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CFOs Share Thoughts on the State of the Economy at ILEX Leadership / Darden / McGuireWoods’ Quarterly Strategic CFO Roundtable
Added January 12, 2010McLean, VA (January 12, 2010) – On January 7, 2010, a select group of the Washington, D.C. area’s top CFOs gathered for the third in a series of quarterly Strategic CFO Roundtables organized by ILEX Leadership Associates, LLC, facilitated by Prof. Ken Eades of the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business, and hosted by the McGuireWoods LLP law firm.
At previous gatherings in May and September last year, the CFOs shared experiences and lessons learned in their roles as the top financial officers of leading corporations. At this meeting, the roundtable members discussed the results of a snapshot survey modeled after the nationwide “Business Outlook” survey undertaken recently by Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and CFO magazine. The snapshot offers a regional perspective on the business climate in the first quarter of 2010.
In the survey, the Roundtable respondents expressed greater optimism about the financial prospects of their own companies than did the nationwide group taking the Fuqua/CFO survey. On average, Roundtable members quantified their level of optimism as 75 on a scale of 100, as compared to a 62.5 average for the nationwide group. And while the respondents’ optimism for the U.S. economy as a whole measured virtually identical to that of the nationwide group (slightly more optimistic than last quarter), the local Roundtable members also evaluated their employees’ morale level (3.3 on a 5-point scale) more favorably than the nationwide CFO respondents (2.9).
”The survey findings and our discussion preliminarily identified a “Washington effect” for our regional economy.” said Jane‐Scott Cantus, the organizer of the event and a Principal at ILEX Leadership Associates. “Our regional economy is bolstered by the federal government and the quality of our educated workforce. We are less affected and more resilient in economic downturns and thus we are more optimistic about growth opportunities for companies and employees.”
As evidence of this optimism, several of the participating CFOs had completed strategic acquisitions and financings. Steve Keeler, a partner in the McGuireWoods firm’s private equity group and host of the event, noted that "the deals we helped clients close in 2009 required flexibility and creativity on all sides. These days, there really is no "market" standard for any particular transaction structure or term. To capitalize on good investment opportunities and avoid bank delays, we've seen private equity sponsors and mezzanine lenders take senior debt positions with a plan to refinance later. And there are certainly more buyout funds considering minority stakes as a foothold in promising companies that can't get LBO financing right now."
The Strategic CFO Roundtable meets quarterly and provides a forum for many of the Washington metropolitan area’s leading financial executives to share their individual experiences. Roundtable members include:
- Chris Colavito, CFO, Communication Technologies
- Mark Costanzo, CFO, FedBiz
- Harry D’Andrea, Administrative General Partner and CFO, Valhalla Partners
- Park Dodd, CFO, Treasurer and Assistant Secretary, Star Scientific
- Kenneth M. Eades, Chair, Finance Department, Darden Graduate School of Business
- Jorge Forgues, CFO, Vivisimo
- Victoria D. Harker, CFO, AES Corporation
- John F. Harris, Managing Director, The Carlyle Group
- John Hellerman, CEO, Hellerman-Baretz Communications
- Brian Helman, CFO, Rosetta Stone
- Daniel R. Ilisevich, Chief Financial & Administration Officer, Compusearch Software Systems
- James C. (“Jamie”) Gerber, CFO, WorldStrides
- Bobby Jenkins, CFO, Silverchair Science+Communications
- Steven J. Keeler, Partner, McGuireWoods LLP
- Bob Korzeniewski, Managing Director, Korzeniewski Family Foundation
- David J. Lundsten, Partner, Cherry Bekaert & Holland
- Chris Mack, CFO, Apptix
- Prakash Mehta, CFO, PSI International, Inc.
- Adrian Muniz, CFO, LogiXML.com
- Gary Perlin, CFO, Capital One Financial Corporation
- James M. Rallo, CFO and Treasurer, Liquidity Services, Inc.
- Chris Reebals, CFO, PBM Products, Inc.
- Brian Robins, EVP and CFO, VeriSign
- Rick Rolandi, former CFO, Vovici, Softek, and Data Direct
- Joey Solis, CFO, ExpressHomebuyers.com
- Chuck Ullan, EVP, Strategy and Finance, AllTrust Networks
- Janet Van Pelt, former CFO, webs.com, former CEO, Anystream
- Peter Whitfield, CFO, GTSI Corporation
The half-day, morning roundtable was conceived by ILEX Leadership Associates, LLC and McGuireWoods LLP. Kenneth M. Eades, Chair of the Finance Department at UVA’s Darden Graduate School of Business, facilitates the discussions.
The next roundtable is expected to occur in early May and the group will revisit the survey again at that time.
Four times a year, a select group of Chief Financial Officers convene for the Strategic CFO Roundtable in McLean, Virginia. With more than 300 years of strategic financial and accounting experience sitting around the table, they share their views on the challenges and opportunities facing their companies, and they discuss the lessons learned from triumphs and trials that led to their becoming recognized as strategic CFOs. The Strategic CFO Roundtable is co‐sponsored by ILEX Leadership Associates, LLC (www.ILEXLeaders.com), Darden Graduate School of Business Administration (www.darden.virginia.edu) and McGuireWoods LLP (www.mcguirewoods.com).