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Careers - On The Up.
(From Financial Director)
Byline: Kevin Reed.
For many FDs, progression to chief executive is the next step on their career ladder. But such a move is not necessarily a smooth process.
Headhunters are looking for a broad range of management experience to make the grade. Even then, it is unlikely for an FD to make such a leap straight out of finance unless it's an internal promotion to succeed the CEO.
Financial Director's September 2003 study on the performance of FDs-turned-CEOs found that, by and large, CEOs who had previously been an FD somewhere helped their companies outperform the stock market average in terms of total shareholder returns.
The description of the FD as a number-cruncher without the leadership qualities to run a company has long been viewed as old-fashioned. "A lot of finance directors see themselves as general business people with a portfolio of experience and skills," says Alison Hill, senior client partner at executive recruitment agency Korn/Ferry.
Mina Gouran, Korn/Ferry's head of board services, adds that FDs have to be able to think commercially and contribute to the overall strategy of the business. "I can't tell you how many times we hear the phrase, 'We don't want to be accountants'," she says.
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