The role of the CFO is shifting and there is a greater emphasis on finding someone to be a strategic partner to a company’s CEO, moving beyond financial reporting.
A recent BoardEx analysis looks at the top 100 CFOs appointed in 2021, ranked by their organizations market cap. A closer look at the top 10 appointments tells a different story about the backgrounds of CFOs leading some of the world’s largest organizations. Only one, Amy Elizabeth Weaver of Salesforce, has a less traditional background working her way up the organization within the legal function and serving as the company’s GC from 2013 to 2015.
The data shows that 30% of CFOs are external appointments, nearly twice the rate of the top CEO appointments for 2021. A quarter of the top CFOs appointed in 2021 were female with many appointments within financial services including Sharon Yeshaya of Morgan Stanley, Alesia Jeanne Haas of Coinbase and Jen Benson Dardis of T Rowe Price.
Top 10 CFO Moves of 2021
| Name | Gender | Organization | Role | Sector | Country/Region | Appointment | Diversity Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy Barnum | Male | JP Morgan Chase & Co | CFO | Banks | United States | Internal | |
| Andre Schulten | Male | Procter & Gamble | CFO | Household Products | United States | Internal | |
| Alastair M Borthwick | Male | Bank of America | CFO | Banks | United States | Internal | |
| Amy Elizabeth Weaver | Female | Salesforce.com | President/CFO | Software & Computer Services | United States | Internal | |
| Caroline Litchfield | Female | Merck & Co Inc | Executive VP/CFO | Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology | United States | Internal | |
| Samir Seksaria | Male | Tata Consultancy Services | CFO | Business Services | India | Internal | |
| Sharon Yeshaya | Female | Morgan Stanley | CFO | Speciality & Other Finance | United States | Internal | |
| Pascal Desroches | Male | AT&T | Senior Executive VP/CFO | Telecommunication Services | United States | External | Black Association Network |
| Rachel Ruggeri | Female | Starbucks | Executive VP/CFO | Leisure & Hotels | United States | Internal |
Source BoardEx