The role of financial leaders today has evolved beyond strictly crunching numbers. Finance officers must be strategic leaders, effective communicators, and risk managers. Chicago Booth has assembled an interdisciplinary team of faculty from the fields of economics, finance, accounting, strategy, and leadership to create The Executive Program for Prospective CFOs.
Led by Professor Randall Kroszner, the Norman R. Bobins Professor of Economics and former Governor of the Federal Reserve System, this program draws upon Booth’s global expertise in finance and strong focus on economic research to address the most pressing issues facing senior finance executives today. The program also includes keynotes from distinguished practitioners who describe how they have managed strategic challenges in their organizations.
Keynote speaker for 2017: Ray Young ('86), Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM)
In a fireside chat with Professor Randy Kroszner, Ray Young will share key challenges he has faced, "things he wished he had known" before becoming CFO, and how the CFO role has evolved over time. At ADM, he oversees the company's treasury, tax, accounting, investor relations, financial planning, business development, and information technology functions as well as the captive insurance and ADM Investor Services organizations. Young is also responsible for strategic oversight of ADM's business in Asia.
During this program, you will:
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Identify critical attributes needed to create a high-performance environment that will drive innovation and financial results.
- Learn practical strategies to communicate effectively in good times, in times of crisis, with customers, suppliers, credit rating agencies, investors, and the media.
- Effectively articulate the corporate message internally and externally.
- Analyze powerful patterns in strategic thinking and apply a strategy framework to identify a logical path for growth.
- Discover the power of big data in making marketing more accountable and understand the strategic and scientific approach to marketing analytics that results in higher ROI.
- Develop a strategic plan for M&A execution and implementation.
- Understand what drives differences in the cost of capital around the world, the impact on capital budgeting, and the valuation of international investments.
- Analyze the sources of financial fragility and the regulatory responses that are fundamentally reshaping financial markets and undertake strategic risk management in this changing environment.
“My goal as faculty director is to make this the premier program for senior finance executives who want to sharpen analytics, build strategic leadership and communication skills, manage the changing regulatory environment, and broaden their experience to benefit their companies and individual careers. I hope to attract a select group of executives who will become the next generation of leaders in finance and who will continue to benefit from this high-caliber network long after the program is over.”
– Randall Kroszner, Faculty Director
LOCATION
Chicago Booth, Gleacher Center, Chicago IL
I believe that this course is a must for those individuals seeking to become CFOs. The course content and professors at Chicago Booth really help to open your mind to new concepts and ideas. I come away from the course armed with 'gems' that I can apply from day 1 in my current role.
- Elliott Wood, Finance & Planning Leader, IBM Latin America
Excellent, well-rounded, well-structured program. More finance executives should take this.
- Mayank Agrawal, Softward Group CFO, IBM India/South Asia
The program is great. I revisited some of the key concepts important to my role on an updated format. And also had the opportunity to learn from others' experiences.
- Carlos Montenegro, Head of Planning and Finance, Sao Carlos Empreendimentos
Excellent course! Great instructors who communicated their messages clearly and with purpose. I would highly recommend this course.
- Robert Rusch, Director – Finance and Accounting, American Transmission Co.
Great content and professors. Engagement with peers provided many opportunities for learning.
– Yolanda Daniel, VP Finance, W.W. Grainger, Inc.
I think the program is a success and fills a gap in the market. The international experience in the room enhanced the content and learning experience.
– David Gillespie, General Manager, Planning, Investment, and Funding, Jemena Ltd.
I truly enjoyed the program and believe it will be very successful. It was my first experience at the University of Chicago and will definitely not be my last one.
– Randy Ahuja, Managing Director, Verto Partners LLC
The distinguished faculty at Booth provided the depth and variety of perspectives and frameworks which will help future CFO's in how they think about the organizational, strategic, and financial management of their firms, through good times and bad.
- Abu Zeya, Finance Director, Halliburton
The program was very well designed. Topics were relevant to my current position as well as useful in my continued growth toward my next position.
– Todd Bryant, Vice President, Controller, RLI
This program generates opportunities to develop new skills and improve the capability to integrate a global finance view to create value.
- Orlando Gutierrez, Operations & Finance Manager, Corporate Boards, The Kroger Co.
This was a great program offering solid balance of theory and application. The focus on strategy throughout the program was excellent to focus on the 'how' you apply the learning in real life.
- John Murphy, Sr. VP, Chief Accounting Officer & Controller, DIRECTV
This program benefits senior finance executives who have significant experience in upper-level management or finance. This program will be valuable to executives from all industries and companies of all sizes from around the globe. Past Participants have come from companies such as The Dow Chemical Company, IBM, AbbVie, Express, Hyatt Hotels, and TOTO USA, Inc.
Applicants should have significant experience in upper-level management or finance.Titles include: CFO, deputy CFO, senior VP, finance director, treasurer, and controller.
High-Performance Leadership
- The role of a leader in creating a high-performance work environment
- Critical attributes that drive innovation and financial results
- Strategies and processes to implement
Straight Talk in Tough Times
- Communication in a crisis, good times, and unpleasant times
- How to match actions to words
- Practical strategies and tools for effective communication
- Proactive vs. reactive when the unexpected happens
- Formulate effective messages to different audiences.
Financing Strategy
- Set and adjust priorities, manage cash flow, and target a sustainable growth rate
- Choose an optimal capital structure
Strategy Formulation and Implementation
- Why bother with strategy? What can strategy do? What happens if we don't have a strategy?
- Developing two simple tools: a set of four generic questions to apply to all businesses, a set of six powerful patterns that can be used to think about the ways strategies are developed
- Apply this strategy framework to identify a logical path for growth
Strategic Risk Management and Financial Fragility
- Analyze the sources of financial fragility and regulatory responses reshaping financial markets
- Assess implications of the Federal Reserve's and other central banks' extraordinarily accommodative policies for volatility, "currency wars," asset price bubbles, credit flows, inflation, and prospect for economic growth
- Learn the components of effective risk management
- Draw lessons from recent and historical crises to better prepare for and manage through future crises
Big Data and Marketing Analytics
- Understand the meaning of Big Data and Marketing Analytics
- Learn how to optimal marketing decisions and investments are made
- Discover the scientific power of data analysis in marketing decision-making linked to higher ROI
- Master the right questions to ask and make your marketing team accountable in the data-driven age
Evaluating Global Investments and the Cost of Capital
- Adapt capital budgeting to global opportunities
- How to incorporate political, expropriation, currency, and other international risks into the valuation process for global investments
- How globalization affects the cost of capital and what explains differences in the firms' cost of capital around the world
Strategic Communications Management
- Effectively manage investor base and quarterly earnings releases
- Corporate conference calls and earnings guidance
- Payout policy and signaling: dividends and repurchases
- Determinants of credit ratings: implications for capital structure
- Regulation FD and legal aspects of corporate disclosure plicy
Acquisition Strategies and Merger Implementation
- The M&A process: strategy, valuation, and execution
The Entrepreneurial Leader: The Importance of Innovation in a VUCA* World (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous)
- Framework for innovation and entrepreneurial thinking
- How to harness continuous improvement and disruptive change