Automation, IPOs, SPACs and digital payments—all on the radar of CFOs this week

Here’s what happened this week:

“I do have a problem with the availability and cost of labor today. Can you help me with that?” That’s a common question from potential customers amid a tight labor market, Michael Keogh, CFO at Bright Machines, a manufacturing software and robotics company, told me. But customers must “believe in the vision of software-defined manufacturing,” Keogh said. We discussed why Bright Machines is going public via a SPAC, how the company’s “micro-factory” of automated product assembly aims to meet the challenges of currently fragile supply chains, and the war for talent. Automation can actually go hand in hand with job growth, Keogh said. “This does not take jobs away,” he explained. It’s a catalyst for “new types of roles.”

Do you have a crypto strategy yet? Mastercard announced on Monday a partnership with the cryptocurrency firm Bakkt to provide its payments network partners crypto capabilities. AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron announced on October 5 that consumers can use Dogecoin and other forms of crypto to buy AMC digital gift cards. Aron also tweeted on September 15 that the entertainment company will accept Bitcoin for online ticket and concession payments by the end of the year. I spoke with Pacaso CFO Nina Tran about the company’s new partnership with BitPay, which will allow Pacaso to accept crypto payments for its unique second (and third) home-buying model. “When there is a potential buyer who wants to buy Pacaso share, we will invoice them on BitPay,” Tran said. “They’ll pick their wallet and their currency.”

“As part of the pandemic, I think we saw multiple years of mobile adoption happening in a compressed period of time,” John F. Woods, vice chairman and CFO at Citizens Financial Group, Inc., told me. “I would describe our approach as omnichannel. We’re digital first, but not digital only.” When it comes to complex financial services, like “financial planning, from a wealth standpoint, or even opening a checking account,” customers still want to do that in person, he said. I talked with Woods about the firm’s strategy and acquisitions this year, including Investors Bancorp, a New Jersey-based bank holding company, for $3.5 billion, and the national online deposit business from HSBC Bank and 80 East Coast branches. 

Rent the Runway stylishly shattered the C-suite glass ceiling when the company began trading on the Nasdaq on Wednesday. It’s “the first company to go public with a female founder/CEO, COO, and CFO—a distinction that I am so immensely proud of,” Jennifer Hyman, CEO, cofounder and chair, noted on LinkedIn. My colleague Maria Aspan spoke with Hyman on Wednesday about why she believes the company’s $357 million IPO is a “step forward” for female founders. You can read more about their conversation here. Speaking of women in leadership, on Wednesday during Coins2Day’s virtual CFO collaborative event, Accenture CEO Julie Sweet and CFO KC McClure spoke candidly about their partnership. I’ll tell you all about it on Monday. 

Thanks for reading. Enjoy your weekend.

Sheryl Estrada
[email protected]

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Big deal

Amex Trendex, a trend report from American Express (NYSE:AXP) released on October 28, found consumers are returning to holiday plans put on hold last year. About 71% of consumers surveyed said, this year, they will celebrate with more family members and loved ones compared to last year. Employees surveyed said that remote work provides the flexibility they need to travel during the holidays. More than half (54%) of respondents plan on meeting with colleagues to celebrate. And 61% said working remotely will help them avoid busy travel days. The findings are based on a poll conducted by Morning Consult among a national sample of 2,000 general population travelers with a household income of at least $70k.

Going deeper

Here are a few Coins2Day reads for the weekend:

What’s behind Shiba Inu coin’s stunning rise—up 777% in 30 days by Lee Clifford, Chris Morris, Robert Hackett, Grady Mcgregor and Yvonne Lau

UBS is making huge profits off billionaires—but it won’t touch crypto by Christiaan Hetzner

Business groups want Biden to delay vaccine mandates until after the holidays by Megan Leonhardt

The Great Resignation could be over by 2023, says Moody’s Analytics chief economist by Jennifer Alsever

Leaderboard

Some notable moves from this past week:

Jon Carpenter was named CFO at Comscore (NASDAQ: SCOR), a media measurement and analytics company, effective November 29, 2021. Carpenter has served as CFO at Publishers Clearing House since 2016. Prior to that, he served in various senior divisional CFO roles for Nielsen, Sears Holdings, and NBC Universal. Carpenter started his career with General Electric in their Financial Management Program.

Shane Fitzsimons was named EVP and CFO at American International Group (NYSE: AIG), effective January 1, 2022. Fitzsimons will succeed Mark Lyons as EVP and CFO. Lyons will take on a newly created role of EVP, global chief actuary and head of portfolio management at AIG. Fitzsimons is currently the global head of shared services at AIG. The changes will “enhance the leadership team as part of the separation of the Life & Retirement business,” according to the company.

George Gresham was named CFO and member of the board of directors at Green Dot Corporation (NYSE: GDOT), a digital bank and fintech. Gresham previously served on the boards of directors of both Green Dot Corp. And Green Dot Bank from 2016 to 2019. He was previously CFO at NetSpend Holdings, and also served as CFO and EVP at Global Cash Access (GCA Holdings, Inc.), and CFO and chief administrative officer at EFD (eFunds Corporation). 

Vivian Liu was named  CFO at ContextLogic Inc. (NASDAQ: WISH), a mobile e-commerce platform, effective November 10, 2021. Liu currently serves as CFO and SVP at Shutterfly, Inc., a platform for photography-based personalized products. Prior to joining Shutterfly, Liu served as CFO and SVP at Lexmark International, and had previously been VP of finance, enterprise BG at Huawei Technology Inc. Prior to Huawei, Liu spent eight years at Cisco Systems, Inc. Where she held a number of senior finance positions. Earlier in her career, she held finance positions with Deloitte Financial Advisory Services, Goldman Sachs, and Deloitte & Touche LLP.

Kyle Lorentzen was named EVP and CFO at CommScope Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ: COMM), a network infrastructure provider, effective November 1, 2021. Lorentzen succeeds Alex Pease, who is stepping down to assume a senior executive role at another public company, according to CommScope. Lorentzen currently serves as SVP and chief transformation officer. He joined CommScope in December 2020 to develop and oversee the company’s ongoing CommScope NEXT strategy.

Alexander (Alex) Pease was named EVP and CFO at WestRock Company (NYSE:WRK), a paper and packaging solutions provider. Pease will succeed Ward Dickson, who will retire from the role, effective November 30, 2021. Pease has served in the CFO role for three public companies, most recently at CommScope Holding Company, a telecommunications and networking equipment technology company. Prior to transitioning to his finance leadership roles, Pease spent more than 10 years with McKinsey & Company in a wide range of advisory roles, before departing as a partner in 2011. Pease also served as a US Navy SEAL from 1994 to 2000, eventually departing as a Platoon Commander in 2000.

Lou Steffens was named CFO at Taylor Morrison Home Corporation (NYSE: TMHC), a homebuilder and developer. Steffens, currently president of mergers and acquisitions at the company, will succeed CFO Dave Cone, who will retire at the end of the year. Steffens joined Taylor Morrison in 2007, and has served as an area and regional president in various markets across the country and as a member of the executive leadership team. Most recently, he has overseen the company’s results management office, where he has spearheaded operational initiatives.

Overheard

“Over time, I hope that we are seen as a metaverse company. I want to anchor our work and our identity on what we’re building towards.”

—Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the tech giant changing its name to Meta, as reported by Coins2Day.