Can a finance lead helm a creative business?

An internal move of CFO taking over the CEO role is not uncommon in certain industries, but for the creative industry, it is quite an exception.Most recently, Havas Worldwide appointed its finance lead as Southeast Asia CEO of Havas Creative Group. And that led us to ask senior industry folks what they thought of such a move.When it comes to helming an advertising agency the CEO role is bestowed upon someone who possess not only strong business acumen, but also a knack for strategising the creative resources at his disposal.(Read also: Why creative agency CEOs need not come from creative backgrounds)However, Mark Bowling, consultant lead at Trinity P3, gave the examples of two heavy weights in the adland - Martin Sorrell and Maurice Levy - who started out as an accountant and an IT director respectively before leading two of the most respected advertising networks. He added creative experience is not a stringent prerequisite for growing a creative business.On the move, Jean-Michel Wu, chief talent officer at McCann WorldGroup APAC said: "Havas has really stayed true to their brand vision and mission outlined by Andrew Bennet to ‘hire thinkers, skills can be taught’ and ‘we need to change the way we work’ which I believe is incredibly commendable and right to have an opinion to adhere."Are CFO's qualified to be creative agency leads?While it's been observed that CFOs can make for effective CEOs, such a transition is not a routine development in the agency world.According to a white paper by recruitment firm Korn Ferry published in June, the odds are stacked against CFOs gunning for the highly-coveted CEO position. The primary hurdle for CFO’s involves moving beyond their technical left-brain skills to develop competencies with people - a right-brain area specialty.The challenge for CFOs, who may be more used to working with structure and sets of rules, is transitioning into a position where a symphony of skills is needed to conduct a complex process of winning and sustaining businesses.So is such a transition possible?Priya Bala, regional director at Font, points out that an internal promotion of CFO to a CEO role depends on the nature of skills that are required at any given time.  That is, the stage and state of a business is a key clue into what is needed by a particular firm.The CFO’s remit these days extend well beyond financial results after the event; CFOs work with the company to develop solutions, “altering the picture before the game is over,” Bala said.Promoting a CFO to a CEO role largely depends on the CFO’s experience. Those observed to have successfully sat in a range of management functions are more likely to be promoted than the traditional “bean counter”.More than just requiring line, sales and marketing experiences, the CEO of an ad agency is in and of itself a brand of the company.Guenes who has recently taken a hot seat in the CEO role explained to Marketing that a good grasp of process-driven, strategic financial and commercial thinking is an important aspect of every leadership position in any company. “This is increasingly valid for the communications sector just as it is for every other industry,” he added.Given the current economic climate, knowledge of business finance has become critical to the CEO role. The ideal strategic partner is one who possesses applicable business finance knowledge that are intended to build the business long-term.“I’ve been lucky enough to work in agencies across Europe and Asia, where I was seen as such a strategic partner to the CEO or MD. This involvement and working alongside great partners gives you a very distinct advantage in understanding various aspects of the business,” Guenes said.The increasing need in the market for T-shaped professionals and hybrid managers signals the urgency to expand the hiring scope to CCos, CSOs and CTOs.  The fast-evolving nature of the advertising industry necessitates integrated thinking and horizontal application of skills across all disciplines. For this reason, Guenes advocates a more diverse set of expertise and background when it comes to picking a lead for a creative agency.Similarly, Bala is of the view that the decision to promote a firm’s CFO boils down to a company’s ability to develop and retain the best executive team around them, ensuring and helping them to deliver results for the business.Meanwhile, Bowling feels that a qualified employee deserves a fair shot at the top spot: “If a COO or CFO manages to convince enough people that they understand client needs, and how to operate an agency, then they deserve a shot at the top job."Bala concurs with this sentiment, highlighting that the CEO’s ability to demonstrate great emotional intelligence is a more important trait when it comes to determining his success, more so than the pathway that got them to the top. A winning ingredient for the CFO is someone who has been active in the business and a crucial partner of the CEO.“The CEO is the face of the business and can “sell” it, and this is often not a role or activity CFOs have been involved in, nor necessarily feel comfortable with. Again it comes down to the individual - their career path and the transferable skills they can bring,” Bala said.However, heading up an agency is no more a comfortable place for a creative than it would be for a finance person, says Bowling.It’s more about the drive to do the role rather than the ability to represent every facet of an agency.Challenges of transitioningFor such an internal move to make sense, leaders must have exceptional commercial skills, particularly the ability to communicate effectively with partners, clients, employees and key stakeholders. A strong acceptance for change and the desire to experiment are two very important factors in order to successfully transition into the top role.Personality plays a crucial role when it comes to helming any business: “No leader will ever be successful if he doesn't possess the ability to reach out to people and make them believe in his vision,” Guenes said.Though only recently officially appointed the title, Guenes explained that he has been managing CEO responsibilities since last year: “I have had the opportunity to transition into the CEO role since May 2014, after I was appointed COO to lead the SEA region as financial and operational leader in one person.”Other potential challenges of switching over to the CEO role includes the mental leap from having to focus on one aspect of the business, to peripherally being in charge of each and every segment of the business while possessing a holistic view of the company.As the CEO remit requires the overseeing P&Ls, staff and clients, as well as other parts that might be tougher to manage such as HR, finance and technology, the newly minted leader will be expected to manage difficult conversations.The true test is whether the CFO embraces the absence of black and white and engage with the various stakeholders, peers and teams or not.Meanwhile, to maintain the creative perspective of the agency, a CEO, especially if he comes from a finance background, has to work closely with the ECD to understand the creative process while allowing the ECD to lead the creative executions. This, according to Bala, restores the leadership balance within the agency.“At the end of the day the buck stops with the CEO. They are accountable for the performance of the business. This in itself can be a huge challenge and hurdle for many to overcome as they rise up the ranks. Self-awareness is hugely important, and a lack of this means an inability to build the right leadership team,” Bala added.A successful CEO is one with the ability to analyse his/her own strengths and weaknesses and have the big picture in mind. Other necessary skills include passion for the product and the ability to represent the business over the individual.“The CEO should have sufficient presence to lead the team, and enough chutzpah to convince clients you know what you’re talking about,” Bowling added.As an advice to CFOs eyeing the highly coveted position, Guenes issued these self-reflecting questions anyone should ask before stepping into the top role:Am I passionate about understanding my agency’s business issues beyond financial matters?Do I immerse myself into learning about each and every business aspect of my company?Am I perfectly comfortable communicating with all the people that drive the agency’s business?Am I confident in my ability to take on the obvious risks and challenges that come with the CEO’s job?“Try and understand the business, be a contributor rather than an instructor and always be close to the people around you. Immerse yourself into the operation, become a part of it and make sure you are seen as such.”“And most importantly: Never stop learning!”(Photo courtesy: Shutterstock)