Duke Energy
Brian Savoy is Chief Financial Officer of Duke Energy, and Tom Flaherty is a Senior Advisor to EY-Parthenon.
External observers of the chief financial officer (CFO) role in earlier eras tended to think the less public visibility of this position, the better. Adroitly delivering quarterly results, making persuasive investor presentations, and securing necessary capital were believed perfectly sufficient. Broader visibility was often believed to be precipitated by financial missteps requiring adverse public disclosure, direct justification, and/or explanation of causation and mitigation.
But this perspective is no longer true today, as the CFO has evolved to a level where this position garners substantially more external visibility than prior years and is viewed as an authoritative and influential voice, not just a knowledgeable executive. Yet, the new CFO position is just beginning its evolution, with significant expansion to occur and a broader and elevated posture to be crafted. While this iteration of the CFO role is just emerging, it reflects an expanded view given industry direction — the CFO as a strategic architect at the center of the business.