For new CFOs, these are the critical steps to take in the first six months

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Toward the end of 2022, CFO turnover was on the rise. That means many execs are stepping into new finance chief roles this year. But it may take more than the standard 90 days to get your footing. It can take six months, according to an expert who’s worked with thousands of execs.

“You’re not hired to deliver the status quo,” Ajit Kambil, global research director for Deloitte’s CFO program, tells me. “You’re really hired to deliver some transformation.”

There are three key resources you have to manage correctly from the start—time, talent, and relationships, Kambil says. And that takes about 180 days to do it right, he says. 

Kambil is the creator and a leader of Deloitte’s Executive Transition Labs and Transition Accelerators which offers a personalized one-day workshop for executives in new roles, from a first-time CFO to a seasoned one, for example. The program has been going on for more than a decade, with Kambil and his team working with over 4,000 C-suite executives in the U.S. who’ve participated. “And I’ve even personally done this for over 300 CFOs,” Kambil says. 

In his new book, The Leadership Accelerator: The Playbook for Transitioning into Your New Executive Role, he details key findings from years of research and provides actionable tasks for execs. He further discussed with me what should take place in the first 180 days. 

1) Prioritizing and managing time, Kambil says. That includes execs taking care of themselves, he says. “When they start, they’re often working 70-80 hours a week,” Kambil explains. “I ask them about their work week, Monday to Friday. When do you get up? When do you get to the office? When do you get home? How much time is spent on emails after dinner? The goal is to get them into 50 to 60 hours of work a week because that’s sustainable.”

I asked him for an example of an exec struggling with work-life balance.

“We’ve had situations when someone suddenly realizes their child’s wedding is planned for a certain date in the next six months,” Kambil says. “They look at all the different editions of the work plan, and they’re like, ‘Wait a minute, I’ve have to change this.’”

2) Talent is critical, he says. “If you don’t get your talent right, I kind of say it’s like giving up 20% of your tenure. Let’s say you have five years to run the role, the opportunity cost of having the wrong team just goes higher and higher the longer you prolong things.”

Some questions to ask yourself: “How do I evaluate different functional talent?” Kambil says. “How do I build out FP&A capability tangibly in the next six months? How do I free up people’s time to get done the really important things? How do I create an ongoing learning organization?”

3) To get key agendas executed with the least resistance, manage relationships to build social capital and influence other C-suite members, Kambil says. Another tip: “Make sure you really connect with the audit chair early and set up a regular cadence of both informal and formal conversations,” he says. “Because they want to help you.”

I asked him what CFOs shouldn’t do in their first year. 

– “Don’t jump to conclusions too quickly,” Kambil says. “Take the time to really connect with different stakeholders, and really hear them and learn the business.”

– Don’t make assumptions. For example, “If you’re promoted, don’t assume that the team around you is up to the challenge.”

I asked Kambil what his personal takeaways were from years of coaching CFOs. “They’ve taught me to be a better leader,” he says. And they’ve helped him delve deeper into “the ways in which you unlock value in a company, but also how you have to organize to really drive large-scale change,” he says. “So many CFOs today are not just focused on finance.”

See you tomorrow.

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

Quick note: In recognition of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday, Jan. 16, the next CFO Daily will be in your inbox on Tuesday, Jan. 17. Have a good weekend. Take care.

Big deal

“New Technology Changing the Future of Work” a new report released by WorkTech, a market analyst and advisory firm, found that companies still plan to spend on hiring this year. A survey of over 1,000 global HR and talent acquisition leaders in the U.S. and Europe found that companies plan to increase market for hiring technology or “work tech” budgets by about 47%, with 94% expecting to increase head counts. The work tech category includes workplace tools that help employees work together and collaborate more effectively across a range of focus areas. The report, underwritten by Greenhouse, a hiring software company, estimates the total addressable market (TAM) for hiring work tech is expected to reach $244 billion by 2026.

Going deeper

Here are a few weekend reads:

“Bill Gates dismisses the inflation and economic doom and gloom to insist now is ‘dramatically’ the best time to be alive” by Tristan Bove

“The ax has fallen at Goldman Sachs as layoffs ripple through the firm” by Luisa Beltran

“Millennial founder who sold her fintech to JPMorgan for $175M is now being sued for allegedly inventing 4 million customers” by Christiaan Hetzner

“Hustle culture is a dangerous myth, burnout expert says. Here are 6 ways to beat it” by Alexa Mikhail

Leaderboard

Here’s a list of some notable moves this week:

Jamie Miller was named global CFO at EY and CFO of the proposed new public entity. The selection of Miller is another step in EY’s process to separate the organization into audit and consulting businesses, with its consulting arm set to list on the stock market. EY is “making strong progress on the path to partner votes,” according to the company. Miller joined Cargill in June 2021 as corporate SVP and CFO. She was appointed head of corporate strategy in April 2022. Before joining Cargill, Miller served as SVP and CFO for GE. She began her tenure at GE in 2008 as VP, controller and chief accounting oficer, and went on to become GE’s chief information officer. Miller also served as president and CEO of GE Transportation. Prior to joining GE, she was SVP and controller of WellPoint (now Anthem). Miller was also a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Jean Hu was named EVP and CFO at Advanced Micro Devices Inc.(Nasdaq: AMD), a semiconductor company, effective Jan. 23. Devinder Kumar, currently CFO and treasurer, is retiring from the company. Kumar will remain at AMD through April 2023 for a transition period. Hu joins AMD from Marvell, where she served as CFO since 2016. She has over 20 years of experience in financial leadership roles in semiconductor companies, including Qlogic and Conexant.

Michael McLaughlin was named EVP and CFO at Informatica (NYSE: INFA), an enterprise cloud data management company, effective Jan. 16. McLaughlin succeeds Eric Brown, who is stepping down from his role to pursue other opportunities. McLaughlin joins Informatica from FICO, where he has served as EVP and CFO since August 2019.

Angela Floyd was named CFO at DPR Construction, effective Jan. 1. DPR is a general contractor and construction manager specializing in projects for advanced technology, life sciences, health care, higher education, and commercial markets. Floyd joined DPR in 2017 and has worked closely with Michele Leiva, who has served as DPR’s CFO since 2010 and is planning to retire in Q1 2023. A tenured industry professional, Floyd held business roles at Balfour Beatty Construction, including VP of business improvement and director, before joining DPR.

Jason Meggs, CFO at Syneos Health (Nasdaq: SYNH), a biopharmaceutical solutions organization, is stepping down from his position to pursue other career opportunities, effective March 31. Meggs has agreed to serve as a consultant and support the company’s ongoing transformation initiatives through the end of 2023. Syneos Health has retained an executive search firm and commenced a search for its next CFO.

Overheard

“When we think about crypto, aspects of that speculative market and investment have yet to prove themselves. So our investment philosophy says crypto is a little more likely to disappoint clients than it is to delight them.”

—Penny Pennington, managing partner at brokerage firm Edward Jones, spoke with Fortune about the recent meltdown in crypto and the firm’s long-time focus on proven investments.