Private Sector
As CFOs and financial executives at the Summit have reflected on their role in the world, they’re experiencing profound change now, as well as seeing shifts on the horizon. In fact, over the past three years of the CFO of the Future Summit, and average of 71% of attendees said they have experienced “significant or extreme change” in their operating environment over the past five years, and 86% anticipate even more change over the next five years.
This level of change – driven by massive social, economic, and technological shifts – is moving CFOs to relook at the core strategies, competencies, and activities they focus on. This reflection and anticipation have made it clear that the CFO of the Future has to not only protect and drive firm value, but also create and harness new business models and forms of value. As Tracey Travis, CFO of Estee Lauder Companies and member of the Summit Executive Leadership Group framed; “In finance, rather than creating static reports to look at trends, it’s about our ability to help the organization be more predictive in what’s trending and determine what response we can develop to generate new value from that. We have to create more real-time dashboards, understand what’s happening, and be ready to capitalize on that.”