Create More Value

Kimberly Casiano, board member of Ford Motor Company, Mutual of America Financial Group, and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, shares her story, from her early life in the South Bronx to becoming the first Latina on a top-five Fortune 100 board. Kimberly emphasizes the value of continuous learning, the power of honesty, the importance of nurturing genuine relationships, and the distinction between resume virtues and eulogy virtues.

Ramesh Karnani explains the importance of approaching strategy from a shareholder value perspective and considers some of the problems that can result when strategy is not supported by insightful financial analysis. He also explains how return on investment derives from a combination of industry economics and competitive position.  Ramesh’s insights draw from his decades of experience helping build the strategy consulting firm Marakon, as the leader of a strategic finance group in Credit Suisse’s investment banking unit, and as a Managing Director and Partner at the Boston Consulting Group. 

World-renowned Professor Anup Srivastava discusses the challenges of valuing, investing in, and developing intangible assets in today's corporate world. From the valuation of tech giants like Google and Facebook to the critical need for updated accounting frameworks, Professor Srivastava explains how “soft assets” like knowledge, algorithms, technology, and brand equity influence strategy, drive financial performance, and require rethinking traditional corporate governance practices.

Fortuna Advisors CEO Greg Milano discusses flaws in corporate incentive plans that encourage bad behaviors, from financial manipulation to more subtle agency costs that impact companies’ long-term performance. As the late Michael Jensen said, “It's not how much you pay that matters. It's how you pay." The conversation hones in on the use of Relative Total Shareholder Return (TSR), a measure whose volatility leads to poor linkage to actual performance and undermines executives’ confidence in their long-term incentive plans (LTIPs).  Want more insights from Executive Rewards experts at WorldatWork’s Total Rewards conferences? Purchase the Total Rewards’24 On-Demand Highlights package available through Sept 30, 2024 here, or lock-in your savings today and register to join WorldatWork in Orlando for Total Rewards ’25!

Sean Pelkey, CFO of CSX Corporation, discusses the railroad company’s stunning transformation in the face of stark headwinds and a devastating loss of business as the coal industry collapsed in the early 2010s. Starting in 2017, CSX effectively tripled its share price over five years. Now, the company is shifting from efficiency to a profitable growth mindset. In Q1 2024, their share price hit an all-time high, reflecting this strategy's early success. Behind this cultural shift towards growth was a renewed focus on differentiated service offerings and a shared goal of value creation. Sean and Greg’s discussion highlights leading through change, balancing competing metrics, and strategic capital allocation, while showcasing how determined leadership can thrive, even in tough circumstances.

Jeff Greene explains why capital allocation is so important, what companies typically do wrong, and his view on the main tenets of good capital allocation. As Jeff says, “Clearly, allocating capital is one of the CEO’s and CFO's most important jobs,” and, “Very few companies do all aspects of capital allocation well.” Jeff joined Fortuna in 2020, after 26 years as a partner in the Strategy & Transactions practice at EY (Ernst & Young), and he also spent eight years at investment bank Houlihan Lokey. 

Steve Chopp, currently CFO and EVP of Strategy for Lief Labs, describes his experiences implementing value-based management at smaller private companies. These companies tend to be less complex and the implementation process can be easier and faster, but it is still change management so there needs to be communication, training, etc., to help people see what is changing, how it affects them, and what they need to do differently. And since smaller companies tend to have tighter budgets for such things, they need to be resourceful, using, for example, train-the-trainer approaches.

Ryan Barker explains how critical brand love is in driving total shareholder return.  He is the CEO and founder of BERA Brand Management and has been revolutionizing the measurement of true brand differentiation using predictive AI technology. He talks about the shortcomings of media mix models, the use of brand metrics as an executive KPI, and the ways in which companies can improve how they manage by using brand love to develop plans, allocate resources, and drive more short- and long-term profitable growth.  Our host, Greg Milano, also describes Fortuna Advisors' research showing how BERA brand metrics relate well to valuation multiples.

With Anna Catalano’s extensive experience as a board director across many industries and as a former executive in energy, she shares insights that are useful to anyone in a business leadership role. Her thoughts on how companies can avoid being disrupted, and the board’s important role in this, are very helpful. She also covers risk management, innovation, and career advice for women, and throughout, she fills the discussion with well thought out advice to all.

Scott Morrison recently stepped down from being CFO of Ball Corporation, the longest running user of EVA, which is economic value added. Over his tenure, Ball has delivered about eight times the total shareholder return of the market, a very impressive result. Scott explains how EVA has helped management and employees deliver such outstanding results, with commentary on planning, capital allocation, investment decisions and corporate culture.