Toyota, ConocoPhillips, CME Group and Unilever are now among the companies led by former chief financial officers. In Europe, 21% of CEO appointments at the largest listed companies last year went to former CFOs, according to Spencer Stuart. Automation is taking over reconciliation, reporting and analysis, increasing the importance of judgment, strategy and risk management for finance leaders. Promotion remains far from guaranteed: in an analysis of 1,300 CEOs, former CFOs were among the least likely to rank in the top performance quartile, while they were the most frequently cited targets for replacement. Companies must therefore broaden their finance executives’ experience and develop leadership, technology, change-management and commercial skills before entrusting them with the top job.
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