About This Episide

David Bedell, CFO of HireVue chats with me about thoughts and considerations when interacting and managing your relationship with the board of directors, including discussions on reasons why CFOs get fired by the board. We divide our discussion into two parts. First, we talk about items to consider when evaluating the board of directors at a company you are considering joining as CFO. What are the dynamics to consider with different board structures? Second, we chat about thought processes around managing your relationship with the board. How should you communicate with the board? What will get you fired as CFO from a company? What are the top Dos and don’ts when managing the board? How to be intentional about your relationship with the board.

Introduction

• Anthony – CFO Leader Intro 
  • Topic Introduction Managing a Board
  • Anthony to Introduce David Bedell (CFO Hirevue)

Managing a Board

• General Discussion
  • Understanding Your Board ( PRE HIRE):
    • General Board Dynamics, Understanding the different types of boards and what they are looking for in a CFO.
      • VC Backed 
      • PE Owned 
      • Public Board 
      • Entrepreneur Board Only
    • You are interviewing for a possible CFO position, what are the items/dynamics you need to be aware of as you are getting to know the board? What are the warning signs?
      • VC Backed 
      • PE Owned 
      • Entrepreneur Board Only
    • Post Hire
      • How do you size- up a board?
        • Determine the player types:
          • Who will ask questions?
          • Who will hold back?
          • Who are the doubters? 
          • Who is open to provide advice and support to the CFO?
        • Understanding motivations
        • How to figure out what a board cares about and doesn’t care about. 
        • What else to look for?
      • Communicating with the board
        • How do you Prepare for and run board meetings? 
        • Frequency of communication? 
        • What is the appropriate amount of detail?
      • What will get a CFO fired by the board
        • Consistent inadequacy and errors (repeated missed forecast 1Q out, repeated accounting errors, distrust, recommendation of CEO)
        • Foundation must be solid or nothing else matters
        • Missed sales forecast will put more pressure on sales and Mktg and CEO… you get blame for expenses
      • What about interacting with board committees?
        • Audit Committee ?
        • Compensation Committee?
      • Addressing Issues and Disagreements
      • When to Push Back 
      • Communicating bad-news to the board
      • Importance of and Tips for developing relationships with board directors outside the board room  
      • How to know where you stand with the board
• Wrap Up
  • What are your top “Do” and “Do not” when working with the Board?
    • Do (Treat as partners, respect and seek counsel)
    • Do Not (ignore them, entrepreneur CEOs make this mistake a lot)