Paul’s Playbook: The Importance of Leading by Example

This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Paul Cunningham, Partner and CFO at Helios Investment Partners, an Africa-focused private firm managing funds totalling $3.6 billion. With 34 years in the industry, Paul has an overall responsibility for all matters relating to accounting, financial control, taxation, fund administration and reporting and regulatory compliance for the Helios group entities.

In this episode, Paul talks about the current state of the market in private equity, changes in finance functions brought about by the global pandemic, and how to build a strong team through authentic and genuine leadership.

The unique role of a CFO in private equity

In a conventional company, the role of CFO is usually pretty well defined and bound in terms of what they are responsible for. However, CFOs sometimes need to be a jack of all trades. In a private equity firm, the roles of COO and CFO can at times be synonymous, with the head of finance taking on many different responsibilities. This can range anywhere from the typical financial aspects through to arranging financing, HR, or even IT.

“Typically, within a lot of private equity firms, it is the CFO that just keeps everything on the straight and narrow, keeps everything sort of running with the exception of the buying and selling of investments.”

Building a strong finance team

Authentic and genuine leadership skills are a must for gaining the respect and trust of the team that surrounds you. While the company may employ a top-down approach to leadership, it is important to remember that you were once in the same shoes as the team members that look up to you now. Treat them how you would have liked to be treated when you were in their position.

“In terms of leading the team, one of the key things that I find is that I don't ask anyone in my team to do something that I have never done myself in the past or don't sometimes do myself at the moment.”

Cultivating culture in a remote environment

There are many challenges that have arisen due to the pandemic, one of which being the need for remote working. There are some positives, like being able to access more people of different skill levels, and having a farther reaching team in more locations. However, a negative is that not being in person can make it difficult to cultivate culture and be a hindrance to helping your team thrive. 

“What it has proven to me is that remote working can work, but that face to face interaction is critical to enable remote working to work.”

Humble leadership by example

No one likes a stereotypically stern boss. Successful leaders understand their team’s functional needs and can lead by example. Observing a higher-up performing menial tasks can invoke empathetic responses from team members, making a leader seem more relatable.

“One of the most important bits of advice is never be too important to do anything because it helps keep you grounded. It also helps with building a team. Don't feel that because you are now CFO, you can't do your own photocopying for example.”

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Time Stamp Topics:

01:15 Paul’s journey

03:29 The role of CFO in private equity

05:22 How the role has changed over time

07:13 Current state of the market

13:12 Building a strong finance team

15:12 Leading through the pandemic

25:01 Changes in finance technology

26:58 Automating manual processes

32:52 Advice for aspiring CFOs

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Sponsor:

This show is brought to you by Soldo, the brighter way to manage business spending and expenses. With Soldo, you can control every expense, track spend in real time, automate financial reporting, and then use those insights to fuel growth. Learn more at Soldo.com

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