Sandra Beckwith
(She/Her)
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finance leadership, supply chain technology, logistics, work-life balance, book marketing
Articles by Sandra Beckwith
Building a CFO career without changing companies Original
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Almost 16 years after joining The Middleby Corporation, Brittany Cerwin still marvels at how a finance career with a global public company headquartered just 10 miles from her childhood home has broadened her perspective and experiences. At the same time, it has allowed her to stay connected to her hometown.
How AI is revolutionizing book publicity — and it’s not how you think
Book publicist Cathy Lewis discusses an important way AI is revolutionizing book publicity and promotion right now. Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Associates links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a couple of pennies (at no extra charge to you). Just when you think you’ve figured out how to get book publicity, the ground shifts — again.
Honor Technology’s CFO on solving hard problems that matter Original
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Matt Klitus has long been drawn to health care, even considering medical school after studying chemistry and finance at Princeton. Building on his finance education instead, he spent the first 10 years of his career in management consulting and private equity.
Don't miss tomorrow's CFO.com industry news Original
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Christy Totin has built a 20-plus-year finance career on lessons and experiences from GE’s two-year financial management program. Through six-month rotations, the then-recent college graduate was exposed to four different businesses, commercial operations, leadership styles and business cultures.
Don't miss tomorrow's CFO.com industry news Original
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Josh Greear didn’t expect to fall in love with the franchise industry when he accepted his first CFO role at Primrose Schools, an early childhood education franchise organization, in 2018. Hooked on the franchise model, Greear stayed with the company for almost eight years.
Don't miss tomorrow's CFO.com industry news Original
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Lu Hur is convinced that organizational relationships are just as important as a finance leader’s technical knowledge. It was a lesson she learned early through a range of finance positions at major corporations. Today, 20 years into her financial career, it’s even more evident as Hur manages a remote finance team as a first-time CFO at Meet The People.
How Todd Patriacca’s 30-year finance career led to BVI Medical Original
Until two years ago, nearly all of Todd Patriacca’s 30-year finance career was spent at just two companies. With back-to-back undergraduate and master's accounting degrees on his resume, Patriacca started in auditing at the then-Big Five accounting firm Arthur Andersen, where he stayed for almost a decade.
Bill CFO reflects on PayPal tenure
Growing up in a small town in India, Rohini Jain never could have imagined how far her career would take her — both literally and figuratively — in two decades. Even now, family members don’t understand what she does or the impact she has as a CFO halfway around the world in San Jose, California. After earning an accounting undergrad and a finance master’s degree, Jain discovered her professional passion early in her finance career.
Bill CFO Rohini Jain’s journey to the C-suite Original
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Growing up in a small town in India, Rohini Jain never could have imagined how far her career would take her — both literally and figuratively — in two decades. Even now, family members don’t understand what she does or the impact she has as a CFO halfway around the world in San Jose, California.
How Xactly’s CFO applies psychology in the C-suite Original
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Colleagues might describe Jason Godley as a New Age CFO. An accomplished mindfulness meditator, Godley draws on insights from a master’s degree in applied positive psychology to support his team and bring fresh perspectives to colleagues. Underneath this enlightened approach to leadership is a classic finance foundation that includes an undergraduate accounting degree and a finance MBA.
The ultimate holiday gift list for writers: 32 ideas to delight any author!
Looking for gift ideas for the author in your world? You'll love this ultimate holiday gift list for writers! There's so much here. Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission (at no extra charge to you). Looking for the absolute best gifts for authors and writers?
Certinia CFO-CIO lays the groundwork for growth
This story was originally published on CFO.com. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CFO.com newsletter. Not many can trace their career path back to kindergarten. But Erin Sawyer can. She knew she wanted to be an accountant at just five years old. Never straying from that goal, Sawyer got an accounting degree before working for four years in that profession.
Certinia CFO-CIO lays the groundwork for growth
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Not many can trace their career path back to kindergarten. But Erin Sawyer can. She knew she wanted to be an accountant at just five years old. Never straying from that goal, Sawyer got an accounting degree before working for four years in that profession.
Q2 Holdings CFO on accountability and taking chances Original
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. While most of Jonathan Price’s straight-out-of-college investment banking peers burned out and left the intense profession by their fifth year, Price stayed in the field for 14 years. Each time he thought about getting off the “roller coaster,” an appealing opportunity for a new experience on the ride appeared. One time it involved changing banks; another, the Canadian accepted a transfer to San Francisco.
Focused on financial inclusion: Fundbox CFO Renuka Nayani
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. First-time CFO Renuka Nayani credits her early experience as a consulting firm software developer with sparking her focus on financial inclusion. Through the Accenture Development Partnerships program, she consulted with the World Bank in Sri Lanka, where she saw the financial needs of emerging markets firsthand.
Duffy Group CFO on getting out of your comfort zone
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. In early 2024, Angelo Accomazzo left a 30-year risk management and strategic marketing career with the two largest bank holding companies in the U.S. to become the first CFO of a small executive recruiting firm. It’s also his first CFO position. He wishes he had done it sooner.
The shocking publicity tip you should ignore – plus a smarter strategy! - Build Book Buzz
Bad advice is plentiful, both online and in person. Here's one surprising publicity tip you should ignore and what you want to do instead. Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission (at no extra charge to you). I’ve heard all kinds of bad publicity advice over the years, but the tip offered by a publicist during a recent virtual summit presentation truly shocked me.
Sandra Beckwith . Cultivating Civility in a Fractured World
It's been a minute since our last episode, and as we step into a new year, it's clear that for many of us, things haven't quite gone as planned. In particular, I’m referring to friends and family in Los Angeles, who are grappling with the aftermath and the ongoing devastating fires, and to those facing social, environmental, and political challenges.
Xtium’s CFO on team-building and tech’s competitive energy
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Jeanne Walters started college expecting to finish as a nurse but left as an accountant. Frustrated by how long she’d be taking science courses before she could start nurse training, Walters noticed how her accounting major roommate was learning what she needed for her chosen career much sooner. So, Walters added an accounting course to her schedule. She soon had the correct formula for an entirely new career path.
How American Cancer Society CFO Kael Reicin moves strategy up the ladder
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Kael Reicin wasn’t seeking a nonprofit leadership role as he was leaving Bloomberg LP as enterprise financial products CFO five years ago. In fact, he was poised to accept a position leading product strategy at a fintech company when he got a call from the American Cancer Society’s CEO who wanted to talk to him about the organization’s CFO role.
Expert insights: How to maximize your podcast guest opportunity
Were you interviewed on a podcast? Discover the many ways you can maximize your podcast guest opportunity and open the door for more. Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Associates links, which means if you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a couple of pennies (at no extra charge to you). A book publicist mentioned to me recently that they’ve heard authors complain that nobody listens to their podcast interviews. That’s not true, of course.
Authors, boost reader engagement with these 8 proven strategies
Consistent reader engagement helps build connection and community. Book publicist David Lewis offers 8 ways to boost reader engagement. Today’s guest post came to me because of my longtime relationship with the writer’s colleague and mother, Cathy Lewis. (Be sure to read her still-relevant guest post, “Promoting your book: 8 ways to pitch media outlets.”) David Lewis, vice president of C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists, helps authors focus their messaging and establish their brand through publicity.
Wayfair CFO Kate Gulliver on the career mindset that got her to the top Original
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. While Kate Gulliver started her career as an analyst at McKinsey & Company, it wasn’t until her post-MBA work at private investment firm Bain Capital that she started thinking about the career path that led her to Wayfair’s C-suite. Now the home decor and furnishings retailer’s CFO and chief administration officer, Gulliver credits McKinsey for the analytical and communication skills she’s used throughout her 20-year career.
19 authors show you how to make time for marketing your book
Writing books isn't the only thing you do, right? So how can you make time for marketing your book? Let these 19 authors show the way. Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Associates links, which means if you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a couple of pennies (at no extra charge to you).
Qualtrics CFO Rachita Sundar on learning and scaling
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. When software developer Rachita Sundar's first job out of college required her to interview clients about how and why they would use the systems she and her team were creating, Sundar found she was more interested in client business practices and operations than she was in their software. She soon traded coding, interfaces and debugging for balance sheets, capital gain and cash flow by enrolling in a finance-focused MBA program.
How Prophix’s CFO Aaron Levine combines leadership with technology
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. With five software-as-a-service industry CFO roles in 10 years, one might wonder about Aaron Levine’s churn rate. Industry experts aren’t surprised, though. Two- to three-year tenures are common for CFOs at middle-market, private-equity-backed companies, as the sale of these companies typically results in leadership changes at the top.
From investor and board observer to C-suite: Quorum CFO Matt Williams
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. For years, Matt Williams had a professional interest in business operations. In graduate school, he planned to trade his early private equity experience for an operational role. A unique opportunity with growth equity firm Frontier Growth kept Williams in the investment world after earning his MBA, though.
From crisis to confidence: HF Foods Group CFO Cindy Yao
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Although Cindy Yao spent the first two-thirds of her finance career working for companies known for their consumer products — Kodak, Corning Incorporated and Bausch & Lomb — it was the manufacturing piece of each business that resonated with her the most.
From math teacher to finance chief: Pittsburgh International Airport CFO Eric Sprys
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Growing up, teaching was all Eric Sprys knew because it was all he saw. Generations of Sprys across the family tree and in his immediate family were teachers. It was his legacy, it seemed. So, he joined them. Not long after graduating from college, though, Sprys realized the innate analytical skills that made him choose secondary math education could be useful in other careers, too.
Lead with empathy: Kansas City Area Development Council CFO Jami Owens
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Kansas City native Jami Owens seemed almost destined for her role as CFO and head of human resources at the Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC). It started when she followed her accountant father’s lead by getting both undergrad and graduate accounting degrees. But her family’s influence extended far beyond Owens’s propensity for working with numbers.
How to create buzz: The ultimate book cover reveal guide
What's a book cover reveal and how can it support your book? Four authors who do them share the what, why, and how. Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission (at no extra charge to you). I’m just going to say it: I’ve always been skeptical about book cover reveals. I don’t pay much attention to them as a reader when they pop into my newsfeed. I just keep scrolling.
From Fortune 500 to a growing AI company: UiPath CFO Ashim Gupta
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. In early 2018, Ashim Gupta was either on a path to become “a lifelong GE person” or poised to try something completely new with a young company in an unrelated industry. Gupta had spent nearly 20 years in multiple finance roles at General Electric by then, including serving as CFO of GE Engineered Systems and GE Water.
Your ultimate guide to being a great guest blogger
Guest blogging is an excellent book marketing strategy, especially when you know how to be a great guest blogger. Here are six tips. I love when people who know what they’re doing pitch a guest blog post idea to me. These contributors are familiar with the information I provide here, know my readers (and are often in that group themselves), and understand that the mission here is to help, inform, and empower. That means they propose blog post topics that you’ll like.
Improving CFO-CIO collaboration: BlackLine CFO Mark Partin
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. As businesses invest in more technology and CFO involvement in IT decisions is on the rise, it’s more important than ever that CFOs and chief information officers (CIOs) communicate and collaborate. The good news is that a recent Rimini Street survey of nearly 3,000 global CFOs and CIOs reveals 86% of them believe their CFO-CIO relationships are stronger. Still, CFOs have trust issues.
November book promotion opportunities: 28 unusual, unexpected, and irreverent holidays
There are more November book promotion opportunities than Thanksgiving and Black Friday. What can you do with this list of fun occasions? November. Bah! Humbug! I’m not a fan. During November, I’m still mourning the loss of summer. Plus, it’s too dark to walk my usual route after work. And I know the weather is only going to get colder. That means I must be extra vigilant about looking for and appreciating things that make me smile.
3 things you can do today to get amazing book blurbs tomorrow
Amazing book blurbs and endorsements don't happen on their own. You have to establish the connections you need early. Here's how to do that. I’m connected to thousands of authors as subscribers to my free Build Book Buzz book marketing newsletter or through social media. While most are strangers, many are not. They respond to my newsletter emails, comment on or share my blog posts on social media, and contribute to discussions in my Facebook book marketing group.
Unlocking the magic: 10 tips for crafting irresistible children's book freebies
Looking to build your email list or offer buyers a bonus? Use these pro tips for creating irresistible children's book freebies. Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission (at no extra charge to you). I’m so happy that Chelsea Tornetto, a former teacher turned author, returned to write another guest post for us (read “Beyond the classroom: 8 unique venues for children’s book author visits” here).
5 reasons book endorsements and testimonials are essential for every author
Think twice before you decide not to pursue book endorsements and testimonials. Here are 5 reasons to make them part of your publishing plan. You’re browsing in a bookstore or at the library and a book catches your eye. You pick it up and study the front cover. Then what do you do? If you’re like most, you turn it over to read the book’s description on the back. And you look on both covers for the “blurbs” – endorsements and testimonials – that reassure you the book is good.
Bringing deep experience to a financial services spin-off: WAS CFO Sharon Geib
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Just six months after Sharon Geib joined Woodforest Acceptance Solutions (WAS) as senior vice president of finance, the new spin-off from Woodforest National Bank named her its first CFO. Geib, a financial services industry veteran who started with the company in its first month, brings more than 35 years of broad leadership experience to the role.
Unlocking your author platform: Why it's essential for success
What's an author platform, who needs one, and how do you create one? Here's what you need to know to start building yours. Frequent references to “platform” in politics, beauty pageants, beds, and shoes can confuse any author struggling to understand how that concept applies to book publishing. In politics and beauty pageants, your platform is a message or goal. In the beauty pageant comedy “Miss Congeniality,” for Sandra Bullock’s Gracie Hart, it was “… harsher punishment for parole violators ….
Urban Land Conservancy CFO Brad Dodson is doing well while doing good
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. While Brad Dodson enjoyed his decade-long work in financial services for Fortune 500 insurance provider Chubb in his home state of South Carolina, he longed for work that was more closely aligned with his personal values and interests.
Boost your author brand with these 31 expert publicity tips
Get more media exposure for yourself and your book by using these expert publicity tips from publicists, marketers, and entrepreneurs. One of the easiest ways to get publicity is to subscribe to the free services that help journalists find sources to interview for articles, news reports, podcasts, and blog posts. Journalists submit a “query” – a description of what they’re looking for – and appropriate sources who subscribe to the services respond with the information requested.
How do readers discover books? What every author needs to know
How do readers discover books like yours? Here are eight opportunities for readers to discover, read, love, and recommend yours. It’s always been hard to get your book discovered, but with the growth of self-publishing, it’s even more difficult. UNESCO estimates that globally today, 2.2 million new titles are released every year. Yowza. In today’s saturated market, understanding how readers discover books can make a significant difference in your success.
August book promotion opportunities: 27 fun, funky, and frivolous holidays
Lighten up your book marketing near the end of summer by linking your book to one of these August book promotion opportunities. Ahhhh, August. It brings with it the last 11 days of the 2024 Summer Olympics and the dog days of summer. For many Northern Hemisphere families with school-age children, it’s also back-to-school shopping time. August is when many in Europe enjoy holiday time off, too.
Weed Man CFO Prajakta Raut helps lawn care company grow like, well, weeds
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. After starting her career as an auditor, CPA Prajakta Raut took her Sarbanes-Oxley compliance know-how from KPMG to Sleep Country Canada to set up its internal audit function and ensure compliance with internal controls regulations.
Book promotion timing: Implement these 9 strategies as soon as you’ve finished the first draft
What's the best book promotion timing? As soon as possible. Take these 9 steps long before your book launch. I’ve lost track of the number of authors I’ve heard from who waited until their e-book was available on Amazon or they had boxes of books stacked in a corner before they started thinking about book promotion. Only when they’re ready to start accepting money for their page-turner, how-to, or memoir do they start to think about who might buy the book and how those people will discover it.
Overcoming author technophobia: 6 ways authors can get technology help
Authors, does technology intimidate you? These tactics for overcoming author technophobia will keep you moving forward. Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission (at no extra charge to you). My recent newsletter subscriber survey revealed that many authors struggle with the technology required to succeed as a writer today.
An investor’s mindset with operations know-how: Appfire’s Alex Triplett
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. After spending the first decade of his career as an investor with a private equity firm, Alex Triplett decided he had a knowledge gap: operations. Eager to learn more about running a business, he applied his investor experience to a corporate development position at fintech provider ION Group, one of his previous employer’s investments.
Beyond the classroom: 8 unique venues for children's book author visits
Children's book authors can reach more of their readers by exploring these 8 often overlooked venues for children's book author visits. Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Associates links, which means if you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a couple of pennies (at no extra charge to you).
9 favorite writing tools and resources I can’t live without
What are your favorite writing tools? Here are nine I use daily and weekly to be more productive and effective. Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission (at no extra charge to you). I love when someone I follow shares their favorite tools and resources in a blog post or podcast episode. I nearly always discover something I can add to my arsenal.
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