Sessions

Paving the IRO to CFO Career Path

Wednesday, June 7, 2023 | 1:00PM - 1:50PM | Room: Chicago 10  |   Education Session

 |  Katie Royce, CFA | Peter McDermott | Lee Ahlstrom, IRC | Ramesh Shettigar, MBA, CTP, IRC | Douglas Kris, IRC |

The background of CFOs varies meaningfully amongst companies, whether from accounting, financial planning, or banking experience. The IR profession is a potential pipeline to develop a skillset and transition to another C-Suite role within a company. Those investor relations professionals that have grown into a strategic role and have earned a “seat at the table” are best positioned to become a CFO. It is essential to spend meaningful time with the various business units of a company and build relationships that will help to become a better decision-maker and gain functional experience. Honing in on external communication skills and having a deep capital market understanding on both the debt and equity side is deeply important, so time spent with treasury pays dividends.
We will hear and learn from former IROs on how they transitioned to the role of CFO. How they developed relationships, built their financial skillset, and established leadership credibility. These CFOs will describe how they rose through the ranks and reflect on preferred pathways to groom top executives.
 

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand what it takes for IR professionals to rise to CFO positions
  • Understand analytical and management skills are necessary 
  • Define the experience recruiters are lookin for in CFOs and how to position yourself for success
  • Recognize IR professionals grow into a strategic role and earn a seat at the table to be best positioned for the next step in your career