Non-executive director and former CEO and CFO of Brambles Mike Ihlein has had, by his own admission, a fortunate career. Moving as far away as Poland to secure a role with the operating experience he knew would set him up for future success, he wasn’t always on track for an executive career. “I left uni early to get a job instead. Sure enough, when I was offered the job the condition was that I return to study” he said. And he’s not stopped learning since.
FEI Mentees, Mentors and Members recently took part in an interesting and wide-ranging discussion about careers, leadership and strategy with Mike, with insights to take-away for those of all career levels.
With our CFOs, Mike spoke about his experience around the board table, and how his non-executive career had played out differently than he originally anticipated. He highlighted the importance of upfront due diligence prior to accepting any directorship, as well as the transferability of experience between sectors and the intellectual challenge involved in the meaty strategic issues facing major corporations today. He acknowledged that directorships draw on different NED strengths dependent on the underlying ownership and structure of the organisation – listed versus government versus private equity versus not-for-profit – and reiterated the importance of an effective working relationship between the Audit Committee Chair and CFO.
For our early career members, Mike shared numerous stories of career resilience. Taking both wins and losses in his stride, Mike demonstrated the importance of staying the course through challenging business cycles and seeing transformation through to outcome. He stressed the importance of asking questions and listening for understanding, noting that in any difficult situation – restructures, bad results to market, external factors like the GFC – humility and transparency go a long way. Mike advised our members to have a plan, to communicate it well to all stakeholders and measure progress relentlessly. And, most importantly, to take calculated career risks even outside finance – “at the end of the day, whatever happens, you will still be a great finance professional.”
Thanks Mike for your candid thoughts.