The Aspiring CFO in Hospitality, Travel, Leisure and Retail Programme Kick-off
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We recently held the inaugural session of the Aspiring CFO Programme — an incredibly dynamic and enthusiastic group of financial leaders in the Hospitality, Travel, Leisure and Retail sectors convening for the launch of this newly-created programme.
Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) are increasingly recognising the strategic importance of EDI initiatives and are able to waive their considerable influence over budgets covering EDI activity. They also play an important part in developing opportunities to rebalance the proportion of underrepresented groups in CEO succession planning — figures from 2023 show that 25% of CEOs in the FTSE 350 come from a finance background.
The WiHTL & Diversity in Retail CFO Board was launched at the end of 2023 — a group of incumbent CFOs who brought insight and experience to the induction and implementation of this programme. Their guidance was reinforced by results from a survey sent to CFOs within the Collaboration Community to identify how CFOs play a critical role in driving equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within organisations.
The Aspiring CFO in HTL & Retail Programme is a comprehensive programme designed for leaders from underrepresented groups who have a finance background and are aiming to advance their careers into the CFO role. This transformative programme not only provides invaluable insights on handling the complexities of the role, but also guides delegates on their unique journey towards becoming a CFO. This is an interactive, engaging and highly stretching opportunity that will enable delegates to build extensive support networks during — as well as beyond — the programme. Delegates leave the programme with a tailored development plan, feeling inspired, empowered and more confident in taking the next step in their career.
It was therefore hugely exciting to bring together 20 delegates equally from across HTL and Retail— one of whom travelled from Spain to join her cohort peers — to kick off our new CFO initiative. We were delighted to see four graduates from our Women Leaders Programme who are also joining the CFO programme — it is such a pleasure to recognise the fantastic progress they have made through taking part in our leadership development programmes and to see their careers reach ever-higher levels.
After an overview of the programme outline by Founder & Chair, Tea Colaianni, the audience was given a candid insight into the role of the CFO by Hemant Patel, CFO at Whitbread and Claire Catlin, CFO at Moto Hospitality, who both shared the highs, lows and lessons they themselves have experienced throughout their career journey to CFO within the finance function.
Hemant said: “Diversity in teams means you end up with better performing teams; diversity in decision making means better decision making, and diversity in driving for results means you end up with better results and execution.”
Claire said: “Go and find a company that values you for you and all of you, otherwise you’ll never be the best that you can be.”
Having separated delegates into their Peer Accountability Groups to become acquainted and reflect on what they hope to learn throughout the course of the programme, Tea Colaianni wrapped up the afternoon’s lively discussion. She stressed the importance of CFOs establishing trust with their CEOs, and building solid relationships with the Chair, the Board and all their colleagues within the business.
Tea said: “Whatever your aspirations are and how far you go in your career, listen to ALL the voices in the room. Because sometimes the strongest, best advice is delivered in a whisper, not with a shout.”
Our thanks
We would like to give our special thanks to AlixPartners for hosting the event and to all the participants including the Mentors who attended, who have all given their time and experience to the success of this new and innovative programme.
Learn more about the Aspiring CFO Programme here.
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