Who Are The Finance Leaders To Follow In 2018?

The calendar has turned to 2018 and we’re all looking to start the year energized and full of hope for what we’re going to achieve. We’re also eager looking for concrete ways to reach our goals. One of those ways is to find thought leaders in finance whose thoughts will give you the inspiration to solve tough challenges and emerge as a winner be it at your job or elsewhere in your professional life. I wanted to do my part in this by trying to identify some of those leaders both based on my own experiences but also based on input from my network. So, two months ago I asked my network “Let’s create a [top 10/20/30] list of finance leaders to follow in 2018”. I took the lead by suggesting several names and much more were added to the list. Hence, below allow me to highlight those leaders whom you would benefit from following and answering the important question of WHY they’re worth following. 

Bring on the list 

Before sharing such list it’s important to say that this is by no means a full list of all finance leaders to follow and there could be many more that I simply just haven’t heard of yet. Therefore, you’re more than welcome to add more names in the comments sections afterwards. To provide a bit of overview I have made the choice of creating a few categories which these leaders fall into. 

• Content creators i.e. someone that mostly create and publish content about the hottest trends and latest developments in the finance function
• Networkers i.e. those that connect finance professionals around the world with one another around important topics for discussion in the finance profession
• Influencers i.e. those that already have a large global following but thereby not to say that everyone on this list is not Influencers but his or her reach might still be somewhat limited

Content creators

• Bo Foged (Denmark): Bo is the CFO of ATP which is the largest pension fund in Denmark and a large fund manager on a global scale. Bo has recently published the book “Skab V?rdi Som Finansiel Forretningspartner” which is due to be published in English in the first half of 2018. This is the first serious attempt to make a full analysis of what it takes to create value as a finance business partner
• Andrew Codd (Ireland): Andrew is a Consultant, Managing Director of AFP Commercial Finance, Podcaster of his own show called “The Strength In The Numbers Show” and a long-time writer about finance business partnering. Andrew has also written a book (probably the first one ever solely dedicated to the topic) about finance business partnering titled “The Audacious Finance Partner”.
• Nilly Essaides (USA): Nilly is a Senior Research Director with the global consulting and benchmarking company The Hackett Group. Now, she might not always share her full research but even in the snippets, she does share there are many golden nuggets for anyone in Finance to feast on. You can also always count on her insights being future-oriented.
• Lance Rubin (Australia) Lance is all about financial modelling and the fact that his profile link on LinkedIn is “…in/cashflowmodeling” says it all! He has recently taken up the position of Group CFO at Sequel CFO which offers virtual CFO services to SME clients. He is an expert financial modeller who frequently shares his insights and I was fortunate to co-write an article with him in 2017 titled “Do You Model Off Against The Masters Of Financial Modeling”. The article heading included a reference to Model Off which is the World Championships in Financial Modeling to which Lance has developed a number of solutions and spoken at numerous Model Off global training camps.
• Gary Cokins (USA): Gary has spent a lifetime working with Enterprise Performance Management in various shapes and forms and is an author of multiple books on the topic. Gary now spends his time doing some advisory and consulting work but also helping young professionals figuring out how to progress in their careers.
• James Perry (UK): James is someone every young finance professional should know especially if you’re planning on taking a degree or certification in finance and accounting. That’s right James’s main brand is being an exam coach helping people to pass their exams to begin new chapters of their careers. James also blogs about the topic so you can even pick up some free advice!
• Jim Kaitz (USA): Jim is the CEO of the Association For Finance Professionals (AFP) and has dedicated his whole career to influencing the direction setting of the finance function through his work in the association and through sharing his thoughts in articles and blogs. It was also AFP that published my first “real” article back in the Spring of 2014 in their AFP Exchange Magazine which is definitely recommendable to keep yourself updated on everything that is the finance function.
• Peter Chisambara (South Africa): Peter is the Founder and Principal Consultant of ERPM Insights and is passionate about helping companies improve performance and help the rest of us become better at doing the same! He has recently made the jump to launch his own consulting company and can use the support from all of us to get his message out there.
• Andrew Jepson (Australia): Andrew is a Freelance CFO and has his own consulting firm. He’s currently active with a new training program for finance business partners called “Compliance to Commercial” which addresses the challenge that many accountants and the like face when they need to move up the value chain to stay in business. I also had the pleasure of collaborating with Andrew on an article in 2017 titled “How Finance Masters Champion Month-End”.
• Steve Morlidge (UK): Steve is the master of forecasting and is associated with the Beyond Budgeting movement where Steve shares his insights on how better forecasting can drive better behaviour. I had the pleasure of seeing Steve in action some years ago and in a one-hour session, he gave me a lot of inspiration and practical advice that I could take straight back to the office and apply and become a better business partner. That’s how a true thought leader works!
• David Boyar (Australia): David is the CEO of Sequel CFO and while having two thought leaders from the same company might seem like overkill this just proves how exciting of a project that David and Lance have going. David is also a podcaster with his show “From The Trenches”. He is passionate about making SMEs succeed when they’re not getting what they need from their finance team. Often this is because they’re not able to hire a real CFO but getting a virtual CFO allows them to get the support they need from a senior finance professional as and when they need it. More companies could benefit from such a solution!
• Andy Burrows (UK): Andy is the Founder and CEO of SuperchargedFinance.com where he writes about everything that is the finance function. Andy is also a consultant and does training programs for finance professionals. In fact, he has even offered free mini-courses before on how Finance can drive business performance. I wouldn’t be surprised if he does it again in 2018 so you’d be missing out if you didn’t pay attention to what Andy is doing.

Networkers

• Larysa Melnychuk (UK): Larysa is the Managing Director of the FP&A Trends Club and Founder of the London FP&A Club (now expanded to a countless number of cities globally). Larysa is a true lighthouse in the FP&A profession as she gathers FP&A professionals around the world to discuss trending topics, co-create practical models for practitioners and then sharing this knowledge through articles and webinars where amongst other Larysa and I did one on FP&A Business Partnering in 2017. I can only encourage you to look at her website (fpa-trends.com) for continuous updates and all her activities.
• Brian Kalish (USA): Brian just like Larysa is a power networker within FP&A and while he mainly operates in the states with his FP&A roundtables he’s also making his way around the world so stay tuned for when he visits a town near you. Brian also does advisory services and is often used as an SME on FP&A matters in various media like cfo.com etc.
• Ernie Humphrey (USA): Ernie is a webinar guru and CEO of Treasury Careers. There’s no better person to connect with if you want to find an effective way of delivering your finance content to the global finance profession. And the best thing is that the webinars that Ernie curates are all offered for free! Ernie is also passionate about helping treasury professionals succeed in times where technology is also having a significant impact on this profession.
• Chris Argent (UK): Chris is the Group BI Strategy and Planning Manager at Vodafone at day but at night he’s the group owner of Generation CFO, a LinkedIn group with more than 65,000 members. Here he works with the members to promote latest trends and innovation in the finance function. The group is recommendable for all those who want the latest insights of what goes on in Finance.
• Brad Eisenhuth (Australia): Brad is the CEO of The Outperformer which offers career management and performance programs to finance professionals, which includes one-to-one mentor introductions and career strategy development delivered to hundreds of senior finance professionals. Brad is the author of “CFgrOw - Staying In The Driver’s Seat On The Path To CFO” which was written and developed through over 10 years working with thousands of accounting and finance professionals, leaders and their teams. The Outperformer offers regular webinars with CFOs, execs and subject matter experts (many highlighted in this article) on career and performance-based topics.

Influencers

• James O’Brien (Australia): James is the Founder of CFO Accelerator and currently has 440,000+ followers on LinkedIn which is truly impressive because he doesn’t even have the official Influencer tag offered by LinkedIn to the selected few! James focuses on increasing Business Acumen in business partners in support functions and advising the C-suite on how exactly they can get better performance from their teams. He also offers individual development programs and webinars for finance professionals. James and I have been writing the on-going Business Acumen series where you can read the first article in the series here “Do You Know How Your Company Makes Money?”.
• Tom Hood (USA): Tom is an Influencer by designation of LinkedIn and currently has more than 610,000 followers. Tom’s agenda is bigger than Finance with his four passions being leadership, learning, technology and collaboration, however, these are all topics truly relevant for finance professionals. Tom is also the President and CEO of Maryland Association of CPAs and The Business Learning Institute. Tom has also been named the 2nd most influential person in Accounting by Accounting Today on their annual top 100 list (register to view).
• Mohamed El-Erian (USA) Mohamed is also an Influencer by designation of LinkedIn with an incredible 1.6 million followers. Mohamed also has a wider agenda than the finance function and is more looking at the economy in general. However, his views and advice are particularly relevant for any finance professional who wants to advise management about what goes on in the economy that can impact their company. Unlike many other Influencers, he also spends a lot of time on LinkedIn sharing his thoughts with his followers so there’s never a boring moment if you follow Mohamed!

That makes the list for now but I encourage you to add others. There’s no doubt that this list is opinionated and you will see that I have collaborated with many of the mentioned leaders however that being said you can gain truly valuable insights from connecting with and following these leaders in 2018. 

In 2018, you must GROW or DIE 

If there’s one New Year’s resolution I would like you to make (and stick to) it is that you should grow as a professional in 2018. This list should be a good starting point for you but much more should be done. If you don’t adopt a growth mindset you will fade out and away and your career will lose its meaning. In a wider sense, this is about learning and energy and you can read more about my thoughts on the topic in the article “Finance People – Adopt A Growth Mindset Or Die”. I hope you have enjoyed following me as well in 2017 and I can guarantee 2018 will be packed with many exciting initiatives and I can’t wait to continue this journey with you! As always let me know what you think about this article by liking, commenting and sharing. Engagement is everything and without you, my work would lose its meaning. 

If you want to learn more about what goes on in the finance function you might want to check out a few of my past articles below and I can also encourage you to join the Finance Business Partner Forum which is a group of almost 3,000 finance professionals eager to learn how Finance can help drive value creation in companies. 

Introducing The Finance Transformation Nine Box

The CFOs Roadmap To Transforming Finance

How Finance People Can Be More Successful

The New Career Path For Finance Professionals

What Defines A Finance Master?

The First Rule Of Thought Leadership

Blockchain Opportunities And Risks For Finance

Anders Liu-Lindberg is the Global Finance PMO for Maersk Transport & Logistics where my main goal is to create a world-class finance function! Formerly I’ve been a Senior Finance Business Partner for Maersk Line Europe Region and is working with the transformation of Finance and business daily. I have participated in several transformation processes amongst others helping Maersk Drilling to go Beyond Budgeting and transformed a finance team from Bean-counters to Business Partners. I would love the chance to collaborate with you on your own transformation processes to help you stay out of disruption. Don’t be shy! Let’s get in touch and start helping each other.