Private Sector
The 2018 CFO of the Future Summit
The Next Frontier of Value Creation
When & Where
May 16-18, 2018
Harvard University | Cambridge, MA

A Report, reflecting on and summarizing the sessions and insights that occured at this Summit, is now available for download.

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About the Summit

Overview

The next frontier of value creation will increasingly be built on ecosystems: a digitally-driven world where firm boundaries are blurred, multi-organization collaboration is the norm, data and analytics are the new currency, and customer outcomes are paramount.

For chief financial officers, balancing the spectrum of traditional and ecosystem-based business models will not only be game-changing, but also bring unprecedented challenges and opportunities. As industries and organizations begin to shift to more ecosystem-driven environments, the CFO growth agenda will need to pivot from firm-specific operations to ecosystem-wide operations, as well as from balancing customer value to maximizing ecosystem value. Throughout this evolution, CFOs will continue to reinvent firm-wide capabilities, build new collaborations and revenue models, deploy cutting edge machine learning and analytics, and cultivate human capital that can thrive in a rapidly evolving digital world.

To help current and future chief financial officers prepare for this next frontier of value, the Technology and Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard and Leadership for a Networked World, in collaboration with Accenture Strategy, are convening the 2018 CFO of the Future Summit: The Next Frontier of Value Creation, to be held May 16 – 18 at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Who Should Attend?

The Summit is an invitation-only program designed to develop the next generation of chief financial officers. Participants in the program are chief financial officers and/or a senior-level team member designated by the chief executive officer or chief financial officer of their respective firms.

Admission & Participation

Participation is limited to chief financial officers and/ or their designee. All other applicants will be reviewed and accepted on a case-by-case basis, according in part to space availability and cohort composition. This event is supported by the hosting and collaborating organizations, so there is no tuition or fee to attend. Travel and hotel arrangements, and related expenses, are the responsibility of individual participants.

The Executive Leadership Group

Jeffrey Campbell
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
American Express
Dominic Caruso
Chief Financial Officer
Johnson & Johnson
Alison Engel
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Gannett
Kevin Jacobs
Chief Financial Officer
Hilton
Zane Rowe
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
VMware
David Rowland
Chief Financial Officer
Accenture
Eric Shander
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Red Hat
Carol Tomé
Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President - Corporate Services
The Home Depot
Tracey Travis
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
Kathy Waller
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and President, Enabling Services
Coca-Cola

Previous Reports

The Next Frontier of Value Creation: A Report from 2018 CFO of the Future Summit

Go to Report

For chief financial officers, balancing the spectrum of traditional and ecosystem-based business models will not only be game-changing, but also bring unprecedented challenges and opportunities. As industries and organizations begin to shift to more ecosystem-driven environments, the CFO growth agenda will need to pivot from firm-specific operations to ecosystem-wide operations, as well as from balancing customer value to maximizing ecosystem value. Throughout this evolution, CFOs will continue to reinvent firm-wide capabilities, build new collaborations and revenue models, deploy cutting-edge machine learning and analytics, and cultivate human capital that can thrive in a rapidly evolving digital world.

Fueling the Growth Agenda: A Report from 2017 CFO of the Future Summit

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Amidst a backdrop of deepening digital disruption, growing political uncertainty, increasing regulatory complexity, and shifting consumer preferences, one thing is certain – chief financial officers are creating a new agenda for growth.

To effectively lead in this new environment, chief financial officers and finance executives must become “chief growth officers”—the point persons who not only control stability, accountability and risk, but also grow profitability, enterprise-wide agility, sustainability, and customer trust.

This growth-oriented pivot will be valuable, yet difficult. The chief growth officer must redefine the playbook of finance by embracing disruption, spearheading the development of new business models, and building agility into operations. Growth oriented and finance-led organizations often manage two or more different business models under one roof, free up resources to invest in growth initiatives, define and measure new key performance indicators, and create new ecosystems and platforms for rapid value creation. Perhaps most critically, the chief growth officer will spend time recruiting and building new talent to lead these initiatives, creating a team that thrives at the intersection of technology and finance.

At The 2017 CFO of the Future Summit: Fueling the Growth Agenda, convened by the Technology and Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard and Leadership for a Networked World, in collaboration with Accenture Strategy, current and next-generation CFOs from leading global companies workshopped their successes and learned about the future of business from top researchers in the field.

The Summit focused on critical skills and questions CFOs grapple with today, including: What is transformational change and what does it take to drive transformation in a large organization? How can organizations disrupt themselves and find new business models? What is the future of value creation? What is the new face of the CFO and finance team? Beyond spreadsheets and financial models, what does a finance-led transformation look like?

Creating Value in a Digital Age: A Report from 2016 CFO of the Future Summit

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Chief financial officers (CFOs) are facing an era of disruption: a time when forces and factors such as macro-economic shifts, global regulatory flux, digital tools and e-currencies, data and analytics, behavioral economics, and an information-savvy customer base will drive a surge of new service demands and upend outdated corporate financial models. While disruption will bring formidable challenges for finance leaders, it will also create an unprecedented opportunity to not only ensure new levels of compliance but also drive growth and enterprise value.

To help current and next generation CFOs meet the demands of this new era, the Technology and Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard, Accenture Strategy, and Leadership for a Networked World convened The 2016 CFO of the Future Summit: Creating Value in a Digital Age, held from May 18 – 20, 2016, at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In Collaboration with

Accenture Strategy operates at the intersection of business and technology, combining deep industry expertise, advanced analytics capabilities and human-led design methodologies that enable clients to act with speed and confidence. By identifying clear, actionable paths to accelerate competitive agility, Accenture Strategy helps leaders in the C-suite envision and execute strategies that drive growth in the face of digital transformation. For more information, follow @AccentureStrat or visit www.accenture.com/strategy.Nike Air VaporMax 2019

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