EP 017 - CFO Hiring + Comp Demystified with Dan Himple, Senior Finance Recruiter at HAYS

Strategy of Finance

In this episode, Daniel Himple, a finance recruiter, shares insights into the recruitment process for CFOs and finance leaders in the startup world. He discusses the qualities of a great recruiter and the differences between working in UK and New York. Daniel also explains the backgrounds of modern CFOs and what they look for in companies. He provides advice on when to hire a CFO and the balance between fractional CFOs and full-time CFOs. Additionally, he discusses the increasing demand for CFOs and the key roles to hire at different stages of a company's growth. Further, Dan discusses the challenges of scaling finance leadership, the importance of industry-specific knowledge, and the role of technology in recruiting. He advises aspiring CFOs to gain broad experience early in their careers and to work with world-class CFOs for mentorship. Daniel also shares insights on resume writing, salary negotiations, and the CFO hiring process. He predicts a continued focus on profitability and increased demand for finance leaders in the coming years.

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Takeaways

• A great recruiter specializes in a specific field and has a strong network and market knowledge.
• Modern CFOs come from diverse backgrounds, including consulting and investment banking.
• Companies are hiring CFOs earlier in their growth stages, and the role of the CFO has evolved to become more strategic.
• The decision to hire a full-time CFO depends on the company's stage and financial resources.
• The size of finance teams in startups is increasing, and CFOs are being given more resources to succeed.
• The recruitment process for CFOs can take longer during turbulent markets, and candidates are becoming more risk-averse.
• Successful CFO hires require alignment on strategic vision, communication, and a seat at the table.
• Key roles to hire at different stages of a company include the first in-house finance hire, a growth-focused finance leader, and a CFO for exit or IPO. Finance leaders often struggle to scale beyond a certain point due to a lack of knowledge and exposure to the next stage of a company's trajectory.
• Having industry-specific knowledge and experience is highly valued when hiring finance leaders, especially at later stages of a company's growth.
• Compensation in tech companies typically includes a combination of cash and stock, with equity being a significant component.
• Technology has greatly influenced the recruiting process, allowing for more efficient candidate sourcing and assessment.
• Building relationships and networking are crucial for aspiring CFOs, and working with world-class CFOs can provide valuable mentorship.
• Resumes should focus on tangible outcomes and achievements, and LinkedIn profiles should serve as an extension of the resume.
• Practical assignments or case studies can be used to assess a CFO candidate's strategic thinking and industry knowledge.
• The CFO hiring process should involve selling the company to candidates and ensuring a good cultural fit.
• Predictions for 2024 include a continued focus on profitability and increased demand for finance leaders.

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Quotes

“The value of a great recruiter is all within their network. And then the knowledge and the insights that come with that network.”

“A great recruiter will always specialize in one specific field and not be a generalist.”

“The reason people come to these industries because they want more job enrichment, they want to take on additional roles that enables them to feel like they're having a real impact on the growth of the business and they want to work for a business model or a vision that they're passionate about.”

“The modern CFOs are the CEOs and COOs of the future.”

“Last year, 12-13% of our business came from seed-funded businesses who are starting to bring in their first finance leader.”

“Any startup that are looking to hire a financial leader, the real key is ensuring they're hiring people who know the nuances and the challenge of working in a fast growth startup.”

“The longer that people stay in banking for or even public accounting, the harder it is for them to then make that transition into other industries because they're almost seen as institutionalized or actually you actually get to a salary that it makes it even harder to leave.”

“Those would be the big things for me: fundraising, exit and scaling.” - What are companies looking for in CFOs?

“What a CFO or a finance leader seeking in roles? The key phrase that is always used is a seat at the table.”

“In the last two years, our average timeline from registering a role to filling a VP of Finance or CFO has increased from eight to 10 weeks.”

“When I looked at Q4 of 23 in comparison to Q4 of 22, we'd seen a 22% increase in demand for CFOs or on new job recruits for CFOs. So that demand is definitely starting to return to the market.”

“A great CFO is always an incredible return on investment.”

“If you hire a CFO but they're an individual contributor and 70% of that person's time is spent on general ledger, monthly close and some of the more grunt work, you are never going to get true value-add from that CFO.”

“I would always advise going as broad as you can at the very beginning of your career and start to go narrow as you get to the mid to later stage of your career.”

“The CFOs who enjoy their role the most are the ones that have the best relationship with the founders.”

“The only time to negotiate your salary is at offer stage. It's pretty common that you might not be able to talk about a pay increase for at least a year, usually two years. So you want to ensure that when you're signing that offer, you're getting the very best deal possible. And it's very, very rare that a company will come in at best and sign up at their first offer.”

“Most resumes in any industry at any level will get glanced at for about 10 seconds.”

“Build out your network and go and work for world-class CFOs.”

“The best CFOs in this market have always worked for the best CFOs.”

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Where to find Dan Himple:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danhimplehays/

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Where to find HAYS:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hays/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HaysWorldwide

Website: http://www.haysplc.com/

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Where to find Rohit:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohitagarwal001/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/podcast_SoF

Email: [e-mail]

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