What is a Rock Star CFO?

There is typically a 4-6 week delay between interviewing a podcast guest and going live with the show. Waiting on this one seemed like forever. Jack McCullough is the CFO of all CFOs. He’s the founder and President of The CFO Leadership Council. He’s also the author of the small pamphlet Secrets of Rock Star CFOs, a document he released in 2019. In this episode, we talk about the traits of great CFOs.

Who is Jack McCullough?

Regarding CFOing (Mark’s favorite verb when doing the CFO thing), Jack has done it all – and probably seen it all, too.

He started his career at KPMG, and once he came to his senses and began working in private industry, we went on to work for nearly 30 different companies.

He’s lived through serving 35 CEOs (at least one of them, a psychopath – we think – he won’t tell), but his leadership skills grew as he broke in each executive of these businesses.

Today, Jack is the President of the CFO Leadership Council, an organization he founded that empowers CFOs around the globe.

He wrote the small pamphlet Secrets of Rock Star CFOs in 2019, which was the topic of this insightful episode.

The Cool Questions

1. Is Jack a recovering CFO?
2. What is the difference between an elite controller and a CFO?
3. Who was the first CFO?
4. Who was Harold Geneen?
5. Do you need to be able to overthrow governments to be a rock star CFO?
6. What does it mean to think strategically?
7. When is the most difficult time to commit adultery?
8. How do elite CFO build elite teams?
9. What are formal and informal intellectual curiosity?
10. How do great board relationships help with future CFO positions?
11. What is the definition of a CFO?
12. Can great CFOs have a balanced life?
13. Why does every rock star CFO need a mentor?
14. Oh yeah, do CFOs need to be finance experts?

Not a CFO Yet?

If you are an aspiring financial leader anxious to make that jump to the next level, here’s what Jack said that you need to be doing now:

1. Walk the floor – ask lots of questions everywhere in the company
2. Get a mentor or coach who believes in you and has a vested interest in your career
3. Learn leadership skills

Books Mentioned During the Show

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If You Liked This Episode

I did not want that conversation to end. If you liked learning about the traits of rock star CFOs with Jack McCullough, you’ll enjoy the interview we did with Daniele Martins on FP&A. Her interview is already one of our podcast’s five most downloaded shows.

If you connect with Jack McCullough, here are some starting points:

• The CFO Leadership Council
• Jack’s LinkedIn profile
• Jack’s Twitter Account