Wanted: Tomorrow's CFO

Originally Published June 2000Stacey L. Bell

CPA or MBA? Today's successful chief financial officer (CFO) looks very different from his or her counterpart of the past.

"If we go back historically, the role of the CFO was one of maintenance and value protection," says C. Ray Holman, chairman and CEO of Mallinckrodt Inc. (St. Louis). "If we look at it going forward, it's a job of risk management and value creation. The role has become much more important in any large enterprise—much broader, much more integrated with the entire organization."

Michael Kelly, managing director for the global healthcare practice in the Minneapolis office of Korn/Ferry International, a large worldwide, healthcare recruiting firm, agrees: "CFOs historically were more accounting oriented; now, there is a premium on CFOs with strategic business skills."