IN-PERSON

Chicago CFO Executive Summit

November 14, 2024 | Convene at 311 West Monroe Street

November 14, 2024
Convene at 311 West Monroe Street

Governing Body Agenda Location Partners Contact

Governing Body Co-Chairs

Pat Jermain

Plexus
CFO

What to Expect

Interactive Sessions

Hear from CFO practitioners and thought leaders on how they're solving critical challenges impacting your role today in Keynote sessions, and join smaller, interactive discussions with your peers in Breakout and Boardroom sessions.

Community Networking

Make new connections and catch up with old friends in casual conversations during dedicated time for networking designed to better acquaint you with your Chicago CFO community.

Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Connect with like-minded peers in a private, one-on-one setting through Evanta's Peer-to-Peer Meetings. You will be matched with peers in your community based on your shared interests and priorities.

Agenda

November 14, 2024

morning afternoon

7:45am - 8:30am Registration & Breakfast

8:30am - 9:15am Keynote

Transform FP&A Into an Enterprise Capability

Randeep Rathindran

Distinguished Vice President, Key Initiative Leader

Gartner

According to Gartner’s research, more than 85% of FP&A teams struggle to sustainably support the complex business decision-making and planning needs stemming from economic turbulence. Today, CFOs must think beyond automation of routine FP&A work as a source of finance business partnering capacity and transform FP&A into a mindset that business decision-makers embody and practice.

Join this keynote for a deeper understanding of:

The best delivery model to sustain value-added decision-support in a turbulent economic environment
The simple shift in FP&A’s business partnering approach that drives decision-makers to internalize the FP&A mindset
The pragmatic use cases for AI and Machine Learning in FP&A

9:15am - 9:40am Networking Break

9:40am - 10:25am Breakout Session

Benchmarking Leadership and Capabilities Amid Change

Jeremy Fine

CFO

Illinois Institute of Technology

CFOs who prioritize personal leadership development are better equipped to foster adaptability, drive strategic initiatives and help their organizations thrive amid change.

In this interactive benchmarking session, top finance leaders will:

Increase change readiness and resilience
Inspire confidence in your team and foster collaboration
Identify areas of personal growth and enhance business influence

9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom

How CFOs are Meeting Talent Demands for the Next Decade

Schon Parris

Future of Work Practice Leader

ADP

Glenda Oakley

CFO

Easterseals

Laurence Uzureau

Chief Financial Officer

OSI

As the finance function accelerates towards imminent transformation, talent and skill development lags. Moreover, recruiting, upskilling and retaining the right people to meet future needs is crucial for corporate resilience.

Join this session to discuss:

Hard and soft skills required to adequately prepare finance for the future
Challenges CFOs face while mapping talent needs and navigating generational dynamics
Methods to balance cost-efficiency with rapidly shifting talent demands (build vs. buy)

10:25am - 11:05am Networking Break

10:30am - 10:55am Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Peer-to-Peer Meetings

11:05am - 11:50am Breakout Session

Profitability at a Glance to Enhance Decision Making

Travis George

CFO

Molex

Bhanu Gupta

Director, Research & Analytics

Molex

The finance team at Molex developed a data-driven solution for instant profitability calculations for its product lines, customers, manufacturing plants and business segments down, including each of its product SKUs. With impacts reaching beyond the function, the tool improves decision making and frees-up time to focus on higher-value activities and respond rapidly to market changes or internal needs.

Join this session to discover insights on how to:

Augment data integrity while enabling more informed decisions
Prioritize investments that create the most value for customers and strategic areas
Ensure consistency in reporting and strategy across the organization

11:05am - 11:50am Executive Boardroom

Fortifying Trust, Risk and Security with AI

Shai Gabay

CEO and Co-Founder

Trustmi

Andrea Marin

Chief Financial Officer

Logicalis

Shifra Kolsky

SVP, Controller & CAO

Discover

CFOs are tasked with identifying the finance processes where AI will make the most significant early impact. While evolving technology can serve as a threat to organizational security, it also serves as an ally in mitigating risks while enhancing efficiency.

Join this session to discuss how to:

Identify high return use cases for AI in the finance function
Understand and educate stakeholders on the benefits of AI and automation tools
Prepare your organization and people for the adoption of new technology

11:50am - 12:35pm Lunch Service

12:35pm - 1:10pm Keynote

Ask Me Anything – Finance Transformation and Enterprise Resilience

Jesse Magenheimer

Vice President & CISO

State Farm

Norman Fleming

Chief Information Technology Officer

Chicago Public Schools

Patrick Chew

VP - AI & Data Science

AIT Worldwide Logistics

In today’s data-driven and technology-focused landscape, CFOs increasingly collaborate with colleagues in data, IT and cybersecurity to strengthen organizational resilience and competitive advantage. These cross-functional strategies help enhance risk management and cost efficiency, but are also critical components for sustainable growth. During this “Ask Me Anything” session, experts in each field will discuss how aligning financial strategies with technology and data initiatives drives enterprise value and protects key assets.

Join this session to learn:

Best practices for financial function alignment with data, IT and cybersecurity
The importance of cross-functional strategy for risk management and innovation
Practical examples of value from CFO collaboration with tech and data teams

1:10pm - 1:35pm Networking Break

1:35pm - 2:20pm Breakout Session

Democratizing Finance to Remove Organizational Waste

Alex Miller

Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

Lurie Children’s is on a mission to remove $24 million in waste and refocus its resources back into the hospital’s mission. Through a grassroots cost-savings initiative, this effort also revealed unrealized revenue opportunities. As CFOs aim to drive growth, how can they enable their teams to identify and remove organizational waste and inefficiencies?

Join this session for a case study on:

Identifying barriers to efficient processes and work
Enhancing collaboration across the enterprise
Building confidence in frontline staff and leaders to own their work

1:35pm - 2:20pm Executive Boardroom

Transforming Finance to Enable Frictionless Insights

Elizabeth Munnelly

CFO, North America

Kerry Group

Chris Howard

Global Partnerships Leader

Planful

Outdated systems and organizational silos hinder the CFO's ability to deliver strategic and agile decisions. How can finance and accounting teams standardize, simplify, and optimize data management to improve forecast accuracy?

Join this session to discuss:

Harmonizing enterprise data and processes
Leveraging advanced analytics to gain better visibility
Increasing speed of decision-making and delivery

2:20pm - 2:55pm Networking Break

2:25pm - 2:50pm Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Peer-to-Peer Meetings

2:55pm - 3:30pm Keynote

Building the Future of Finance

Deidra Merriwether

SVP, Chief Financial Officer

Grainger

With the continued democratization of enterprise data, CFOs are challenged to create a structure that drives fact-based decisions measured by statistically significant KPIs. Grainger takes a future-focused approach by linking its Finance, Analytics and Corporate Strategy functions under one team–FACS–charged with planning, analysis, innovation and partnership to drive strategy and results. This structure enables Grainger to streamline decision-making and drive significant team member engagement.

Join this keynote for a case study on:

Identifying statistically significant KPIs to inform future business strategies and financial decisions
Enabling fact-based planning throughout the organization to drive meaningful results
Elevating the role of finance while optimizing resources

3:30pm - 3:40pm Closing Comments and Prize Drawing

3:30pm - 4:00pm Executive Networking Reception

3:30pm - 4:00pm Governing Body Reception