Private Sector
The 2019 CFO of the Future Summit
Value at High Velocity
When & Where
May 15-17, 2019
Harvard University | Cambridge, MA

About the Summit

Overview

To help current and future chief financial officers respond to this new velocity of change and lead their people and teams into the future, the Technology and Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard and Leadership for a Networked World, in collaboration with Accenture Strategy, are convening the 2019 CFO of the Future Summit: Value at High Velocity, to be held May 15 – 17 at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

At the 2019 Summit, participants will learn about and share ideas on the evolving role of the CFO. In particular, the Summit will look at the challenges and opportunities via:

  • Strategy & Technology – How can the CFO build strategies, capabilities, and talent that are adaptable to a quickly shifting environment? What steps can finance leaders take to harness artificial intelligence, analytics, robotics, and network-enabled platforms in order to bring newfound speed and agility to the finance function?
  • Leadership & Persuasion – How can the CFO frame and communicate a new narrative around the finance function in order to reorient the minds of investors, stakeholders, talent, and partners around a fast-changing value proposition?
  • People & Culture – How should the CFO recruit and advance talent that can harmonize traditional financial tools and models with new methods of designing fast-cycle innovation and business models? What new skills and capabilities are required? And how can a culture of agility and creativity be fostered?

This Summit will bring select private sector financial executives, industry experts, and leading academics together at Harvard University to answer these questions, grapple with the changing pace of change in finance, learn about and share ideas on evolving and emerging business models, and prepare the next generation of talent to become chief financial officers.

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

Brett Biggs
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Wal-Mart
David Elkins
Chief Financial Officer
Celgene
Jorge Gomez
Chief Financial Officer
Cardinal Health
John Murphy
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Adobe
Leeny Oberg
Chief Financial Officer
Marriott International Inc.
Zane Rowe
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
VMware
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.
Joe Wolk
Chief Financial Officer
Johnson & Johnson

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

Go to Report

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

Go to Report

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.Adidas

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