizations that look at leaders that they bring in on an interim basis and then identify as people that they would like to bring in in a more permanent, full-time position,” Ackerman said.
In addition to the finance-specific duties that CFOs and senior-level finance professionals handle, the talent in these roles also has close ties to CEOs and other executives, especially as technology continues to transform what it takes for a company to succeed. He added that they are now working together. Mr. Ackerman shared a recent example of BTG working with his small but growing PE-backed natural foods company.
“Our internal search partner was actually considering having a CEO in the organization, but wanted a trusted right-hand man to oversee the financial transformation,” she explained. “We were able to bring to market an interim CFO who will work with the CEO to initially look at profitability and support the continued expansion of the business.”
Companies seeking an interim CFO tend to have the most success bringing in an interim CFO when there is a common understanding of culture as well as strategy and skill sets. “When hiring someone at the executive level, we certainly look for expertise in the finance function, but we also want them to be able to work well with employees,” Ackerman said.
Cheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
María Soledad Davila Calero oversaw the Leaderboard and Overheard sections of today's newsletter.
Leader board
Steven Deitsch resigns from the position of CFO paragon 28 The orthopedic medical device company (NYSE:FNA) joins OrganOx Limited, a UK-based company focused on donor organ preservation. Christina Wright has been appointed interim CFO.
michael beer was appointed as CFO of energy storage (NYSE: NRGV), effective April 15, is a manufacturer of grid-scale energy storage options. Beal will replace Yankees manager Kees van Gaalen, who is scheduled to retire. The beer is provided by his FreeWire Technologies, where he served as his CFO.
big deal
The estimated total funding level of pension plans sponsored by S&P 1500 companies decreased by 2% to 107% in March 2024, according to new research from global consulting firm Mercer. The report said this was the result of lower discount rates partially offset by higher equity markets. The surplus, estimated to total $114 billion as of March 31, decreased by $23 billion. This compares with a surplus of $137 billion measured at the end of February, Mercer found.
“The stock market continued to rise last month, with the S&P 500 ending March at a new all-time high,” Matt McDaniel, a partner at Mercer's Wealth Practice, said in a statement. “However, post-Brexit, interest rates have fallen.”Funding conditions are likely to decline towards the end of the first quarter. ”
Courtesy of Mercer
even deeper
In the latest episode of luck's next leadership In the podcast, Alan Murray sits down with Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins to discuss a new role he's added to his resume: Business Roundtable Chair. Mr. Robbins will succeed Mary Barra, Chairman and CEO of General Motors. The interview took place at the CEO Initiative Dinner, where Murray and Robbins talked about the current state of stakeholder capitalism, how much it impacts Business Roundtable yields, whether U.S. industries should receive government subsidies, and more. We discussed.
overheard
“A good person wants to work for someone he respects, but he will not respect someone who takes all the credit and shares all the blame.”
— JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon wrote in his annual letter To all shareholders. Dimon argued that a leader should also be open to changing his thinking and attitude when learning new information.
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