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Leaders Insight - with Steve Hammell, Experienced CFO, Industrials & Technology markets

​The latest instalment of our “Leaders Insight” series is with Steve Hammell, experienced CFO in Industrials & Technology markets. In an insightful interview conducted by Michael Ball, Partner at The CFO Partnership, Steve shares his journey, the strategic initiatives he’s spearheading, and his vision for the future of finance.Steve Hammell brings a wealth of experience and a unique perspective to his role at Pressure Technologies. With a career spanning over two decades in various financial leadership positions, Steve has navigated through numerous economic cycles and industry shifts. His expertise in mergers and acquisitions, financial strategy, risk management, and operational efficiency has been instrumental in driving the company’s growth and resilience. Join us as we delve into Steve’s experiences, explore the evolving responsibilities of a CFO, and uncover what defines successful financial leadership in today’s environment.What are both the best and the most challenging aspects of being the CFO of a fast paced, listed business?Best aspects; Supportive shareholders with capital to inject into the business, including the ability to provide innovative financing instruments (e.g. convertibles, quasi debt-equity instruments) High quality Boards with NEDs who bring in-depth experience and a steady hand. The public profile helps to attract and recruit high quality candidates and offer incentive structures not available in private companies. Challenging aspects; Everything plays out in the public domain, so the interplay of strategic projects and business performance need to be carefully handled. Short-term share price movements can become a barometer of success rather than progress against strategic objectives and long-term improvements to the business. Regulatory burdens are heavy and the costs of being listed can be prohibitive for any plc with revenue < £30m. What are your opinions about the relationship between a CFO and CEO? What is critically important in building a successful partnership and providing the right support to the CEO?CEO and CFO must have each other’s back and provide a united front with all stakeholders, especially the Board, shareholders and employees. They should complement one another in terms of skills/expertise, leadership style and teamwork. Each needs to have strong leadership characteristics and deliver on their own responsibilities aligned to common strategic objectives. CFO needs to be the financial authority in the company and have command of the numbers, with the ability to simplify complex areas and deliver concise analysis for the CEO to use commercially. CFO should recognise that being CEO can be a lonely place with responsibility for almost every facet of the organisation. The CFO should be a strategic sounding- board and challenge the CEO regularly as an outspoken partner. What new key skills or attributes do you think the next generation of CFO’s are going to need to develop?Technology; Cyber security is becoming a core competence and leadership responsibility of the CFO; ability to develop the cyber defence strategy of the company and work with internal and external resources to provide a robust operating framework and a response capability if the business is attacked. Ability to lead and deliver ERP and data analytics projects as Board sponsor. Ability to harness Artificial Intelligence and automation to deliver value to the business; in manufacturing, this translates to delivering full integration of manufacturing and financial data to drive operational improvement. Procurement; Supply chain integrity, performance and reliability has become a significant issue post-pandemic. CFOs need to be able to develop and lead high performance procurement functions to serve the business and manage operational and financial risk. People; The world of work has changed in the last 5 years with many competing pressures emerging. CFOs need to develop a core set of values to guide their recruitment decisions. CFOs need to develop high performance cultures by harnessing a broad range of skills across the increasingly integrated functions of finance, IT and procurement to deliver first class support to the business. CFOs should focus on big-picture priorities and determine what gets done, not how it gets done; CFOs should therefore prefer to empower their teams and encourage collaborative decision-making. You have worked in some challenging turnaround environments in your career. What specifically are the most essential skills and personality traits that a finance leader needs to be able to steer a business through a turnaround project?Resourcefulness – CFOs must be able to draw on a broad array of skills and a network of dedicated advisors and funders to find their way through complex situations. Resilience and being strong-willed – CFOs must be acutely risk aware but be able to carry on regardless in a dark, uncertain and ambiguous situation where the route to success is not clear and the odds may be stacked against you; CFO’s need a plan B if things go wrong. Change management – turnarounds involve significant change for organisations and create new priorities, pressures and working relationships; CFO is normally in the eye of this storm. Are new technologies like Artificial Intelligence having much of an impact on your role as CFO yet? What impact do you think they will have over the next few years? See above re impact on manufacturing sector. Working patterns and individual priorities have never been as much at the forefront of working life as they are for people now. Is it possible to maintain a reasonable work life balance at C-suite or do you have to accept that there will be personal sacrifices in order to succeed at that level?C-suite responsibilities are time consuming, and you are usually dependent on the performance of others, which requires flexibility and ability to handle time pressure. However, by organising the activities of your internal and external teams, space can be created for your personal life, albeit at certain times the job has to come first. You come from an advisory background yourself. How important is it to put time and effort into building and maintaining a network of trusted advisors that you can go to time and again?Developing long-term relationships of trust with CF advisors, lawyers, diligence providers, tax advisors and a range of debt and equity funders is critically important and enables a CFO to deploy the full suite of skills and expertise required. As a CFO, the businesses I have worked for have been employing not only myself but my entire network (whether they realised it or not!) What is the one single best piece of advice you were given early in your career that still holds true today?Frame your career and skills in terms of the market you operate in and develop the flexibility to deploy those skills in new ways. For myself, I have served the Yorkshire M&A market for over 25 years in diverse roles including CF advisor, corporate banker and most recently CFO and have been able to re-invent myself a number of times using a core set of skills and relationships. Looking forward, I have ambitions to move into non-executive roles and expect the flexibility I have developed over the years to serve me well again. Looking for your next career move in finance or accountancy? At Sharp Consultancy, our expertise lies in matching your potential with the perfect temporary, interim, or permanent position. With a well-established presence in Leeds and Sheffield, our seasoned team of consultants extends their services across Yorkshire and beyond. Don't wait for opportunity to knock, reach out to us TODAY and let's chart your career path together.

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OUR TIPS FOR CONDUCTING A SUCESSFUL INTERVIEW

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​The interview is one of the most important aspects of the hiring process; but it’s not just candidates that need to prepare and put themselves in the best possible position for success – the interview is a two way street! Here are our suggestions for the best ways in which employers can conduct an effective interview.

Decide the format of the interview

Not all interviews take place face to face nowadays so you need to understand what format of interview will be best for the position that you are looking to recruit. Some initial preliminary interviews may take place over the phone or if travel costs and time are potentially prohibitive Skype or video calls may be a suitable solution. A one-to-one interview is still the most popular choice for many employers whilst a number may opt for a panel interview where a candidate will meet multiple people from the organisation. Also decide if the interviews will follow the same format with the same questions being asked to every candidate or if it will be less structured and more based around conversation.

Who should conduct the interviews?

The interview format that you decide upon will often influence the choice of interviewer/s. It is often the case that the direct line manager of the role that is being filled will be an obvious choice and depending upon the position, a department head or similar will sit alongside. As the interview is as much about the company selling the opportunity to the candidate, it is important
to choose someone who will be able to be enthusiastic about the role available as well as being a great advocate of the business, its culture and what it is like to be part of the team.

How long will the interviews last?

It is important to strike the right balance between giving yourself – and the candidate – enough time to find out all you need to know about each other whilst ensuring that the interview has good pace and duration to it, particularly if you are conducting several interviews within the same day. An hour is usually a good benchmark with slightly more time being allowed for second interview or more senior level appointments. If you are planning a series of interviews, make sure you leave enough time between appointments so you don’t create a backlog if things run slightly over.

The practicalities

Make sure you think about where the interviews will take place and ensure any room bookings are made well in advance. Consider if any refreshments are to be served and who will be greeting the candidates on arrival and looking after them beforehand. Details should be sent to each candidate well in advance including date and time information and a note of how long the interview is likely to take and who they will be meeting as well as any special instructions that they need to know about access to the building or any supporting material you would like them to bring to the interview.

Be prepared

It is useful to have a pack of information for each candidate that contains a copy of their application, their CV and covering letter, any letters of recommendation and any submitted tasks or exercises that you have requested be completed as part of the application process.

Consider your questions

It is important to ask the right questions to ensure that you glean the information that you want to from each candidate. As well as looking through each CV and making a note on key points that you would like to know more about, prepare a few standard questions that you can ask each person such as ‘what interests you most about the position’, ‘why would you like to work for the company’ or ‘how do you see yourself developing in the role’.

Help your candidates to relax

An interview can be daunting for some so help the interview go well – for all parties – by giving each person an opportunity to get settled and prepared before you start. Make sure they are comfortable and offer them a drink and ask them a few casual questions – ‘did you find us without too much trouble’, ‘how was your journey’ – to
help them relax.

Wrapping up an interview

Give the candidate an indication of what the next step is likely to be an expected time-frame in which you should be able to get back to them by. Make sure you inform each candidate of the outcome – whether they have been successful or unsuccessful – as promptly as you can. If you need a little more time to consider your decision, ensure that you keep those involved in the loop so that you don’t miss out on your preferred choice because they feel you are not interested through lack of feedback.

Sharp Consultancy specialises in the recruitment of temporary, interim and permanent finance professionals.  With offices in Leeds and Sheffield our highly experienced team of consultants recruit for positions throughout Yorkshire and beyond CONTACT UStoday to discuss your recruitment needs with a member of our team.