ASX 100 CFOs Unlocked: Identifying the Leadership Advantage that counts

Learned a lot lending an editorial hand here:

Spencer Stuart, December 2024

by Jean E. Chiswick and Lucy Smith-Stevens




A senior leadership position, one pivotal to company performance, has undergone a profound shift.

Today’s chief financial officer (CFO) must influence beyond financial issues and offer cross-enterprise leadership on a range of different challenges. The role requires strong communication — someone able to seamlessly switch from internal to external audiences on a range of contemporary industry themes. They have to deftly navigate opportunities and risks, juggle a myriad of stakeholders and be co-pilot to the chief executive, working shoulder to shoulder in many cases, both inside and outside of the company.

No wonder the CFO so often looms large as a strong candidate when a CEO succession is underway.

But it’s not always smooth sailing.

The last two years have been pockmarked by a variety of economic challenges, increased complexity and ambiguity, as well as intense geopolitical disruption. Perhaps unsurprisingly, we have observed a shift in ASX 100 CFOs appointed with more proven CFO track records, classical accounting backgrounds and established credibility in public markets.

Does this mark a return to linear pathways to ASX 100 CFO succession? Well, not necessarily. We have found that 25% of internal CFO promotions have had exposure to P&L or operational leadership positions. This shows that breadth of experience is still important.

With more proven CFOs appointed in ASX 100 CFO positions, coupled with growing CEO succession from CFO roles, one thing is clear: an experienced CFO is the leadership advantage that counts. (Read the rest here.)

GCC economies must plot their way to $1 trillion in non-oil exports

Learned a lot lending an editorial hand here:

Gulf News, December 9, 2024

by Rasheed Eltayeb, Chadi Moujaes, Paul Saber, and Sohaib Dar



GCC governments are making progress in reducing their reliance on oil revenues and building an export base of high-value-added goods and services. To accelerate the shift away from oil exports to non-commoditized goods and services, GCC countries can expand their industrial base beyond petrochemicals, support high productivity sectors, and enter competitive markets.

Exports of non-oil goods have grown by a compound annual growth rate of 2% over the past ten years. The World Bank’s latest Gulf Economic Update estimates that GCC non-oil GDP growth reached 3.9% in 2023, while oil-generated revenues contracted by the same percentage.

With the correct measures, we estimate that GCC countries could accelerate this growth and increase total 2022 non-oil exports worth $202 billion to $1 trillion annually by 2030. Our $1 trillion figure comes from: past export growth, GCC countries’ revealed comparative advantage (RCA) in key export sectors (which means they sell abroad significant amounts from that sector), and extrapolating top quartile export growth manifested by global benchmarks.

To capture this prize, GCC policymakers can take three sets of actions. (Read the rest here.)

Exposure to Other Religions Could Help Stem Science Denial

Insights by Stanford Business, September 5, 2024

by Theodore Kinni


Researchers and educators should think about how scientific information will be perceived by people of different religions, says Yu Ding. | iStock/Aleksei Morozov/JakeOlimb/Rinat Khairitdinov

When someone rejects scientific findings that collide with their religion, it may be seen as a sign of their strongly held beliefs. Yet religiosity alone does not explain why some believers are skeptical of science. A multifaceted new study by Yu Ding, an assistant professor of marketing at Stanford Graduate School of Business, finds that there is another strong predictor of science denial: how much exposure religious people have to members of other faiths.

As Ding reviewed studies of religious intensity and science denial, he found several unanswered questions. For instance, why don’t all religious people find their faith incompatible with science? Quakers and Jews often have strong religious convictions yet are well represented in the STEM disciplines. Likewise, why does individual religious intensity not account for geographic variations in levels of science denial? A Pew Research Center study found that 42% of Muslim respondents in Tunisia believe there is a “general conflict” between religion and science versus 16% of Muslim respondents in Morocco.

This led Ding, along with professors Gita Johar and Michael Morris of Columbia Business School, to examine a lack of religious diversity as a pathway to science denial. The trio hypothesized that science denial may arise from religious intolerance — an unwillingness to accept any view that contradicts the accepted dogma — and that intolerance may be the result of a lack of religious diversity within a particular area. Read the rest here.

 

Shopping for growth: How to build an urban retail destination

Learned a lot lending an editorial hand here:

PWC Strategy&, August 2024

by Makram Debbas, Ramy Sfeir, Sukalp Tipre, and Matteo Amici




As Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states pursue urban transformation and mega projects, they should seize the unrealized opportunity for growth in the retail sectors of their major cities. The region’s annual retail sales are expected to grow to US$300 billion by 2028, a 37 percent increase from 2022. With the right steps, these retail sectors can become global shopping destinations. That would allow retail to make a significant contribution to urban GDP and employment, while improving quality of life for residents and enhancing the offering to tourists.

The prospect of strong domestic retail growth, however, does not guarantee that GCC cities will become global shopping destinations. Indeed, the opposite could occur. Given the ease of foreign travel, rising GCC domestic demand could result in GCC shoppers seeking unique retail experiences outside the region. To prevent that, and to seize the growth opportunity, GCC cities should overcome two categories of challenges: supply issues, such as limited brand and assortment offerings, insufficient talent, and a lack of holistic shopping experiences; and enabling factor issues, such as fragile supply chains, underdeveloped customer and operational technologies, and cumbersome investment regulations.

Cities should create a governance entity that can articulate a compelling and differentiated retail vision and then build the required capabilities through six initiatives... read the rest here.

Open banking is a rich opportunity for GCC incumbent banks

Learned a lot lending an editorial hand here:

Finance Middle East, July 28, 2024

by Dr. Antoine Khadige, Nader Haddad, and Marwan Nadda



Banking in the GCC region is undergoing a significant transformation with the growing impact of regulatory-led open banking initiatives. The Central Bank of Bahrain is preparing to enter the second phase of its open banking plan. Saudi Arabia has announced the gradual implementation of open banking use cases. Kuwait is testing open banking products, and the Central Bank of the UAE has initiated an open finance initiative covering banks and insurers.

With open banking regulatory directives, which require the sharing of customer data (with the customer’s consent) with trusted third parties, incumbent banks are entering a new era of competition. New banking entrants such as fintechs and payment providers can access incumbents’ now-exclusive customer relationships and entice customers away with new products and services.

If they articulate the right vision, however, incumbent banks can meet this challenge head-on, adopt the regulatory dictates of open banking and go beyond them. Banks that embrace open banking—which will grow at a global annual rate of 25% to 27%, according to MarkNtel Advisors and Grand View Research—can retain their market share and transform themselves, create new revenue streams, and forge deeper customer relationships. In Saudi Arabia, for example, we project an open banking penetration rate of 20% with retail customers by 2030.

Incumbent banks can take three actions to take advantage of open banking and position themselves in its vanguard. Read the rest here.

Sustainability in the Spotlight: The Balancing Act of ESG

Learned a lot lending an editorial hand here:

Diligent Institute/ Spencer Stuart, June 2024





This year, sustainability in the corporate world has been defined by flux. The debate in the U.S. around ESG (environmental, social and governance) remains fierce. The global issues that ESG aims to address — climate change, human rights and equity, among others — are enormous and only becoming more complex. This is because, in its broadest definition, ESG reflects a set of objectives common to all companies — from managing risk to playing a role in addressing societal issues to identifying opportunities for growth and value creation. The corporate will and effort to address these opportunities and challenges seems to be growing, not shrinking.

The third annual global Sustainability in the Spotlight survey, conducted by Spencer Stuart and the Diligent Institute, asked public and private company directors across industries and geographies about their companies’ sustainability strategies and oversight. We also asked respondents to provide their perspectives on and involvement in defining their organization’s ESG vision and strategy, as well as their role in overseeing results. Download the report here.

Time to increase Qatar’s financial literacy

Learned a lot lending an editorial hand here:  

Qatar Tribune, May, 16, 2024

by Raed Kombargi, Fadi Adra, Swati Chaudhary, and Rasha Salem

As lifestyle aspirations, easy access to digital credit and loans, and the need to finance education and real estate drive up consumer debt levels in Qatar, the case for bolstering financial literacy is becoming urgent. This growing weight of consumer debt, coupled with the ongoing paradigm shift in the social contract, underscores the importance of financial literacy as a tool for managing debt and ensuring financial stability. Research from the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center finds that countries with higher levels of financial literacy have lower levels of household debt, higher savings rates, and greater resilience during financial downturns than those with lower levels of financial literacy.

Qatari institutions increasingly recognize financial literacy as a critical factor for economic empowerment and financial stability, and have begun to act. Witness, among other efforts, the financial literacy programs launched by the Qatar Central Bank, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education’s decision to add financial literacy as an elective for eleventh and twelfth-grade students, and the Qatar Stock Exchange’s commitment to raising the financial literacy of investors.

While dedicated programs are a good start, meeting increasing financial literacy across the country in a timely manner requires an overarching strategy and a holistic framework that incorporates a multi-dimensional view of life-stages and beneficiary contexts. Read the rest here.

‘I’m Sorry, Dave.’ When AI Writes a CEO’s Apology Letter.

This Week in Leadership, May 8, 2024

by Theodore Kinni




Generative artificial-intelligence programs are already helping professionals write compelling sales presentations, convincing emails, and other difficult business communications. It was only a matter of time before someone tried using it for one of the most sensitive documents of all: an apology from the boss.

Using the widely available GPT-4, researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) recently built a model they call “Prompt Engineering for CEO Apology.” The model incorporates a number of variables, including type of event, structure and length of previous apologies, audience, delivery method, and the communication styles of the CEO and the company. The researchers used the model to create apologies for some recent high-profile CEO gaffes, and apparently, AI did pretty well: According to the KAIST study, the notes “conveyed empathy” and “mimicked the same structure and emotional language” of CEO apologies produced by human beings. Read the rest here.

Skills-Based Hiring: Where Did It Go?

This Week in Leadership, March 25, 2024

by Theodore Kinni

If you’ve browsed job postings recently, you’ve probably seen that skills-based hiring is all the rage. Often a bachelor’s degree isn’t even required—only that you have key skills.

But only one word describes how often non-degreed applicants appear to be getting hired: rarely. A new study from the Burning Glass Institute and Harvard Business School’s Managing the Future of Work program uses employment ads to track the progress of skills-based hiring. It found that from 2014 to 2023 the number of roles for which employers dropped degree requirements increased fourfold. But when they studied a sample of 11,300 of these roles, they found that the share of workers hired without a college degree grew by only about 3.5% in 2023. Extrapolating its findings across the hiring universe, the team concludes that “for all its fanfare, the increased opportunity promised by Skills-Based Hiring has borne out in not even 1 in 700 hires last year.” Read the rest here.

Evaluating Your Major Gift Program: Three Strategic Questions for Nonprofit Leaders

Learned a lot lending an editorial hand here:

Development Guild DDI, March 25, 2024

by Suzanne Battit




When Dr. Ruth Gottesman, Ed.D. – Professor Emerita in the Department of Pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City – announced that she was donating $1 billion to make the school tuition-free, it seemed like a bolt from the blue. But attracting major gifts — even the rare one of this size —is far more likely to be the result of a rigorous approach than a random event.

The long-term success of a nonprofit’s fundraising is almost always predicated on a strong major gift program, and the ability to identify and cultivate donors like Dr. Gottesman is a hallmark of such a program. Major donors have a strong affinity for the mission and impact of an organization and an unyielding commitment to its success. Indeed, at age 93, Dr. Gottesman – the very wealthy widow of an early business partner and long-time investor with Warren Buffett – has been affiliated with the medical school for 55 years and serves as the chairperson of its board of trustees.

While monumental gifts like Dr. Gottesman’s may be an anomaly in the world of major gifts, every nonprofit can assess their major gift program to be as strong and effective as possible. Here are three strategic questions to assess your program so you can elevate it to the next level and beyond. Read the rest here.

What People Really Think About Search Engine Ads. (You Might Be Surprised.)

Insights by Stanford Business, March 7, 2024

by Theodore Kinni


iStock/Nuthawut Somsuk

Revenues from search ads are expected to exceed $300 billion in 2024 — making search the world’s largest advertising channel online or off. The ads are essential to search companies, but their value to users, who collectively make more than 1.2 trillion queries per year on Google alone, has always been something of a mystery.

Some experts argue that search ads are intrusive and even scammy — a distraction users must tolerate in exchange for free access to search engines. Others see the ads as a convenience, enhancing the search experience by offering users additional information and easy access to products and services related to their interests. “The utility of search advertising has been a controversial question and people have written positive and negative points of view on it in the media for a long time,” says Navdeep Sahni, an associate professor of marketing at Stanford Graduate School of Business. “But it is a question that needs to be answered with data.”

Sahni now has that data. Sahni and Charles Zhang, PhD ’22, then a GSB graduate student focused on quantitative marketing, got it from real users and real ads in a large-scale field experiment on a widely used U.S. search engine. While there has been copious research on the efficacy of search advertising for ad buyers, this experiment was unique for its scale and empirical focus on the value of ads to search users.

Collected over a period of five months in 2017, the data reports on queries submitted to the search engine by nearly 3 million unique users. For two months in the middle of the experiment, half of the users saw search results that included the usual number of ads that appear among the top results and in the middle of the page, known as mainline ads. “Whenever there’s a search query,” Sahni explains, “search engines use a proprietary algorithm that scores every ad that could appear with the results. Only those ads whose quality exceeds a certain preset threshold get placed in the mainline positions.” These ads are the most visible on the page and have the most effective positioning.

During the same two-month period, the search engine tweaked its ad-scoring algorithm so that the other half of the user group saw fewer mainline ads with their results. “The experiment increased the threshold cutoff of that algorithm just enough so that 17% of the ads that would have received mainline positions got pushed to less visible positions on the side of the page,” Sahni explains. Read the rest here.

Building a vibrant news industry in the Middle East and North Africa

Learned a lot lending an editorial hand here:

PwC Strategy&/Google News Initiative, Feb. 21, 2024

by Karim Daoud, Karim Sarkis, Martin Roeske, Carla Khoury, and Mazen Sabbagh



Digitization is fueling growth for news organizations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, presenting both opportunities and challenges that must be addressed.

The news market in the region is promising. News consumption and demand are on the rise. MENA region consumers are willing to pay for the news they want, particularly trustworthy, in-depth, and specialized reporting. Additionally, there is significant room for revenue growth, especially in digital advertising and consumer revenues (digital circulation).

The growth is fueled by widespread mobile connectivity, high internet penetration, and social media usage in the MENA region, especially young consumers leading digital lifestyles. To attract and grow revenue from these tech-savvy consumers, news organizations need to transform their business models and methods of delivering content. That transformation must include creating new types of content, formats, and interfaces. Collaboration with governments in the MENA region, regulators, global tech platforms, advertisers, and academia is crucial in creating an enabling environment that supports the growth of regional news organizations. This environment can be achieved through talent development programs, targeted financial support, media literacy initiatives for consumers, and an updated regulatory framework.

Together these transformational efforts can lead to a better news consumption experience, high-performing news organizations, and an overall vibrant news ecosystem in the MENA region. Download the PDF here.

Why It’s Good for Business When Customers Share Your Values

Learned a lot lending an editorial hand here:

MIT Sloan Management Review, February 15, 2024 

by Daniel Aronson 

Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images

Values matter. Too often, however, they are relegated to the realm of fables instead of finance.

Take honesty, for example. We tell our children the story of the boy who cried wolf to teach them that when someone is dishonest, others are less likely to believe them the next time. But if we look just a tiny bit below the surface, the financial cost of the boy’s dishonesty immediately comes into focus: It results in the loss of his family’s entire flock of sheep.

If we calculated the loss caused by the boy crying wolf, we undoubtedly would find that it dramatically outweighed the combined gains generated by strategies like using AI-optimized grazing patterns, feeding the sheep a high-growth diet, or using consultant-recommended wool-marketing strategies. And yet, while all those things would clearly be considered business decisions, acting on values is not. But that’s wrong.

There is a very strong business case for acting on values. A $100 billion company I worked with discovered that there was a high return on investment from acting on its values and making sure customers knew about that. In fact, the return was many times greater than the ROI from its investments in upgraded technology or marketing campaigns. Yet the importance of technology and marketing are clearly understood as key areas of the business, while values-related impacts are left off of spreadsheets and are rarely — if ever — used to determine which actions have the highest ROI. Read the rest here.

The Hidden Costs of Clicking the “Buy Now, Pay Later” Button

Insights by Stanford Business, Feb. 2, 2024

by Theodore Kinni


Cory Hall

In the past couple of years, a new payment option has become almost ubiquitous on online retailers’ checkout screens: Buy Now, Pay Later.

This fintech innovation offers consumers instant financing for large and small purchases on a transactional basis. In a typical purchase, a shopper might pay 25% down for that new sofa or this week’s groceries and pay off the remaining 75% in three equal installments — one every two weeks. If they make the payments on time via a bank account or credit card, the loan is interest-free.

Over the past decade, fintech companies such as Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay have taken Buy Now, Pay Later from a niche alternative to a mainstream choice by signing up tens of thousands of retailers. The retailers offer BNPL as a payment option at the point of sale and pay a small merchant fee, as with credit cards.

Unlike plastic, however, BNPL does not require a rigorous credit check. That’s made it a hit with consumers, especially younger adults without well-established credit. Total loan volume among the largest BNPL providers grew from $8.3 billion in 2020 to $24.2 billion in 2021, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. During the 2023 holiday season alone, shoppers availed themselves of $16.6 billion in BNPL loans. Estimates for near-term growth range widely, though it’s been estimated that global loan volume could reach $1 trillion by 2025.

“BNPL is a pretty slick innovation. It is convenient and it’s basically free credit if you pay it off on time,” says Ed deHaan, a professor of accounting at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

However, it also has the potential for misuse and abuse. Read the rest here.