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 Secrets of Rock Star CFOs, a book he released in 2019. In this episode, we talk about the traits of great CFOs.
Who is Jack McCullough?
When it comes to CFOing (Mark’s favorite verb when doing the CFO thing), Jack has done is all – and probably seen it all too.
He started his career at KPMG, and once he came to his senses and started 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 CFO Leadership Council, an organization he founded which empowers CFOs around the globe.
He published Secrets of Rock Star CFOs in 2019, and that was the topic of this insightful episode.
The Cool Questions
- Is Jack a recovering CFO?
- What is the difference between an elite controller and a CFO?
- Who was the first CFO?
- Who was Harold Geneen?
- Do you need to be able to overthrow governments to be a rock star CFO?
- What does it mean to think strategically?
- When is the most difficult time to commit adultery?
- How do elite CFO build elite teams?
- What is formal and informal intellectual curiosity?
- How do great board relationships help with future CFO positions?
- What is the definition of a CFO?
- Can great CFOs have a balanced life?
- Why does every rock star CFO need a mentor?
- Oh yeah, do CFOs really 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:
- Walk the floor – ask lots of questions everywhere in the company
- Get a mentor or coach who believes in you and has a vested interest in your career
- Learn leadership skills
Books Mentioned During the Show
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, then you’ll like the interview we did with Daniele Martins on FP&A. Her interview is already one of the 5 most downloaded shows of our podcast.
If you connect with Jack McCullough, here are some starting points:
- The CFO Leadership Council
- Jack’s LinkedIn profile
- Jack’s Twitter Account
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