Guido Torrini loves “technology and its infinite applications.” With over 20 years in finance at companies like Cisco Systems, Dell and Groupon, he has seen widespread transformation that has altered the finance function for the better. He’s also lived through tech’s boom and bust periods—beginning in the early 2000s when networking equipment was so hot that Cisco surpassed Microsoft as the world’s most valuable company.
Now the CFO of OneTrust, a privacy and security software provider, Torrini’s views on how to be an effective CFO and run a successful finance team have been molded by the fast-paced markets in which he’s worked. For Torrini, agility is not just a software development concept but also the hallmark of a finance team that can actively improve business outcomes.
Our reporter Katie Kuehner-Hebert interviewed Torrini to discuss handling periods of economic uncertainty, budgeting more flexibly and nurturing a finance team to go beyond its textbook role.
What skills do finance chiefs learn during periods of economic uncertainty? What have you learned?
There’s a tendency to categorize leaders according to how they behave in “wartime” or “peacetime” and to try to understand what makes someone effective in either environment. Peacetime isn’t just about prosperity; it’s about the lack of threat. You can afford to focus on the organization’s long-term development, take advantage of the lower-risk environment and translate your philosophy and principles into sustainable strategy and operations.
The first thing to understand about wartime periods is that they aren’t just the result of macro-level issues like global pandemics or geopolitical events but the often less-predictable company or market-level issues.
For example, what happens when your competition changes overnight? During wartime, decision-making must be centralized; there is no time for context-setting. A good wartime CFO thrives in survival mode, knows the value of creativity, makes quick decisions with imperfect information, transforms pressure into innovation, switches rigidity for flexibility and continuously re-evaluates the company’s position.
Peacetime leadership can be learned from a textbook; it’s the fundamentals. Wartime leadership is learned on the job. Those tend to be the most formative experiences. Once you’re in a tough environment and the safety net is gone, you can push the boundaries of what’s possible and succeed even when the odds are against you.
Something surprising is that at OneTrust you’re not operating against budgets. How does that work?
It’s a shift in mindset. It starts with stating desired business outcomes, going through a capital allocation process to fund those initiatives and being as efficient as possible, almost in real time. That requires planning, execution, accountability and buy-in from the executive team.
As in agile software development, flexibility and iteration become the keys to success. The ability to adjust even 10 percent to 15 percent of the company’s capital allocation every quarter can make a business significantly more effective at achieving intended outcomes. If you maintain a monthly and quarterly cadence and operating structure, you can continually adjust and follow the revenue pull. Rather than losing sight of long-term goals, you create space to make smart decisions about capital allocation that an annual budget would otherwise limit.
What kind of talent do you look for in finance team members, and what do you emphasize to make sure they stay dynamic?
The CFO’s role continues to expand, as finance teams influence company strategy and drive organizational transformation. Technology is further transforming the function, as most core processes have been digitized, and finance chiefs are now assessing where generative AI can fit into their businesses. That has shifted the kind of talent we look for by placing more value on data science and analytics skills, strategic agility and broader execution capabilities.
One thing I talk about with my team is our role as the “architect” of the company and the “drummer” of the business. We’re responsible for designing the revenue and profit equation for the company. We take an active role in planning and execution.
By nurturing the finance team, you can help it evolve beyond a reporting function. Explaining how business inputs can be moved to generate the right financial outputs creates alignment and prioritization across the company, from capital allocation to execution. Building a finance team that lives in the business inputs is what I believe makes any organization successful—such a finance team anticipates what happens instead of just reporting the news.
In your career, you’ve been able to ride several tech waves. Tell us what you’ve learned.
There will always be a specific industry or segment where capital, intelligence and innovation come together to fuel widespread transformation. We saw it with enterprise software, then the advent of cloud computing, CRM systems and SaaS models, followed by the emergence of consumer-driven digital marketplaces.
We are on the cusp of another transformation with GenAI. From a leadership perspective, I believe there’s an incredible advantage to joining a company in this position. Not only are you surrounded by the highest caliber professionals and brightest minds, but you have the potential to make a significant impact.
Today, we are at an inflection point where using data and AI responsibly has never been more complex or mission critical. The rise of GenAI means companies need to innovate at the speed demanded by their data and AI initiatives, all while protecting against future risks. But it’s a challenge compounded by regulatory complexity, data proliferation and a lack of resources to manage those efficiently.
