Managing and Working with Boards by The Washington, D.C. CFOLC
Event Information
Description
Managing and Working with Boards
hosted by
The Washington, D.C. CFO Leadership Council
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Managing and Working with Boards
Whether public company or privately backed, early stage or mature, one of the most challenging responsibilities of a CFO is to successfully manage relationships and interactions with the Board of Directors. The influence of a Board on the day-to-day responsibilities of a CFO can be complex, and let’s be honest, even a bit dysfunctional at times.
Join us for ‘Managing and Working with Boards,’ as our panel of Board members and CFOs discuss the best practices of managing Board relationships, both in good times and bad. From operational tactics to sound strategies, our speakers will share their advice in fostering positive and productive Board relationships.
Learning Objectives
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How to improve Board interactions, both inside the board room and outside meetings;
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What should be communicated to the Board and how to effectively communicate it;
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How to set and respond to Board expectations along all functions; and
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How to manage competing interests among the executive team, the Board, and employees
Breakfast and networking is from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. Our program will start at 8:00 a.m. and end at 9:30 a.m.
Speakers
Click here to learn more about CFO Leadership Council.
Registration
To register for this program, simply click on the green tickets button and then click one of the two registration buttons and complete the form as requested.
All CFO Leadership Council members may attend this program for free.
Non-member senior financial executives who are CFOs, Vice Presidents of Finance, Directors of Finance and Controllers (or the like) are welcome to attend this program for $60.00.
Please note that service providers or any executives who are not senior financial executives (CFOs, Vice Presidents of Finance, Controllers, Directors of Finance, etc.) will not be admitted attendance to this event. The CFO Leadership Council reserves the right to decline any registration.
More Information
For more information about this program or The CFO Leadership Council, please contact Debbie Lindner, Marketing Director, Washington, D.C. Chapter at Debbie@cfolc.com.
Cancellation Policy
If you would like to cancel your ticket or request a refund, please email debbie@cfolc.com. Refunds are available up to 24 hours prior to the program.
CPE Information
Instructional method: Group-Live
Recommended CPE Credits: 1.8 CPE credits in Communications and Marketing
Experience Level: Basic
Prerequisites/advance preparation: None
The CFO Leadership Council is registered with the National Association of State Boards-of-Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors (Sponsor ID 109063). State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be addressed to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, 150 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 700, Nashville, TN, 37219-2417. Website: www.nasba.org
About Our Speakers
Victor Block, CFO, Sestra Systems
Victor Block is the Chief Financial Officer of Sestra Systems, a growth stage company providing IoT enabled smart beverage dispensing solutions.
Victor comes to Sestra with a range of experience building venture backed businesses in both operational and financial roles. As COO and CFO of Cricket Media, he was recruited by investors he worked with previously to restructure the company following a transaction. While at Cricket, Victor raised additional equity financing, completed the split of the legacy business into two new operating companies, and sourced, completed and integrated an acquisition into one of those businesses. The result significantly streamlined operations and reduced overall costs, while growing total sales and increasing profitability.
Prior to Cricket Media, Victor served as EVP & CFO at SnagFilms, where he built the finance function and raised multiple rounds of equity and debt financing to support SnagFilms’ growth. Victor also ran the company’s media business, later leading the sale of the largest segment of that business, Indiewire, to Penske Media. He developed the plan for and was instrumental in leading the company’s pivot from a direct-to-consumer media company to an enterprise PaaS content distribution platform under the ViewLift brand. Earlier in his career, Victor was VP of Finance at Revolution Health. Following Revolution Health’s merger with Everyday Health, he served as a Senior Financial Advisor with Revolution.
John Gambaccini, Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson
A Corporate and Securities Transactions partner and member of the firm’s Public Company Advisers Team, John Gambaccini has more than 15 years of experience advising middle-market public and private companies, investors and individuals in connection with mergers and acquisitions, capital and equity financings, securities regulation, joint ventures, corporate governance, and general corporate matters. His experience with clients crosses a variety of industries, including technology, health care, finance, government services, and industrial manufacturing.
John has a particular niche in assisting private equity funds and related financial sponsor groups in domestic and international middle-market transactions. He also represents private equity portfolio companies through their life cycle, from acquisition through add-on acquisitions, growth and exit.
A native Ohioan, John now practices law from the firm’s northern Virginia office, where he is also active in the Association for Corporate Growth - National Capital Chapter (ACG) and the Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors(AMAA) - DC/MD/VA chapter.
Bar admissions
Education
- J.D., 2000, The George Washington University Law School
- B.A., 1997, The University of Akron: Political Science
- summa cum laude
James Gerber, CFO, IronNet
James Gerber is the Chief Financial Officer at IronNet. As CFO, Mr. Gerber provides strategic financial planning and direction in IronNet's opportunity-driven, fast-paced growth environment. By overseeing solid organizational performance, he ensures the deployment of financial, technical, operations and collaborative approaches to drive corporate growth.
Mr. Gerber began his career as an electronics and systems engineer with General Electric and founded the Automated Systems Division of Morrison Knudsen. He brings over 30 years of experience working in finance, strategy and information technology operations. Prior to his role at IronNet, Mr. Gerber was the Chief Financial Officer of WorldStrides, a global education services provider for over 400,000 students per year. At the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Mr. Gerber led investment functions, served S&P 500 corporations and millions of pension plan participants, and managed over $50 billion in pension investment assets, including major airline holdings. Mr. Gerber has also held senior financial positions in transportation, overseeing the domestic and international financial activities of a series of acquisitions and mergers with heavy equipment manufacturers that resulted in the creation of the $1.5 billion Rail Products Business Group at publicly-held Trinity Industries.
Mr. Gerber has served on a number of non-profit Boards and committees, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Washington National Cathedral and St. Albans School. He currently chairs the Entrepreneurship Programs Advisory Council in the Engineering School at Princeton University. Mr. Gerber earned a BS in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Maria C. Izurieta, CFO, Elk Creek Advisory
Ms. Izurieta is a board member and executive with over 25 years of senior leadership experience delivering growth through financial, strategic and operational initiatives in public and private companies. She has a strong reputation as a strategic leader with focused experience in commercial high technology driven product and service global businesses.
Ms. Izurieta was recently a board member, audit committee chair and compensation committee member of exactEarth (TSX:XCT), a leading provider of global maritime vessel data for ship tracking and maritime situational awareness solutions. Ms. Izurieta was also a board member of 3Pillar Holdings LLC., 3Pillar Global UK Limited, TPG Software Private Limited (India), S.C. 3Pillar Global S.R.L (Romania) and BrickRed Technologies B.V. (Netherlands).
As a senior executive, Ms. Izurieta has a proven track record of enhancing shareholder value through growth initiatives, driving EBITDA margins through scalable operations, conducting pivot and turnaround strategies, leading and integrating M&A activities, and developing great places to work. Ms. Izurieta has led, as CEO, a successful exit of a TSX company to a strategic partner after launching a pivot strategy that created double-digit growth for its SaaS application. As CFO, she has increased valuations through improving business financial metrics and health, has raised funds from various public markets, private equity, and venture capital firms, purchased and integrated several strategic acquisitions, and sold multiple divisions at gains.
Ms. Izurieta currently leads her own consulting firm specializing in financial, operational and strategic initiatives to help companies break through to growth. Previously she was the CFO of 3Pillar Global, Inc. a private-equity backed global professional services company providing outsourced product development services. She was also the CEO and CFO of Wireless Matrix, a TSX-listed, North-American based SaaS company supporting enterprise’s operational field services goals; the CFO of VIPdesk, a venture-backed organization offering SaaS based consumer loyalty programs and concierge services; and the VP of Finance and Administration at CyberCash, a public, international SaaS company providing electronic payments products and services. Ms. Izurieta began her career as an auditor at PWC specializing in technology company IPO’s and public offerings.
Ms. Izurieta is focused on sharing her expertise, developing the next generation of leaders and giving back to the business community through her involvement in various volunteer organizations. She is the Chair of Women Squared, an executive women’s leadership roundtable; Chair of Tech CFO Network of Greater Washington, an organization facilitating collaboration amongst technology-oriented CFOs; Co-Founder of CEO Book Club, a roundtable built around leadership book discussions; Board member of STEM for HER; a committee member of NVTC’s CFO Committee; a member of Women in Technology’s Leadership Foundry and The Women Advisory Board for Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital.
Ms. Izurieta has been recognized as a leading CFO in 2016, 2014 and 2008 by the Northern Virginia Technology Council. She was also a Trending 40 Top Tech CFO in 2015 and received the Executive Management Award (EMA) by Washington SmartCEO in 2014.
Ms. Izurieta graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a BS in Accounting
Jim Schleckser, CEO of Inc. CEO Project
Jim helps leaders grow companies. Before he started the Inc. CEO Project, a firm that mentors fast growth CEOs, he ran a technology business valued at $1.6 Billion. He has done business in 28 countries.
He has a regular column on entrepreneurial growth issues on Inc.com. He has spent over 10,000 hours speaking with and interviewing CEOs. He recently published the best-selling book “Great CEOs are Lazy” He is the Chair of the local National Association of Corporate Directors and sites on 5 boards.
He is an engineer, an avid soccer player, a Level 1 sommelier, and recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.