Rich Veldran
The CFO’s Mandate
An Interview with Dun & Bradstreet CFO Rich Veldran
BCG’s Jeff Kotzen interviews Rich Veldran, CFO of Dun & Bradstreet, about the CFO’s role as a champion for shareholder value.
Today’s CFO is expected to do much more than make sure the numbers work and the books close on time. He or she needs to be a true strategic partner to the business, particularly when it comes to TSR.
Very simply, the primary mandate of the CFO role—I believe at any company, but in particular at Dun & Bradstreet—is to be the champion of total shareholder return. By that, I mean that my role is to look at everything that we do, every decision that we make, every business that we enter, through the lens of shareholder value. That’s the only way to make sure that, in the long run, everything you do is ultimately beneficial for shareholders.
The broadening role of the CFO requires taking a portfolio perspective on the entire company by initiating and driving necessary portfolio improvements and turning industry turmoil into value creation opportunities.
There are four steps to prioritizing growth among business units in the corporate portfolio.
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