New CFO event attracts high profile names

A new conference aimed at CFOs brought together some of Britain’s top financial and business personalities at the Royal Society of Arts.

The first CFO Agenda saw a panel of top players in the UK economy analyse issues facing the financial sector and beyond.

The event was aimed at chief financial officers, finance directors, and their finance teams, with the panel of guest speakers including eminent economists.

Keynote speech

The keynote speech was given by Justin King, former Sainsbury’s chief and renowned retail turnaround specialist.

In his address, King tackled complicated questions regarding leadership and shared his list of the ‘ten Cs’: competitive spirit, clutter avoidance, cohesiveness, candidness, crystal-clear vision, curiosity, contagious enthusiasm, crazy, change agent, and communication. He believes these are a template for achieving success in the field.

The speech also gave insights into his own personal journey and the main things he has learnt along the way. He also spoke about dealing with the all-important matter of running an ethical business.

Economic outlook

Factors that can alter the economic landscape on both a national and international scale were taken into account for their impact on financial forecasts. Leading figures such as chairman of Flybe and former Safeway CFO Simon Laffin discussed how finance directors can be proactive when it comes to managing governance.

Finance professionals from organisations such as HSBC, Guardian Media Group, P&O, and Marathon Asset Management also heard Laffin discuss his ideas on what good corporate governance actually looks like.