The DeWinter Group

Willem Dirven Joins DeWinter as President, AI Transformation

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:45:05 GMT

Willem Dirven Joins DeWinter as President, AI Transformation

We’re thrilled to announce that Willem Dirven has joined the DeWinter team as President of our AI Transformation practice .

In this role, Willem will lead DeWinter’s AI Transformation Services, helping our clients navigate and harness the power of cutting-edge technology to drive real results.

With a proven track record as a strategic leader with skills in the Big 4, Management Consulting, business, customer service, IT and ERP transformation, he is the perfect person to help drive this resource for our clients.

Please join us in welcoming Willem to the team and stay tuned as we share more about how DeWinter is helping our clients build future-proof, AI-powered teams and businesses.

Learn more about DeWinter's AI Transformation Services here.

DeWinter Launches AI Transformation Practice to Bridge the Enterprise Implementation Gap

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 14:20:12 GMT

DeWinter Launches AI Transformation Practice to Bridge the Enterprise Implementation Gap

Move signals the firm's evolution into a consultative delivery partner for autonomous workflows and agentic AI.

DeWinter , a premier finance and technology talent partner for over 25 years, today announced the launch of its AI Business Transformation practice. This move represents a strategic expansion of the firm’s capabilities, adding specialized consulting to its core talent solutions to act as a delivery partner that takes full accountability for AI implementation and quality control.

The launch comes at a time when many mid-market leaders are wringing their hands over their AI strategy. As organizations grapple with the transition from "AI hype" to functional implementation, DeWinter’s new practice focuses on identifying high-impact opportunities that drive measurable bottom-line results.

Expert Leadership at the Helm

To lead this initiative, DeWinter has appointed Willem Dirven as Practice Leader. Willem joins DeWinter with an extensive background across the Big 4 and management consulting, specializing in the transformation of complex business systems, integrated workflows, and operational processes. A veteran of digital innovation and data-driven strategy, he brings the rare multidisciplinary expertise required to bridge the gap between sophisticated technology and business results.

"The primary challenge for most enterprises today isn't a lack of AI tools; it's a lack of strategic implementation," says Dirven. "Our goal is to move organizations past the experimental phase. We help you identify where AI can be most impactful to your bottom line, and then we provide the strategic framework and specialized talent required to turn those insights into permanent operational advantages."

A Legacy of Adaptation

The launch marks a strategic evolution in DeWinter’s 25-year history. DeWinter leverages a deep presence within the nation’s premier innovation hubs: the San Francisco Bay Area and Boston. From this foundation, the firm is uniquely positioned to bridge the "Triple Gap" of strategy, implementation, and coordination for enterprise leaders nationwide.

"For a quarter-century, we have been the partner companies turn to during major tech cycles," says Derek DeWinter, Founding Partner. "The shift to AI-augmented business is the most significant cycle we’ve seen. With Willem’s leadership and our history of talent expertise, we are providing the roadmap our clients need to navigate this landscape with a clear path to ROI."

The DeWinter Delivery Framework: Bridging the Triple Gap

The DeWinter AI Transformation practice utilizes a comprehensive delivery model designed to bridge the three fundamental gaps in AI adoption:

The Strategy & Governance Gap: DeWinter identifies where AI can be most impactful to the bottom line, establishing the roadmaps, ethical protocols, and PMO support needed for long-term success.
The Implementation Gap: Solving the technical hurdles of data readiness and model instruction, DeWinter deploys specialized expertise to build functional AI infrastructure and integrated business system workflows.
The Coordination Gap: Unlike traditional talent providers, DeWinter owns the service delivery. By managing the implementation approach and providing dedicated quality control, the firm ensures that digital agents and human teams operate in sync to produce measurable results.

About DeWinter

Founded in 2000, DeWinter is the leading recruiting and consulting firm specializing in finance, accounting, and technology talent. With an NPS 200% higher than the industry average, DeWinter powers the world’s most innovative companies, leveraging a deep presence in the San Francisco Bay Area and Boston to serve clients and talent ecosystems nationwide. The firm is committed to a people-first approach and now offers specialized consultative services to help companies reach their fullest potential in the AI era.

For more information, visit: www.dewintergroup.com/ai-transformation-services

Surviving Busy Season: The 2026 Accountant's Guide for Team Retention and Personal Well-being Through Tax, Audit, and Year-End

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 18:54:51 GMT

Surviving Busy Season: The 2026 Accountant's Guide for Retention and Personal Well-being

By: Richie Hishmeh, Recruiting Manager, Consulting Services

While your dual monitors glow like neon signs and your AI "help" is hallucinating an argument with a 1099-K, take a breath. You are nearing the finish line.

In 2026, busy season is no longer a three-month sprint; between tax deadlines, audit cycles, ever-changing tax law, and industry-specific peaks, it has evolved into a year-round endurance test for not only yourself but for those of us managing teams, big and small. According to the Accounting Today 2026 Year Ahead Survey , the talent shortage has officially hit a standstill. With 91% of firms listing retention as their top priority, the goal this season isn't just to do your job; it’s to ensure your team actually wants to come back on April 16th.

The Manager’s Mandate: Empathy Over Excel

In high-stakes environments, your primary job is protecting your most important asset, your team.

Recognize Capacity Warnings: When a Senior Associate goes quiet or a top performer misses a deadline, stop looking at the spreadsheet. These are rarely performance issues; they are red flags for burnout.
A Focus on Retention: Make it a mission to keep your favorite teammates. Making a conscious effort to keep your team engaged should be a core mission. When it comes to retention, small gestures of appreciation and post-season bonuses address the difficulty of a busy season for top performers.

Practical Strategies for the 2026 Peak Season

FloQast reports 99% of accountants experience burnout , with 24% at "high" or "medium-high" levels. To get through the end of this sprint, you and your team need a multi-faceted survival plan.

1. Lifestyle: The Sleep & Stamina Mandate

In this technology-first era, your human brain must be sharper to catch nuance. Sleep is a technical requirement for quality control, not a luxury you can shrug off for a couple more weeks.

The Sleep Mandate: The National Library of Medicine notes that moderate sleep deprivation can produce serious impairments. –-“ Moderate sleep deprivation produces impairments in cognitive and motor performance equivalent to legally prescribed levels of alcohol intoxication."
The Cost of Fatigue: In 2026, a tired mistake isn’t just a typo; it’s a logic error that your AI agent will replicate across 40 different returns in seconds. ThisWayToCPA (AICPA) warns that chronic sleep restriction leads to severe cognitive deficits. Protecting your sleep is your most important internal control!
Preventative Maintenance:
15-minute phone-free walks to clear mental fog.
30-minute screen-off lunches with a strict "no work talk" policy.
2-minute desk stretches every hour to mitigate tension headaches.

2. Technology: Lead the Machine

AI can calculate complex tax liability with 99.9% accuracy, but it cannot detect the human nuances of a client's business pivot.

Audit the AI: When you feed flawed data into an AI agent, it simply executes. Shift your energy to the inputs and let the machine handle the repetitions.
Digital Breadcrumbs: We live in an asynchronous world. Use project management tools to leave detailed notes, so teammates picking up files at 9:00 PM don't have to ruin your late-night dinner to find a missing schedule.

3. Communication: Maintaing Stability

High-pressure environments turn small frictions into fires. Use these pillars to maintain stability:

Active Listening: In 2026, the person who listens before reacting has a superpower. Avoid speaking over others.
Grace in Errors: Tax laws change constantly. Identify the problem and fix the work together without making the person feel like a failure.
Shadow Support: Identify who is carrying the heaviest load. If a Senior Manager is drowning, proactively take a low-level task off their plate.
 The Retention Mindset: Make it a mission to keep your favorite teammate. A simple "I’m glad you’re on this team" is more effective than you think.

The Human Advantage

Managing a team in 2026 means working with the thinnest margins in history. Accounting Today’s 2025/2026 Year Ahead Survey cites that recruiting and retaining good employees remains the top challenge for firms of all sizes.

April 15th is just a date on a calendar; it is not a measure of your worth as a human, a parent, or a friend.

In this AI-powered world, you are the most valuable asset in the room because machines cannot care. An AI can't look a worried client in the eye and tell them they'll be okay, and it can't sense when a junior associate is overwhelmed. Lean into your humanity, it’s your greatest competitive edge.

The 2026 Guide to Scaling Your Software & Platform Engineering Teams for Success

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 18:23:21 GMT

The 2026 Guide to Scaling Your Software & Platform Engineering Teams for Success

By Matt Berg, Vice President & Managing Director, Technical Consulting

In today's tech industry landscape, with increasing AI adoption, volatile global markets, and an evolving labor ecosystem, scaling your software and platform engineering the right way is more critical than ever.

As a technology recruiter, I know scaling your software and platform engineering team isn’t just about hiring more people. It's about building a cohesive, productive, and future-proof organization that can drive your business forward. In this guide, I’ll share strategic steps you can take to effectively scale your software and platform engineering teams, from sourcing talent to leveraging AI, and why partnering with an external recruiter can be a game-changer.

1. Define Your Ideal Candidate Profile

Before you start posting job descriptions and scheduling interviews, take the time to clearly define what success looks like in your engineering team. This goes beyond a simple list of skills and responsibilities. Consider:

Core Competencies: What specific technical skills, programming languages, and frameworks are essential for the roles you're hiring for?
Cultural Fit: What are your company's values, and what kind of work environment do you foster? You need individuals who not only have the technical chops but also align with your culture and can contribute positively to your team's dynamics.
Potential for Growth: In a rapidly evolving field like software, you need engineers who are curious, adaptable, and eager to learn. Look for candidates who have a track record of continuous learning and are passionate about staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends.
Soft Skills: In the age of AI, human soft skills are an even bigger differentiator. Communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and adaptability are critical for success in any engineering role. Don't underestimate the importance of these skills, especially as your team grows and collaboration becomes more crucial.

By creating a detailed ideal candidate profile, you can focus your recruitment efforts on attracting individuals who are a good fit for your company and have the potential to grow with you.

2. Map Skills to Your Technical Goals

Before you start recruiting, map out the specific skills your team is missing and needs. This roadmap can help ensure your hiring strategy directly supports your project milestones. This involves:

Identifying Key Projects and Initiatives: What are the major technical initiatives your company is planning to undertake in the next 12-24 months?
Analyzing Existing Skill Gaps: Evaluate your current team's skills and identify any areas where you need to strengthen your capabilities.
Creating a Skills Inventory: Develop a comprehensive inventory of the skills your current team possesses. This will help you identify areas where you need to hire and areas where you can provide training and development opportunities.
Developing a Hiring Roadmap: Based on your skills inventory and technical goals, create a hiring roadmap that outlines the roles you need to fill, the specific skills required, and the timeline for hiring.

By mapping skills to your technical goals, you can ensure that you are hiring the right talent to drive your business forward and avoid making costly hiring mistakes.

3. Consider Different Hiring Models

When scaling your engineering team, don't limit yourself to traditional full-time hiring. Consider other hiring models that can provide flexibility and help you access specialized talent:

Full-Time Employees: This model offers the most control over your workforce and allows you to build a cohesive team. However, it can be more expensive and time-consuming to hire and onboard full-time employees.
Contractors: Contracting can be a great option for short-term projects or specialized tasks. It allows you to access expertise without the long-term commitment of a full-time hire.
Contract-to-Hire: This model allows you to "try before you buy." You can bring on a contractor for a trial period and, if they perform well and fit with your team, transition them to a full-time role.
Nearshoring : This model provides a cost-effective way to find highly skilled talent on a fast timeline. It’s a widely-popular strategy for hiring software talent, with software development making up 64% of all outsourced IT functions, according to Statista . By partnering with talent in similar time zones, you gain the reduced labor costs of offshoring without the communication lag or cultural disconnect. DeWinter stands out as a leading technology nearshore provider, offering high-caliber engineering teams that integrate seamlessly into North American workflows , ensuring real-time collaboration.

The right hiring model for your company will depend on your specific needs, budget, and risk tolerance. It can also mean creating a custom solution that combines these models for your unique needs, which is the approach DeWinter takes with our partners. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of each model before making a decision.

4. Address Common Challenges in Scaling

Scaling a software engineering team is not without its challenges. Here are some of the most common challenges companies face:

Finding Qualified Talent: The competition for skilled engineers is still intense, with the Bureau of Labor and Statistics forecasting the profession to grow by 15% by 2034 , much faster than the average occupation. You may need to explore different sourcing channels, such as online job boards, social media, industry events, employee referrals, or partnering with a high-quality talent solutions firm .
Onboarding New Hires Effectively: A strong onboarding process is crucial for ensuring that new hires are integrated into your team and become productive quickly.
Maintaining Culture and Communication: As your team grows, maintaining a strong culture and effective communication can become more challenging. You need to implement tools and processes that foster collaboration and keep everyone on the same page.
Managing Technical Debt: Scaling your engineering team can lead to an increase in technical debt if not managed effectively. It's essential to prioritize code quality and implement best practices for software development.
Ensuring Scalability of Infrastructure: Your infrastructure needs to be able to support the growth of your engineering team and the applications they build. Plan for scalability and invest in technologies that can grow with you.

By proactively addressing these challenges, you can minimize the risk of scaling and build a strong and resilient engineering team.

5. Leverage AI to Enhance Your Hiring Process

The role of AI in recruitment is rapidly evolving. By 2026, we can expect to see AI playing an even bigger role in helping companies find and evaluate technical talent. Here are some ways you can leverage AI to enhance your hiring process:

Sourcing: AI can help you identify potential candidates by analyzing resumes, online profiles, and other data sources.
Screening: AI-powered screening tools can help you quickly filter out unqualified candidates and identify the most promising ones.
Skills Assessment: AI can be used to assess candidates' technical skills through coding challenges and other assessments.
Personalized Candidate Experiences: AI can help you personalize your communication with candidates and provide a more engaging and positive hiring experience.

By embracing AI, you can make your hiring process more efficient and effective, allowing you to focus on evaluating the top candidates and making informed hiring decisions.

6. Partner with an External Recruiting Partner

Working with a trusted external recruiting partner can provide significant benefits when scaling your software and platform engineering teams. An experienced technology recruiter can help you:

Access a Wider Pool of Talent: Recruiters have deep networks in the technology industry and can connect you with top-tier talent that may not be actively seeking new opportunities.
Identify Hard-to-Find Skills: Recruiters have a deep understanding of the technical landscape and can help you identify and attract candidates with specialized skills.
Streamline Your Hiring Process: Recruiters can handle time-consuming tasks like sourcing, screening, and scheduling interviews, allowing your internal team to focus on other priorities.
Provide Market Insights: Recruiters can provide valuable market insights on salary trends , candidate expectations, and industry developments.
Ensure Projects Stay on Time and Budget: By helping you find the right talent quickly and efficiently, recruiters can help ensure that your technical projects stay on time and within budget.

When choosing a recruiting partner, look for a firm with experience in your specific industry and technical domain. A strong track record and positive client testimonials are also important indicators of a reliable partner.

Conclusion

Scaling your software and platform engineering teams is a critical step for growth in today's digital landscape. By defining your ideal candidate profile, mapping skills to your technical goals, considering different hiring models, addressing common challenges, leveraging AI, and partnering with an external recruiting partner, you can build a strong and resilient engineering team that drives your business forward.

If you are looking for guidance and support in scaling your engineering team, contact our expert technology recruiters today . We can help you identify top-tier talent, streamline your hiring process, and achieve your technical goals on time and on budget.

DeWinter Named a 2026 Best Staffing Firm to Work For

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 14:44:49 GMT

DeWinter Named a 2026 Best Staffing Firm to Work For

We’re thrilled to announce that DeWinter has been named to Staffing Industry Analysts’ 2026 list of Best Staffing Firms to Work For in North America. As a people-first organization , we're proud that our efforts to be a fulfilling, supportive workplace are recognized and that our incredible team is thriving in their roles. Check out some highlights from our 2026 results:

Above-Average Finalist

With a rating of 93.4 out of 100, DeWinter scored higher than the average rating for finalists in our size group.

Our Team is Highly Engaged

95.8% of our employees are highly engaged, and less than 5% identified as moderately engaged. 0% reported being barely engaged or disengaged.

Our People-First Approach

99% of our employees reported that DeWinter’s senior leaders “value people as their most important resource.”

What Our Employees Have to Say About Working at DeWinter

More important than the statistics, some of our team members shared their first-hand experience of working with DeWinter.

Interested in a career at DeWinter? Head to our Careers at DeWinter page to find open positions and learn more about working at DeWinter.

Case Study: DeWinter Fills Controller Role for Mission-Driven BioTech Startup

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 17:36:42 GMT

Case Study: DeWinter Fills Controller Role for Mission-Driven BioTech Startup

For a mission-driven BioTech startup, moving from external accounting support to a sophisticated internal function is a pivotal milestone. Our latest placement demonstrates how the right leadership can transform financial operations from a back-office necessity into a strategic engine for growth.

The Challenge: Transitioning to In-House Financial Leadership

Our client, a Boston-based high-impact BioTech research startup, reached a stage where scaling operations required an internal finance leader. As only the second hire in the Accounting & Finance department, this individual faced a complex mandate:

In-Sourcing Operations : Transitioning the entire month-end close process from external firms to an in-house model.
Systems Evolution : Leading a critical ERP implementation to support future scale.
Strategic Foundation : Building an internal accounting function from the ground up to align with long-term business objectives.

The Solution: A Proven Leader with Big 4 Pedigree

Our DeWinter Finance and Accounting consulting team identified and placed a high-caliber finance professional who brought over 14 years of experience in Big 4 accounting and Life Science leadership.

This specialist brought a highly technical toolkit to the table, specifically tailored for a venture-backed startup:

Systems Mastery : Proven expertise in implementing NetSuite and Oracle ERP systems.
Public Market Readiness : Deep knowledge of IPO readiness and SEC reporting .
Industry Depth : Years of experience navigating the unique financial nuances of the Life Science sector.

The Result: A Scalable Financial Infrastructure

By placing a "proven DeWinter performer," we ensured the client had more than just a manager—they had a strategist. The new Controller successfully brought the close process in-house and aligned the company’s financial strategy with its mission-driven research goals.

Key Takeaways for BioTech Founders

Prioritize ERP Experience: Implementing tools like NetSuite or Oracle early on prevents "technical debt" in your financial reporting.

Experience in IPO Readiness: Even for private startups, hiring a leader with SEC reporting experience ensures the company is always exit-ready.

Is your startup ready to bring its accounting in-house? DeWinter specializes in finding the high-impact finance leaders who can bridge the gap between startup agility and public-market rigor.

How to Use AI for Your Finance & Accounting Job Search in 2026

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 17:36:24 GMT

How to Use AI for Your Finance & Accounting Job Search in 2026

By Jasveen Ball, Director, Consulting Services

The financial landscape of 2026 has officially moved past the "trial phase" of digital transformation, entering an era where AI is the standard operating system for high-performing accounting and finance departments. For professionals navigating this market, the job search is no longer a manual process of matching keywords to a static resume; it is a high-stakes exercise in data orchestration and strategic positioning.

As an expert recruiter, I’ve seen that the most successful candidates this year are those who treat their job search like a financial audit—meticulously researched, data-backed, and augmented by the latest generative tools to uncover insights that a human eye might miss. However, in a world saturated with automated content, the true value lies in finding the balance between using AI for efficiency gains and maintaining your authentic, personal judgment and skills.

Whether you are a Controller looking to jump to a VP role or a Senior Accountant pivoting into FP&A, this guide will show you how to leverage AI to decode company health, optimize your narrative, and cross-reference your value against the DeWinter 2026 Finance and Accounting Salary Guide & Industry Report to ensure you aren't just finding a job, but securing your market worth.

1. Beyond the Job Description: Strategic Intelligence

The most significant advantage AI offers in 2026 is its ability to perform high-level industry research. Instead of browsing a company’s “About Us” page, savvy candidates use AI to synthesize financial health and competitive positioning.

The Strategy: Use AI to analyze recent earnings calls, SEC filings, and ESG reports of your target company.

Prompt Idea: "Analyze [Company X]’s last three 10-K filings. Identify the top three recurring financial risks and suggest how a Senior Controller could mitigate them using automated anomaly detection."
The Goal: You aren't just applying for a job; you are arriving with a solution to their latent problems.

2. Polishing Your Narrative: From "Ticking" to "Transforming"

In the 2026 hiring landscape, technical proficiency is only half the battle. Your resume must reflect your ability to drive value through technology.

Rather than stating you "managed accounts payable," use AI to help you articulate the impact.

AI-Enhanced Bullet: "Leveraged agentic AI to automate 80% of invoice matching, reducing cycle times by 4 days and increasing forecast accuracy by 25%."

Recruiter Tip: Avoid the "Uncanny Valley." If your cover letter sounds like a soulless template, we’ll know. Use AI to draft the structure, but inject your own voice, ethics, and leadership philosophy.

3. Mastering the Mock Interview: AI as Your Virtual CFO

In 2026, technical interviews for finance roles have moved beyond rote accounting principles. They now test your "Professional Skepticism"—your ability to poke holes in AI-generated data.

The Strategy: Use a tool like ChatGPT or Gemini to conduct a grueling mock interview.

Prompt Idea: "Act as a Skeptical CFO at a mid-market SaaS company. I am interviewing for the VP of Finance role. Ask me three difficult questions about managing capital allocation in a high-interest-rate environment, and then critique my answers for lack of strategic depth."

4. The 2026 AI-Finance Skill Matrix

Employers now prioritize "Power Skills" alongside the CPA. Below is the table of essential skills you should be highlighting on your profile this year:

The 2026 Finance Talent AI Framework: Deployment vs. Discretion

5. Networking in the Age of Algorithms

Networking has moved beyond the "coffee chat." In 2026, AI-powered platforms like LinkedIn use "semantic matching" to find roles that align with your actual project depth, not just your past titles.

Optimize for "Discovery": Ensure your profile mentions specific tech stacks (e.g., "AI-integrated NetSuite," "Power BI Copilot").
Be a "Human" Bridge: While AI can surface the perfect role, the human touch of a specialized recruiter is what ensures your application doesn't get lost in the digital noise.

6. When NOT to Use AI

There are moments where AI is a hindrance.

The "Human" Interview: Never use an AI teleprompter during a live video interview. We look for eye contact, genuine passion, and the ability to pivot under pressure.

Ethics & Sensitivity: If a company is undergoing a sensitive restructuring or an audit failure, AI-generated responses can come off as tone-deaf. This is where your emotional intelligence (EQ) must take the lead.

7. The Power of Data: Leveraging the DeWinter 2026 Salary Guide

In a 2026 market defined by rapid digital transformation, compensation is no longer a "one-size-fits-all" conversation. Roles that require AI orchestration or specialized ERP oversight are commanding significant premiums.

To negotiate from a position of strength, you must move beyond anecdotal evidence. This is where the DeWinter 2026 Finance and Accounting Salary Guide becomes your most valuable asset.

Why benchmarked data is your "Secret Weapon":

Hyper-Local Accuracy: National averages don't account for the cost-of-living adjustments in tech hubs or the "AI-premium" currently seen in major financial centers.
Defining Your Value: When an AI tool helps you identify that you are performing the work of a "Senior Manager" despite a "Manager" title, the Salary Guide gives you the hard numbers to back up a promotion or a higher starting offer.
Negotiation Leverage: Entering a final interview with industry-benchmarked data shifts the power dynamic. It shows the hiring committee that you are not just a numbers person, but a market-aware professional.

The Bottom Line

In 2026, the winners are those who view AI as a teammate rather than a replacement. Use AI to prepare, but use your humanity to win the job.

Ready to find your next F&A role? Contact our team at DeWinter to see how we’re matching the best AI-forward talent with the most innovative firms in the market.

Case Study: DeWinter Fills Accounting Leader For Cannabis FinTech Firm

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 20:23:56 GMT

Case Study: Precision at Speed—DeWinter Fills a Global Accounting Leadership Role for a Cannabis FinTech Startup

In the rapidly evolving landscape of Cannabis FinTech, finding a leader who balances technical mastery with the energy of a high-growth startup is a unique challenge. Our latest success story highlights how DeWinter combines industry expertise with lightning-fast execution to deliver long-term value.

The Challenge: Scaling Global Complexity

A high-growth startup in the cannabis payments space reached a critical inflection point. To continue their trajectory, they required an Accounting Manager who possessed a rare blend of "boots-on-the-ground" energy and high-level technical sophistication.

The specific requirements for this role included:

Global Management : Oversight of five distinct global entities.
Technical Mastery : Deep expertise in multi-entity closing processes and intercompany reconciliations.
Regulatory Rigor : Navigating the complex revenue recognition standards inherent in both the FinTech and cannabis sectors.

The Solution: Expert Placement in 24 Hours

Speed is often the deciding factor in the FinTech frontier. Leveraging our deep network, DeWinter identified and presented a premier candidate within just 24 hours .

The candidate was a systems-savvy, Controller-level expert who didn't just meet the technical criteria—she brought direct experience in the FinTech and cannabis industries, ensuring a seamless cultural and operational fit.

The Result: A Permanent Partnership

While the engagement began as a consulting solution, the impact was immediate. The consultant’s ability to manage global reporting and complex financial structures made her indispensable to the client's leadership team.

Immediate Impact : The candidate hit the ground running, mastering multi-entity reporting from day one.
Seamless Integration : The "perfect match" in culture and skill led to a permanent hire.
Long-Term Success : After showcasing her value for just four months , the client converted her to a full-time, permanent Accounting Leader.

Key Takeaways for Financial Leaders

Niche Expertise Matters : In emerging markets like cannabis payments, industry-specific knowledge reduces onboarding time and risk.
Agility is an Asset : Filling a leadership gap in 24 hours prevents operational bottlenecks during high-growth phases.
The "Try-Before-You-Buy" Advantage : Interim-to-perm transitions allow both the firm and the candidate to ensure a long-term cultural fit before a full-time commitment.

Is your team prepared for the next stage of growth? Whether you are navigating a complex merger or scaling a global startup, DeWinter provides the precision and speed your accounting department requires.

How to Use AI for Your Tech Job Search in 2026

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 19:05:58 GMT

How to Use AI for Your Tech Job Search in 2026

By Ryan Tweedy, Chief Revenue Officer, Technology Talent and Project Delivery

In 2026, the technology job market isn’t just incorporating AI, it’s being fundamentally rebuilt by it. At DeWinter, our Technology Talent Solutions division sees firsthand how the most successful candidates are those who view AI as a powerful co-pilot rather than a replacement for their own professional narrative. As we navigate the modern technology life cycle—from data engineering to executive leadership—the "proven performer" is the one who knows exactly where the machine’s help ends and human expertise begins.

The search for roles in software development, cloud architecture, and cybersecurity has evolved. We have moved past the era of simple keyword stuffing into the age of Agentic Hiring, where AI agents are constantly interacting on both the candidate and recruiter sides. In fact, 82% of companies are using AI to scan resumes, according to research from ResumeBuilder . To stand out, you must use these tools to deepen your insight, not just automate your output.

Finding the Tech Job That Fits You Best: AI-Powered Job Search Tools

AI-assisted job search features on platforms like LinkedIn and specialized tech boards have become indispensable. In 2026, these tools use "semantic matching" to find roles that align not just with your past titles, but with your actual skill depth and cultural preferences. These systems can predict which environments you are likely to thrive in based on your historical project contributions. However, the key is to use these features as a compass, not an autopilot. While the AI can surface the perfect role, the human touch of a specialized partner like DeWinter is what ensures your application doesn't get lost in the digital noise.

Strategic Intelligence: Beyond the Job Description

The most significant advantage AI offers in 2026 is its ability to perform high-level industry research and intelligence gathering . Instead of browsing a company’s "About Us" page, savvy candidates use AI to synthesize technical debt trends, engineering culture shifts, and competitive positioning. You can prompt an AI to analyze public GitHub repositories, engineering blogs, and recent earnings calls of your target company to identify latent needs or the specific technical hurdles they haven't solved yet but are trending toward.

By understanding a company's competitors and their tech-stack evolutions, you position yourself as a strategic consultant rather than just another applicant. When you come to an interview, mentioning a specific scalability challenge you identified through this data synthesis can help you stand out as a proactive and analytical thinker.

Polishing Your Professional Narrative

Your resume remains your most vital document, but in 2026, it must be both "machine-readable" and engaging for human hiring managers. Proofing and checking your resume with AI is no longer just about grammar; it’s about ensuring your impact data is clear.

Use AI to audit your bullet points to make sure your achievements are clearly stated, quantified, and impactful. For instance, rather than stating you "managed a cloud migration," use AI to help you articulate how you "optimized multi-region latency by 30% while reducing egress costs by $1.2M." This ensures that when an AI-powered Applicant Tracking System (ATS) scans your profile, it recognizes the complexity and seniority of your work.

Mastering the Mock Interview: AI as Your Virtual CTO

In the 2026 hiring landscape, technical proficiency is only half the battle; the ability to articulate complex logic under pressure is what secures the offer. You can now leverage AI to transform your preparation by having it mimic the expertise of a CTO or specialized technology leader. Instead of practicing generic HR questions, prompt your AI tool to adopt a specific persona—such as a "Skeptical Infrastructure Architect" or a "Product-Driven Engineering Director"—and ask it to conduct a grueling mock interview based on the specific job description. This allows you to refine your answers against current industry norms, ensuring your technical vocabulary and strategic outlook align with what high-level stakeholders expect.

To get the most out of these sessions, don't just settle for a list of questions; use the AI to create a dynamic feedback loop:

Generate High-Level Technical Queries: Ask the AI to pose "edge-case" questions, such as how you would handle a catastrophic state-store failure during a live migration or how you balance developer velocity with rigorous security compliance.
Request Critical Feedback and Follow-ups: After providing an answer, ask the AI to "poke holes" in your logic. It can provide immediate feedback on whether your solution was too expensive, too complex, or lacked sufficient scalability, and then pose a follow-up question to see how you pivot under scrutiny.
Align with Industry Benchmarks: Use the tool to check if your proposed architectural patterns or leadership philosophies match 2026’s industry norms. This can help make sure that when you sit down with a hiring manager, your responses are up-to-date and practical for their needs.

The Pitfalls: When AI Becomes Your Greatest Liability

While AI provides incredible speed, misusing it also poses risks to your strength as a candidate. The most common mistake is "Uncanny Valley" content . If your resume or cover letter sounds like a perfectly polished, soulless template, it tells hiring managers you aren't truly invested. We prioritize voice, personality, and genuine passion. An AI-generated cover letter that relies on clichés like "In the ever-evolving landscape of technology" is an immediate signal to a recruiter that you didn't put in the manual effort.

The data backs this up, with 80% of hiring managers saying they "dislike seeing AI-generated CVs and cover letters," according to a survey of 625 hiring managers conducted by CV Genius . It's helpful to think of AI as a tool to polish and improve your authentic, personal candidate profile, not to create it from scratch.

There’ss also the Truth Gap , often caused by AI "hallucinations." AI tools frequently try to "help" by exaggerating your skills to match a job description. If an AI adds "Kubernetes security" to your profile because it's a high-value keyword, but you cannot explain the difference between a NetworkPolicy and a PodSecurityPolicy during a technical deep-dive, your credibility is destroyed instantly. Honesty regarding your technical ceiling is more valuable than a broad but shallow list of keywords.

Finally, avoid the Efficiency Trap . Mass-applying to hundreds of jobs via AI "Auto-Apply" bots is the fastest way to get flagged by high-intent filters. Companies have moved toward quality over quantity. One tailored, thoughtful application facilitated by a partner like DeWinter carries more weight than a thousand bot-driven submissions.

When and How NOT to Use AI in Your Job Search

There are moments in the technology life cycle where AI is a hindrance to your candidacy. Understanding these boundaries is what separates a "commodity worker" from a "strategic hire."

The Human-Centric Future of Technology Talent

In an era of automated screening, your most valuable asset is still a human advocate, from your personal and professional network, or an experienced recruiter. AI can help you sharpen your tools, but it cannot build the long-term relationships that open doors to the "hidden" job market or provide the nuanced feedback needed to close a high-stakes offer.

At DeWinter, we don't just fill roles. We understand the entire technology life cycle—from the developers building the next generation of AI to the Business Systems experts ensuring those models drive ROI. We look for the candidates who use AI to be more efficient but rely on their own expertise, ethics, and leadership to drive results. Use AI to prepare, but use your humanity to win the job.

Are you ready to elevate your career in 2026? Search our open technology jobs to find your next breakthrough role or see what the top technology roles are getting compensated in our 2026 Technology Salary Guide .

Contract vs. Full-Time Work in Manual Testing: A New Wave in Tech Hiring

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 21:15:45 GMT

Contract vs. Full-Time Work in Manual Testing:

A New Wave in Tech Hiring

By Joseph Priscella - Manager, Technical Consulting

The 2026 job market presents a unique situation for both hiring managers and candidates. The pendulum of employment has swung dramatically, from the over-hiring frenzy of the early 2020s to a current environment characterized by slow hiring, outsourcing, and contract work.

Companies are still recruiting, but they are doing so with significant caution. Manual testing professionals, in particular, may be feeling the effects of this slow growth. However, I see this shift as a major opportunity.

The Headcount Risk Reality of 2026

Many companies are paralyzed by the fear of over-committing. They need the work done, especially as AI-integration becomes more rampant and requires real human intuition, but they don’t want the risk of a permanent employee. By positioning yourself for contract work, you aren't just looking for a job; you are offering a business solution.

Most of our clients come to us saying, "We need a manual tester for this six-month sprint, but we don't have the budget approval until Q4." While contract work can be a risk, losing benefits and stability in this job market, this is where you come in. You are providing the capacity the company needs to hit its release dates without them having to trigger a six-month hiring approval process. While many people focus on securing the perceived "stability" of a permanent position, the real energy and leverage in this market are now found in the contract space.

The Ramp to Full-Time Mindset

If your end goal is a permanent seat, don't let the word Contract scare you. In this economy, the Contract-to-Hire model is your new best friend. DeWinter specializes in bridging this gap between corporate caution and your professional aspirations. We provide companies with the immediate capacity they need through strong, structured contracts that protect both sides.

For the company, it removes the headcount risk. For you, it provides a foot in the door at top-tier firms from the Bay Area and Boston. We get you there, you prove your worth, and suddenly, that temporary contract becomes the permanent role everyone was too scared to sign off on in January.

Practical Tips for Your 2026 Manual Testing Job Search

A Manager of Testing Delivery at Testlio finds that 76% of enterprises have now formally implemented some type of Human-in-the-Loop review processes, as pure AI-automated QA often fails to catch misinformation and tricky user experience flaws.

Optimize for Strategy, Not Just Clicks: Don't just list "Jira" and "TestRail," list how you reduced time to release or how your exploratory testing caught a flaw that saved a major client account.

Lean into the "Human" Element: AI-assisted testing is a tool, not a replacement for your role. Highlight your ability to manage AI tools to make your testing faster and more detailed. Automated scripts can tell a developer if the code works, but only a manual tester can tell them if the code makes sense.

Use a Partner, Not a Platform: Having a firm like DeWinter in your corner means your resume actually gets seen by a human hiring manager who trusts our stamp of approval.

To move from contract to perm, you need to transition from a "task-completer" to a "knowledge-owner." In a slow-growth 2026 market, a manager won't fight for permanent headcount just because you’re good at your job, they’ll do it because the thought of losing your institutional knowledge is terrifying.

While you’re on contract:

Document the Undocumented: Testers who contribute significantly to internal documentation and maintenance have a higher rate of impact and professional advancement. According to a 2026 Dev Stack Overflow Survey , Technical Documentation is the most-used resource for developers and testers (68%), beating out AI tools and highlighting a massive tech trust gap in AI, where 46% of developers do not trust AI-generated code, making human-led documentation more valuable than ever.

The "Product Sense" Edge: Use your manual testing hours to develop a deep understanding of this human user. In 2026, data is everywhere, but empathy is scarce. If you can sit in a meeting and say, "Technically this passes, but our Tier 1 users in the healthcare sector will find this workflow frustrating," you’ve just moved from a "tester" to a "product consultant” purely with human understanding.

Bridge the Silos: Contractors often stay in their lane. Don’t. Build bridges between the QA team, Product Management, and Customer Success. If you become the glue that holds different departments together, the cost of replacing you becomes much higher than the cost of hiring you.

The Bottom Line

The 2026 manual testing market isn't about finding a job; it's about finding leverage. Companies are hungry for your skills but terrified of the long-term commitment. By stepping into that gap with a strong contract, you gain the experience, the high hourly rate, and a direct path to a permanent role when the slow-growth clouds hopefully begin to clear.

By the time your contract is up for renewal, the goal is for your manager to look at their budget and see you as an asset they can't afford to lose. With DeWinter, we’ve seen that when a manual tester provides high-quality contract work with us, the permanent offer usually follows as a natural evolution, not a difficult uphill battle.

5 Ways Use the 2026 Boston Finance & Accounting Salary Guide to Fuel Your Career

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 19:17:18 GMT

Navigating the 2026 Boston Market: 5 Ways Use the 2026 Finance & Accounting Salary Guide to Fuel Your Career

By Tonya Salerno, Recruiting Manager, Consulting Services

In the fast-paced world of Boston finance and accounting, standing still is often the same as moving backward. As we navigate the complexities of 2026—marked by the integration of AI into core financial functions and a persistent talent shortage for specialized roles—having a roadmap isn't just a luxury; it’s a career necessity.

At DeWinter, we’ve just released our 2026 Boston Finance and Accounting Salary Guide and Industry Report . While it’s tempting to flip straight to the page with your job title and look at the "High" percentile number, a salary guide is far more than a simple price list. It is a strategic tool that, when used correctly, can help you negotiate from a position of power, identify high-growth career paths, and gauge your true market value in a volatile economy.

Here is your comprehensive guide on how to get the most out of our latest report.

1. Beyond the Base: Decoding the Data

A common mistake job seekers make is looking at a salary range and assuming their experience automatically places them at the top. To use the guide effectively, you must understand the variables that influence where you land within those brackets.

Company Size and Revenue: In our 2026 guide, we categorize roles by company size. A Controller at a $50M biotech startup in Cambridge may have a different compensation structure (likely more equity-heavy) than a Controller at a multi-billion dollar financial services firm in the Seaport.

The "Premium" Skills: This year, technical proficiency is the ultimate needle-mover. Hiring managers are increasingly looking for finance and accounting professionals who bring strong technical skills, especially in utilizing AI and Automation in their workflows. 85% of finance leaders now consider AI skills important when recruiting, according to a survey by Wolters Kluwer .

Location Adjustments: Boston remains one of the highest-paying markets in the country, but the "Greater Boston" umbrella is wide. The guide provides localized benchmarks that reflect the unique cost-of-living and demand metrics specific to our region compared to national averages.

2. Using Data as Your Negotiation "Receipts"

Negotiating a raise or a new offer is no longer just about what you "want"—it’s a professional skill that serves as a benchmark for your market savvy. Far from being a source of friction, negotiation should be viewed as a standard, expected phase of the hiring lifecycle. In fact, a survey from Salary.com found that 84% of hiring managers expect job applicants to negotiate their salary during the interview process.

How do you start a salary negotiation conversation? Outline your research, what you’re asking for, and your reasoning behind it succinctly. An example could look like this:

“I’ve been doing some research using the 2026 DeWinter Finance and Accounting Salary Guide & Industry Report for the Boston area, and for a role like this, the market is currently landing between $X and $Y. Because I’m bringing specific experience in AI automation that fits your current goals, I’m looking to get as close to the top of that range as possible.”

Treating negotiation as a mandatory exercise rather than a personal favor allows you to demonstrate your value from the outset. When you approach the table with confidence and data, you aren't being "difficult"; you are proving that you understand your worth and possess the business acumen to advocate for it—qualities that every top-tier firm in Boston is looking for in 2026.

The "Market Reality" Approach

When you sit down with your manager or a recruiter, the goal is to shift the dynamic from a "request" to a strategic business alignment. Avoid leading with personal anecdotes or abstract notions of "fairness," which can feel subjective. Instead, walk into the room armed with the informed confidence that only a detailed salary guide can provide. Using a detailed salary guide allows you to ground your pitch in objective, localized data, turning what might feel like a high-stakes confrontation into a collaborative discussion about market value.

By citing a reputable, data-driven report, you eliminate the guesswork. You aren’t just asking for more money; you are demonstrating that you are a well-informed professional who understands the competitive landscape of the Northeast. This approach proves you’ve done your homework, allowing you to negotiate from a position of strength and clarity rather than hope.

3. Spotting the Growth Verticals

If you feel your career has plateaued, the salary guide acts as a "trend-spotter." By comparing year-over-year growth across different roles, you can see where the "heat" is in the market.

For 2026, we are seeing large growth in:

FP&A (Financial Planning & Analysis): As companies move away from manual variance analysis toward AI-driven "what-if" scenarios, the demand for FP&A Managers who can tell a story with data has skyrocketed.

Tax and Audit Oversight: Rather than replacing these roles, AI has shifted them. The 2026 market prizes "investigative oversight"—professionals who can manage the AI models ensuring compliance in an increasingly complex global tax environment.

Operational Finance: With a focus on efficiency, roles in AP/AR and payroll that involve automation implementation are seeing higher-than-average salary jumps.

4. Mastering the Market: Using Industry Intelligence to Time Your Next Move

In 2026, staying relevant in the Boston finance scene requires more than just keeping your head down and doing the work; it requires a deep understanding of the economic currents shaping the Northeast. Our 2026 Boston Finance and Accounting Industry Report section acts as a strategic briefing, cluing you into the specific trends and macro-factors that influence hiring decisions, from the local biotech fluctuations in Cambridge to the national shift toward AI-integrated accounting.

By consuming this data, you sharpen your business acumen, allowing you to speak intelligently in boardrooms or performance reviews about why certain shifts are happening. Moreover, this insight is your best tool for timing. Whether you’re gauging the stability of the current market or identifying a "hot" hiring window in the local economy, the report helps you decide exactly when to stay put and when to leap toward your next job search.

5. Planning Your Next Five Years (and Beyond)

While most people grab a salary guide to see what they should be making right now , its real value is helping you figure out where you want to be in five years. Think of the DeWinter report as a way to reverse-engineer your career. By looking at the roles two or three levels above yours, you can see exactly what skills or certifications you need to start working on today to hit that next tier of leadership in Boston.

How to Reverse-Engineer Your Career Goals:

Spot the "Skill Gap": If you’re aiming for a Director of Finance role by 2030, check the 2026 data. Are those positions now requiring experience in AI ethics or predictive ERP systems? If they are, you can prioritize those skills now instead of trying to catch up later.

Consider a Pivot: You might notice that demand and pay for Strategic FP&A are growing faster than traditional reporting roles. The guide can help you decide if it’s worth moving into a different function within finance to boost your long-term potential.

Find the Right Environment: A $150k salary can feel very different at a very large, established company than at a start-up. Use our Salary Search tool to instantly compare salaries across company size and roles to start thinking about which roles best match your goals.

Conclusion: Information is Your Edge

The Boston hiring market in 2026 is cautious but steady. While the "Great Resignation" is a memory, the "Great Recalibration" is in full swing. Employers are willing to pay for top-tier talent, but they are more selective than ever.

By downloading and studying the DeWinter 2026 Boston Finance and Accounting Salary Guide , you are doing more than just checking your pay—you are conducting market research on your most valuable asset: yourself. Whether you are preparing for an annual review, eyeing a move to a new firm, or simply want to ensure you aren't being left behind by the AI revolution, this guide is your primary resource for navigating the road ahead.

Ready to see where you stand? Access the full 2026 DeWinter Boston Salary Guide & Industry Report here.

Frequently Asked Questions: 2026 Boston Finance & Accounting Salary Guide & Industry Report

1. What Titles Are Included in the 2026 Boston Finance & Accounting Salary Guide?

2. Do You Offer Salary Guides for Other Industries and Locations?

Yes, DeWinter also publishes the 2026 Bay Area Finance & Accounting Salary Guide & Industry Report and the 2026 Technology Salary Guide & Industry Report for the Bay Area, Boston, and Southern California.

A New Era: Three Trends Reshaping Financial Analyst Roles in 2026

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 20:41:25 GMT

A New Era: Three Trends Reshaping Financial Analyst Roles in 2026

By Jaclyn Tougas, Manager, Consulting Services

In 2026, the "safe" and most successful career path is one of continuous upskilling. Whether you are working as a contract specialist or a full-time strategist, your success depends on your ability to treat AI as a teammate rather than a tool.

As an experienced recruiter, I’ve watched tools take over the financial services industry for years. But the 2 026 market is differen t . We have moved past the "experimental" phase of AI and into the "integration" phase. While improving your skill set as a senior financial analyst may seem daunting, it is achievable with the right insight. Here are the trends coming across my desk that are redefining the job description of the traditional financial analyst role.

1. The "Last 5 Percent" Rule in Full-Time Hiring

In 2026, automation has commoditized the "grunt work." Saving you and your employer time and money. In 2025, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said that “AI can now draft 95% of an IPO prospectus in minutes,” shifting the value of full-time analysts, according to Fortune.com . Hiring managers are no longer just looking for data entry; we’re hiring for that last 5%.

Hiring managers are looking for analysts that are able to bridge the gap between raw data and human understanding, someone that encaptures human intuition, ethical reasoning, and strategic storytelling that machines aren't able to replicate.

Organizations are increasingly looking for data fluency over technical calculation, prioritizing analysts who can explain the "why" behind an AI-generated forecast and, more importantly, challenge the AI when the logic feels "off."

If you are a finance professional looking to future-proof your career, here are the non-negotiable skills we are screening for right now:

2. The Hybrid Hiring Surge: Full-Time vs. Contract

Hiring strategies in 2026 are focused on project deliverables, revenue growth, and "ramp-to-value." We are seeing a distinct split in how talent is acquired based on the specific needs of the business cycle.

Full-Time Roles: Concentrated in high-strategy areas like FP&A (Financial Planning & Analysis) and AI Ethics. Companies want "institutional memory", people who stay long enough to understand the company’s DNA and steer the AI toward long-term goals.
Contract Roles: Surge during "transformation projects," such as migrating to cloud-native ERPs or implementing new automated compliance tools, companies are leaning on a "liquid workforce."
This "flexible staffing" model allows companies to bring in specialized technical experts for specific sprints without the long-term commitment. In my experience, this isn't just about saving money; it's about speed. If you have a niche skill, the 2026 contract market is where you can command a premium in this employer-centric job market.

3. Specialization: ESG and AI Oversight

If you are looking to stand out from the crowd in 2026, you must specialize. Two areas are currently "on fire":

ESG Reporting: With the global ESG finance market hitting $9.69 trillion this year, the demand for analysts who can bridge financial performance with sustainability mandates and navigate the increasingly complex web of global regulations. (Mordor Intelligence, 2026) .

AI Ethics & Prompt Engineering: We are seeing a new breed of "Prompt Engineers" in finance—specialists who know how to query LLMs to extract legislative insights while maintaining professional skepticism (Journal of Accountancy, 2026) .

When I scan a resume today, I’m not looking for the word "Excel." I’m looking for "AI Auditing" or "Compliance Integration." In 2026, the generalist is a commodity, but the specialist is a partner.

The Bottom Line

In this market, your most valuable asset isn't your ability to crunch numbers; it's your judgment. Hiring managers are looking for the person who can step out from behind the screen and lead a meeting. We want the analyst who can say, "The AI suggests Path A, but because of these three nuanced market shifts the data hasn't caught yet, we’re going with Path B."

The 2026 financial analyst is essentially an Exceptions Manager. Think of it this way: the AI is the engine doing the heavy lifting, but you are the pilot in the cockpit. You don’t need to know how to build the engine from scratch, but you absolutely need to know when a warning light is flashing and what to do about it. When the model spits out a forecast that looks "technically" correct but feels "strategically" insane, that is your moment to shine. That’s the "Last 5 Percent" we talked about.

The transition from "data processor" to "strategic partner" can feel daunting, but it’s the most job-secure move you’ll ever make. You aren't competing with technology anymore; you're directing it.

Top Accounting & Finance Roles Being Reshaped by AI in 2026

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 21:09:28 GMT

Top Accounting & Finance Roles Being Reshaped by AI in 2026

By Shalini Satyamurthy, Recruiting Manager, Consulting Services

As we navigate 2026, the intersection of artificial intelligence and financial services is moving past the "experimental" phase. At DeWinter, we are seeing a fundamental shift in how companies identify and value talent . AI skills are no longer just a tool for the IT department; they’re the rising need of finance and accounting teams.

The global AI market is projected to reach approximately $347.05 billion by the end of this year, according to Statista , and the roles that once defined the "traditional" accounting career path have become unrecognizable. For hiring managers and candidates alike, understanding which roles are being most impacted is the key to maintaining a competitive edge.

How Is AI Influencing Salary Trends for Finance and Accounting Professionals?

As AI continues to revolutionize the financial landscape, staying informed on market shifts and compensation trends is more critical than ever. We’ve just released our 2026 Finance & Accounting Salary Guide, featuring the most up-to-date compensation data specifically for the Bay Area and Boston markets. Beyond the numbers, this guide offers exclusive industry insights into exactly how AI is influencing hiring decisions and reshaping traditional roles in 2026. Whether you're scaling a finance team or navigating your own career path, our guide provides the essential benchmarks and strategic foresight needed to thrive in this AI-driven era.

The Top 4 Finance Roles Most Impacted by AI in 2026

1. Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Managers

The "A" in FP&A has undergone a radical upgrade. Manual variance analysis is now obsolete. AI-driven predictive modeling allows FP&A managers to run thousands of "what-if" scenarios in seconds.

The AI Impact: Instead of looking back at last quarter, FP&A professionals use real-time data streams to predict market volatility and revenue shifts.
Hiring Insight: Look for "Data Fluency." The goal isn't just to report numbers but to interpret the "why" behind the AI’s predictions.

Yamini Rangan , CEO of HubSpot, recently argued that while data is the fuel for AI, context is the engine. As she puts it, “AI with nothing but raw data to guide them? Confusing conversations and frustrated customers.” In a financial context, raw data tells you what happened, but it doesn't tell you why . To achieve true "data fluency" by 2026, finance teams must move beyond simple ledger entries. We need to feed AI the broader context: your company’s organizational structure, standard operating procedures, and the specific business logic that governs your fiscal decisions.

2. Internal Auditors & Compliance Officers

Audit has shifted from "sampling" to "total visibility." According to an article by Krystal G, a Senior Accounting, Audit & Risk Management Professional, “ How AI and Data Analytics Are Transforming Internal Auditing,” AI systems can provide “continuous auditing, alerting auditors to irregularities in real time and significantly reducing windows for fraud or error.”

The AI Impact: The role has moved from "ticking and tying" toward "investigative oversight." Auditors are now responsible for training AI to recognize complex regulatory nuances.
Hiring Insight: Prioritize candidates with a background in AI Ethics. As the World Economic Forum (WEF) notes , while AI may displace tasks, it creates millions of new roles focused on oversight and human-centric logic.

3. Tax Accountants and Strategists

Tax laws are becoming increasingly complex and global. In 2026, AI will be an invaluable tool for navigating multi-jurisdictional tax changes and optimizing corporate structures.

The AI Impact: High-performing tax talent now uses AI to automate routine filings, freeing up time for high-value strategic planning and tax controversy support.
Hiring Insight: Seek out "Prompt Engineers" within the tax space—specialists who know how to query AI models to extract specific legislative insights.

In the world of accounting, AI is a "collaborator," not a replacement. According to the Journal of Accountancy , prompt engineering is integral because it “reinforces essential competencies such as professional skepticism, ethical reasoning, and critical thinking.” By mastering the art of the prompt, accountants become "informed collaborators" who can provide needed context. Hiring managers are increasingly looking for professionals who don't just use AI, but who can "engage with these systems thoughtfully [and] assess their outputs critically."

4. Accounts Payable & Receivable (AP/AR) Specialists

This area has seen the most significant transformation. Touchless invoicing is now the global standard.

The AI Impact: Roles have evolved into “Exceptions Managers”. When the AI encounters a discrepancy it cannot solve, the human specialist steps in to manage the relationship and resolve the conflict.
Hiring Insight: Focus on Adaptability. The technology in this space moves faster than any other; you need talent that can pivot as software updates roll out.

Key Skills of High-Performing AI Talent

To thrive in 2026, finance professionals must move beyond Excel. The "Power Skills" of this era blend technical prowess with human intuition.

Market Data & Trends for 2026

Market Growth: According to Statista , the AI market is expected to grow at a CAGR of nearly 33% through 2030, meaning the tools your team uses today will be upgraded within months.
The AI Tipping Point: With 77% of firms planning to increase their AI investment and 35% already utilizing AI tools daily, according to the 2025 Wolters Kluwer Future Ready Accountant report , the industry has reached a "tipping point" where leaders are moving beyond experimentation to integrate "agentic AI" into daily workflows.
The Net Gain: While 85 million jobs may be displaced by automation, a net gain of 12 million jobs highlights a massive shift toward specialized, tech-enabled roles (World Economic Forum) .

Hiring Strategy: The Shift to Skills-Based Recruiting

In 2026, a CPA license is a baseline, not a finish line. When building your finance team, DeWinter recommends a three-pronged approach:

Assess Problem-Solving: Don’t just ask if they know the software; ask how they handled an "ambiguous" data set where the AI gave a conflicting result.
Evaluate Ethical Awareness: Ask candidates how they would identify bias in a credit-scoring algorithm.
Look for Cross-Functional Aptitude: The best finance leaders of 2026 sit between the Data Science team and the C-Suite and speak both languages fluently.

Conclusion

The AI revolution in finance is not coming; it’s here. In 2026, the most successful organizations will be those that have integrated AI into their culture, not just their tech stack. Whether you are a candidate future-proofing your career or a hiring manager building a world-class team , the focus must remain on the synergy between human intelligence and machine power.

Beat Year-End Burnout: The Power of Strategic Finance and Accounting Temporary Staffing

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 21:36:46 GMT

Beat Year-End Burnout: The Power of Strategic Finance and Accounting Temporary Staffing

By Jacqueline Berman, Managing Director

The last quarter of the year is a sprint for every business, but for finance and accounting teams, it often feels like an uphill marathon. As the calendar inches toward January 1st, the pressure to finalize the books, prepare for audits, and solidify the next year's budget creates a perfect storm of long hours, high stress, and—critically—resource shortages.

Far too many organizations approach year-end staffing with a reactive, "all hands on deck" mentality. This leads to burnout, costly errors, and compromises in quality that can ripple into the new fiscal year. The solution isn't simply adding more work to already strained permanent staff; it's about proactively and strategically deploying specialized temporary support.

As a leading finance and accounting staffing firm for the Northeast, we see this cycle play out annually. This guide will explore the common stresses and projects that drive this year-end crisis and detail how targeted, strategic temporary staffing can be the most effective, efficient, and compliant solution to ensure a smooth and successful close.

The Perfect Storm: Common Year-End Stresses and Projects

The year-end close is more than just balancing accounts; it’s a complex period layered with crucial, time-sensitive projects that demand specialized expertise. When these projects pile up, even the most robust in-house teams can become overwhelmed.

1. The Financial Close and Reporting Crunch

The core stressor is the annual financial close. This is a monumental task involving the reconciliation of every ledger, subsidiary system, and account. Common pain points include:

Complex Reconciliations: EY’s “Smart Closing” survey identifies intercompany reconciliation (a critical part of consolidated adjusting entries) as “the most time-consuming” year-end activity, especially when data lives in disparate systems. Dealing with intercompany transactions, accrued liabilities, and challenging balance sheet accounts often requires dedicated, focused attention that regular staff can’t spare.
Tighter Reporting Deadlines: Publicly traded companies, in particular, face increasingly compressed timelines for filing 10-K reports. Even private firms need results quickly for executive review and strategic planning.
Year-End Adjusting Entries: Processing complex entries for depreciation, amortization, and inventory valuation requires precision and a deep understanding of GAAP or IFRS principles.

2. The Dreaded External Audit Preparation

The preparation for the external audit is perhaps the most resource-intensive task. It requires pulling thousands of documents, preparing support schedules, and acting as a liaison with the auditors.

PBC (Prepared By Client) List: The sheer volume of documents on the PBC list often consumes weeks of a senior accountant’s time, pulling them away from core business operations.
Documentation and SOX Compliance: Ensuring all financial processes and controls are properly documented and meet compliance standards is non-negotiable, often requiring specialized internal audit support.
Navigating New Standards: Accountants must keep up with evolving standards from the Financial Accounting Standards Board, such as complex revenue recognition standards or lease accounting. Implementing and documenting the impact of these changes adds a significant load.

3. Budgeting, Forecasting, and Strategic Planning

While closing the books is retrospective, year-end is also the time for prospective planning. The Finance team is responsible for preparing the annual budget and multi-year financial forecasts.

Data Aggregation and Analysis: This requires gathering data from every department, modeling multiple scenarios, and performing intricate financial analysis—a task often best handled by dedicated Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) specialists.
Technology & System Upgrades: Many organizations schedule system implementations or major software upgrades (like ERP migrations) during quieter periods, but if these projects spill into Q4, they can compound the existing year-end workload stress.

According to a survey by CFO.com , 92% of the finance professionals reported that budget constraints have affected their ability to meet strategic goals.

4. Staff Turnover and Burnout

Underlying all these projects is the critical human factor: burnout . The relentless pressure and long hours can lead to:

Increased Errors: Fatigue directly correlates with a decrease in accuracy, jeopardizing the integrity of the close.
Elevated Turnover Risk: High-performing employees often use the successful completion of the year-end as a natural exit point, leading to a talent exodus right when continuity is needed most. This is compounded by the fact that nearly half of accountants cite burnout/heavy workload as a top reason for leaving their jobs, according to ICPAS . Proactive staffing can mitigate this by relieving the pressure on key staff

The Strategic Solution: Deploying Temporary Experts

Attempting to solve the crisis by simply having permanent employees work more is a short-sighted approach. The most effective strategy is the proactive, surgical deployment of temporary professionals . This is not "extra help"; it is an injection of high-impact expertise precisely where and when it’s needed.

1. Targeted Expertise for Specialized Roles

Strategic temporary staffing allows you to bring in individuals who already possess the exact skills required for the task at hand, eliminating the need for extensive training. By filling these specific gaps, you prevent the permanent core staff—your Controllers, Directors, and VPs—from being pulled away from their strategic leadership and managerial duties.

2. Immediate Relief Without Permanent Overhead

Hiring a permanent employee is a significant long-term commitment involving recruitment costs, benefits, training, and a fixed salary regardless of workload fluctuations. Strategic temporary staffing offers maximum flexibility:

Scalability: You can scale up for the intense 3-4 month period of the close and audit, and then seamlessly scale back down without the burden of layoffs or idle staff.
Cost Efficiency: You only pay for the specialized expertise and hours required to complete the mission-critical task. This allows firms to manage peak workloads without inflating the annual payroll budget .
De-Risking the Close: Bringing in an experienced professional who has navigated dozens of year-end closes before introducing a level of experience-based stability and process optimization that can save significant time and prevent costly mistakes.

3. Best Practices for Identifying Needs and Sourcing Talent

The success of a temporary staffing solution hinges on planning and partner selection. Follow these best practices to move from reactive crisis management to proactive strategic deployment:

A. The Three-Month Look-Ahead Assessment:

Start by reviewing your Q4 and Q1 projects now. Ask your department heads:

What non-negotiable projects are high-stress/high-volume? (e.g., Inventory counts, Fixed Asset schedule prep).
Which permanent team members will these projects pull away from their core responsibilities?
What is the minimum required skill set needed to complete the task? (e.g., SAP experience required).

B. Leverage a Specialized Recruiting Partner:

For finance and accounting staffing, a generalist recruiter won't cut it. You need a partner with deep roots in the Northeast market and an existing network of vetted, available professionals.

Access to Pre-Vetted Talent: A specialized firm maintains a bench of professionals who are immediately available, background-checked, and skills-tested specifically for accounting and finance tasks. This drastically cuts down on your time-to-fill metric.
Market Knowledge: A local partner, like our North East F&A Consulting team , understands regional compensation trends and the unique skill demands of Boston, New York, and other major Northeast business hubs, ensuring you secure top talent at a competitive rate.
"Culture Fit" Screening: A good partner screens not just for technical skills but for professionals who are adept at quickly integrating into a team, understanding existing systems, and maintaining a high level of professionalism under pressure—a non-negotiable trait for successful year-end deployment.

Securing a Smooth Transition into the New Year

The year-end close is a defining moment for any Finance and Accounting department. It tests resilience, efficiency, and preparedness. By recognizing the limitations of relying solely on permanent staff and embracing a strategy of proactive temporary staffing, Northeast organizations can transform this period of maximum stress into an exercise in operational excellence.

Don't wait for your team to be on the brink of burnout. By strategically bringing in high-impact, specialized temporary talent, you not only manage the immediate crisis but also preserve the health, morale, and focus of your permanent team, setting the stage for a strong, compliant, and profitable start to the new year.

Ready to secure the talent you need before the year-end crunch begins? Contact our Boston-based team today to start a conversation about your team’s end-of-year needs.

How AI Is Shaping Boston’s Manufacturing and Engineering Job Market and Why Human Expertise Still Matters

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 19:55:54 GMT

How AI Is Shaping Boston’s Manufacturing and Engineering Job Market and Why Human Expertise Still Matters

By Jackie O’Shea, Manager, Technical Consulting

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping how professionals in Boston’s engineering and manufacturing industries find their next opportunity. While AI tools are helping candidates and employers connect faster than ever, local insight and the human touch can still make all the difference.

Boston’s Engineering Landscape

Forbes recently ranked Boston among the top 50 best employers for engineers in 2026, while the Engineering News-Record’s annual index of the top international design and engineering firms placed three Boston companies in the top 25. It’s clear that Boston remains one of the strongest markets in the country for engineers seeking high-impact work.

Companies in sectors like biomanufacturing, aerospace components, medical devices, and clean-tech design are all investing heavily in AI to improve efficiency and accelerate product development. Boston’s ecosystem is uniquely positioned for the next wave of AI-driven innovation. The region’s universities, medtech pioneers, robotics startups, and advanced manufacturing firms are fueling an engineering renaissance built on data and digital technology.

AI and the Modern Job Search

Across Greater Boston, companies in manufacturing, medtech, and product design are adopting AI to improve efficiency, reduce waste, and enhance precision. As a result, demand is rising for engineers who can work alongside these technologies, combining traditional technical expertise with digital fluency, data literacy, and creative problem-solving.

Key AI-driven Manufacturing & Engineering Trends

According to insights from Rutgers on how AI is transforming engineering, we can observe the key trends shaping the future of manufacturing and engineering.

Smart Manufacturing & IoT Integration

Sensors, automation, and AI-driven analytics are now standard on modern production lines. AI detects anomalies, reduces downtime, and continuously improves product quality through real-time data feedback.

Predictive Maintenance

Engineers are increasingly using AI systems to analyze equipment performance and predict maintenance needs before breakdowns occur. This approach minimizes downtime and reduces costs, especially important in Boston’s high-value manufacturing sectors like aerospace and medtech.

Generative Design & Simulation

AI-assisted tools can now generate thousands of design variations based on performance goals, material constraints, and manufacturability. Assisting mechanical and product design engineers innovate faster and test solutions virtually before physical prototyping.

Supply Chain & Process Optimization

AI is being used to forecast demand, manage supplier risk, and streamline logistics, particularly valuable for Boston companies navigating global supply chain pressures while maintaining precision manufacturing standards.

Hybrid Human-Machine Skill Sets

Engineering job postings increasingly emphasize digital fluency, engineers who understand both hardware and data. Employers seek candidates comfortable with machine learning concepts, automation systems, and collaborative tools that integrate with AI-driven workflows.

AI’s Impact on Engineering Roles

AI isn’t eliminating traditional engineering roles, it’s expanding them. Mechanical engineers are now expected to interpret sensor data, design systems for automation, and validate models trained on real-world inputs. Quality engineers increasingly use AI for defect detection and root-cause analysis. Manufacturing engineers are collaborating with data scientists to optimize process parameters and production lines. In short: engineers who combine their technical fundamentals with AI literacy are positioning themselves at the forefront of the profession.

The Future of the Job Search

If you’re an engineer in the Boston region, whether in mechanical, manufacturing, quality, or design, now is the time to invest in your technical and digital fluency.

Here are actionable steps to stay competitive:

Build AI and Data Fluency : Learn the basics of machine learning, digital twins, and predictive analytics.
Highlight Hybrid Skills : Show how you’ve used data, automation, or simulation to improve outcomes.
Stay Locally Connected : Attend Boston tech and manufacturing events, such as those hosted by MIT.nano, MassRobotics, or Greentown Labs.
Be Strategic About Compensation : Combine AI salary insights with local benchmarks to ensure your expectations align with the market.
Ask Smart Questions : During interviews, explore how companies are integrating AI into operations and what training or growth opportunities they offer.
Think Future-Proof : According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, architecture and engineering occupations are expected to grow 6.8% from 2023–2033, and many of those roles will exist at the intersection of AI and human engineering expertise.

Where AI Falls Short — and People Step In

AI can process data, but it can’t read nuance. It doesn’t know that one Boston medtech startup values hands-on prototyping over certifications, while another large manufacturer prioritizes Six Sigma credentials. That’s where human expertise comes in.

At DeWinter, our technical consulting team combines the efficiency of AI-driven insights with personal relationships and local awareness. We guide candidates through every step, refining resumes, preparing for interviews, and negotiating offers, with the benefit of feedback directly from hiring managers.

Where Human Advisors Add Value

Nuanced Career Advice
Engineers often face choices between salary, growth, or stability. Human advisors help frame those trade-offs based on your personal goals and Boston’s market realities.
Interview & Presentation Coaching
Soft skills, communication, leadership, and creativity remain the key differentiators in interviews. AI can optimize a resume, but it can’t help you tell your story.
Negotiation & Networking
Many high-value roles never reach job boards. Human connections and insider insight still open doors to the “hidden” job market.

Local Market Insight × Human Expertise with DeWinter

While AI can identify national salary averages, job titles, and general trends, it doesn’t always capture what’s happening on the ground in local markets like Boston.

According to DeWinter’s 2025 salary data, Quality Engineers in Boston earn an average of $107,000, with top earners exceeding $150,000, a clear reflection of the region’s demand for high-performance talent.

DeWinter’s technical consulting team blends AI-driven analytics with firsthand knowledge of Boston’s engineering landscape. We help candidates not just find jobs, but find the right jobs . That means understanding each employer’s culture, tools, and growth trajectory, and preparing candidates with insights that generic AI search engines can’t provide.

Conclusion

AI is transforming how Boston designs, builds, and hires. From smart factories to predictive maintenance, the region’s engineering ecosystem is becoming more digital, interconnected, and data-driven. Yet success still depends on the human element, relationships, creativity, and strategic thinking.

At DeWinter, we combine data-driven intelligence with human expertise to guide both candidates and employers through Boston’s evolving hiring landscape.

In today’s fast-changing market, success comes from balancing the precision of AI with the nuance of human experience. Together, they create a smarter, more personal job search experience — one that keeps Boston’s top technical talent moving forward.

5 Signs It's Time to Consider Nearshoring for Your Tech Projects

Mon, 06 Oct 2025 19:25:47 GMT

5 Signs It's Time to Consider Nearshoring for Your Tech Projects

By Matt Berg, Vice President & Managing Director Technical Consulting

Is your technology team struggling to keep pace with demand? Are you facing a perfect storm of project delays, talent shortages, and escalating costs? In today’s fast-moving digital landscape, these challenges are more than just minor inconveniences—they’re a significant drag on innovation and growth. Many companies find themselves at a crossroads, needing to scale their technical capabilities but hitting a wall with traditional hiring models.

The good news is, there's a strategic solution that can help you overcome these hurdles and regain your competitive edge: technology n earshoring . Nearshoring is the practice of outsourcing business processes or IT work to a nearby country, often one with a similar time zone and cultural affinity. It’s not just a cost-saving measure; it’s a strategic move to build a more flexible, efficient, and resilient team.

Here is a quick look at the five signs that nearshoring could be your solution:

If you’re wondering if nearshoring is the right path for your business, here are the five clear signs that it’s time to seriously consider it.

1. Your Projects Are Facing Chronic Delays and Missed Deadlines

One of the most obvious indicators that your current model isn't working is a pattern of project delays. When your development pipeline is consistently behind schedule, it's often a symptom of a deeper problem. This could be a lack of available resources or specific expertise, or simply an overwhelmed internal team.

Every missed deadline impacts more than just your timeline. It delays product launches, puts a strain on your team, and can ultimately lead to a loss of market share. This is a widespread issue; one survey by IDC found that 58% of tech leaders said that a shortage of IT skills has caused delays in product development. You might be struggling to find a senior-level data scientist, a skilled DevOps engineer, or a mobile developer with a specific framework expertise. The longer the search, the longer your projects sit in limbo.

A nearshoring partner can provide immediate access to a vast network of vetted, highly-skilled professionals. They can help you rapidly assemble a team with the exact skills you need, bypassing the lengthy and often fruitless local recruitment process. By instantly filling your talent gaps, you can get your projects back on track, meet your deadlines, and deliver value to your customers faster.

2. The Costs of Recruitment and Retention Are Skyrocketing

The war for tech talent is real, and it’s expensive. In major tech hubs, companies are locked in bidding wars for top engineers, driving salaries and benefits packages to astronomical levels. Beyond the initial salary, there are significant costs associated with recruitment, including agency fees, time spent on interviews, and training. Furthermore, if you can’t offer a competitive package, you risk high employee turnover, which just starts the costly cycle all over again.

Nearshoring offers a compelling financial alternative. By accessing talent markets in regions with a lower cost of living, you can significantly reduce your salary overhead without sacrificing quality. The top-tier talent in places like Latin America or parts of Europe often earn less than their counterparts in San Francisco or New York, but their expertise and experience are on par. This model allows you to reinvest your savings back into your core business, fund new projects, or scale your team even faster. It’s a smart way to maximize your budget and achieve a higher return on your investment in talent.

3. Communication Breakdowns Due to Time Zone Differences

Traditional offshoring, particularly to locations like Asia, often comes with a major drawback: a large time zone gap. This can turn simple questions into a 24-hour back-and-forth, hindering collaboration and slowing down progress. The inability to have real-time conversations or impromptu meetings can lead to misunderstandings, delayed feedback, and a feeling of disconnection between teams.

Nearshoring, by definition, solves this problem. By partnering with a team in a nearby country, you ensure a significant overlap in working hours. For example, a company in New York can work in sync with a team in Colombia, Argentina, or Ecuador. This allows for effortless, real-time collaboration. You can hold daily stand-ups, jump on a call to whiteboard a problem, and receive instant feedback. This improved communication not only makes the development process smoother but also fosters a stronger sense of team cohesion and shared purpose.

4. Difficulty Finding Specialized Expertise

In a world where technology is constantly evolving, the demand for highly specialized skills is at an all-time high. Finding a local expert in a niche field like Machine Learning, AI-driven analytics, or specific blockchain technologies can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. The talent you need might exist, but the pool is small and highly competitive.

Bringing in foreign talent via H-1B Visas is also a much steeper challenge than in the past. With new laws creating significant barriers and unpredictable costs , the old way of hiring international tech talent is getting tougher. That's why many companies are now turning to nearshoring. It's a reliable, cost-effective way to access a top-tier talent pool without the visa lottery, giving you a stable and predictable path to scale your team.

Nearshoring opens up your hiring to a global talent pool, without visa restrictions. Your team can tap into a network of specialists with diverse skill sets and extensive experience in cutting-edge technologies. This gives you the ability to build a team with the exact expertise required for your specific project, without being limited by geographic boundaries. Whether you need a deep learning expert for a new product or a DevOps professional to streamline your infrastructure, nearshoring ensures you have instant access to the talent you need to build the next generation of technology.

5. Your Competitors Are Scaling Faster

In business, speed is a key differentiator. If your competitors are consistently launching new features, entering new markets, and acquiring new customers at a faster pace than you, it's a major red flag. This often happens when they have a more scalable and agile workforce model.

Nearshoring provides the flexibility and speed to scale your team up or down as needed. You can quickly add a team of five developers for a new project, or bring in a full-stack team to accelerate a product launch. This agility allows you to respond to market opportunities faster and adapt to changing business needs. While your competitors are still going through a slow, expensive hiring process, you could be already in the development phase, pulling ahead in the market.

Ultimately, nearshoring isn't just a reactive measure; it's a proactive strategy for sustainable growth. If you’re seeing any of these five signs, it may be the signal you need to explore a new way of building your tech team.

Think nearshoring could be right for your team? Learn more about how our expert nearshoring solutions can help your team reach its goals faster and more efficiently.

The DeWinter Difference | From Founding to Future: Celebrating 25 Years with DeWinter’s Co-Founders

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 14:54:48 GMT

The DeWinter Difference | From Founding to Future: Celebrating 25 Years with DeWinter’s Co-Founders

About The Episode

Join our co-founders, Derek DeWinter and Mike Tomasello, for a special conversation as they look back on our 25-year journey. They'll take you back to how they met in 2000 and share stories about the early days—the struggles, the fun moments, and how they guided the company through major challenges to celebrate some big wins. Hear how a small startup grew into a thriving enterprise with a strong consulting practice, the pivotal decisions they made along the way, and their exciting plans for the future. It's a candid talk about friendship, staying true to your values, and the drive to always be the best.

Where to Stream

DeWinter Named One of the Top 10 Best Places to Work in the Bay Area 2025

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 15:13:42 GMT

DeWinter Named One of the Top 10

Best Places to Work in the Bay Area 2025

For the third year in a row, DeWinter has been named one of the Best Places to Work in the Bay Area by the San Francisco and Silicon Valley Business Times. We're honored to receive this recognition and rank as one of the top ten Bay Area workplaces in 2025, which is a direct reflection of our incredible team and the vibrant culture we've built together.

We're so proud to be part of the San Francisco Bay Area's thriving business community and are committed to maintaining a rewarding and fulfilling workplace for all our employees, in the Bay Area and beyond.

The impact of this approach is best captured in the words of our own team members. Our employees shared the following in their surveys:

This award is a testament to the hard work and passion of every single person on our team. They are the reason we've earned this distinction for three years running. As we look to the future, we're excited to continue our journey, pushing the boundaries of what a great workplace can be.

Interested in a Career at DeWinter?

Check our open roles and learn more about our culture at our Careers at DeWinter page.

Boston Finance & Accounting Careers: Your Guide to Strategic Networking

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 17:48:54 GMT

Boston Finance & Accounting Careers: Your Guide to Strategic Networking

By Richie Hishmeh, Recruiting Manager, Consulting Services

In today's competitive job market, especially within the dynamic fields of finance and accounting, effective networking isn't just a buzzword—it's a critical strategy for career advancement. Whether you're a seasoned professional seeking new challenges or a job seeker aiming to land your first role, building and nurturing a robust professional network can open doors to unparalleled opportunities. This is particularly true in thriving financial hubs like Boston , where specialized finance and accounting staffing and recruiting firms are constantly seeking top talent.

The Power of Proactive Networking in Boston's Financial Market

Think of networking not as a one-time event, but as an ongoing process of relationship building. For professionals in finance and accounting in Boston, this means connecting with peers, mentors, potential employers, and recruiting agencies like DeWinter, that specialize in the sector and have connections to top jobs .

A strong network in Boston can:

Uncover Hidden Opportunities: Many roles, especially senior-level positions, are filled through referrals before they are publicly advertised.

Provide Local Market Insights: Stay abreast of industry trends, salary benchmarks, and demand for specific skills in the Boston area.

Offer Mentorship and Guidance: Learn from experienced professionals who can offer valuable career advice and open doors within the city's financial community.

Boost Your Visibility: Become known as a knowledgeable and connected professional within your niche, whether that' s FinTech or biotech accounting.

Facilitate Your Job Search: For Boston job seekers , direct connections can lead to interviews with finance and accounting staffing agencies and direct employers.

Mastering Online Networking: Your Digital Presence is Key

In an increasingly digital world, your online presence is often the first impression you make.

1. Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile: Your Professional Hub

LinkedIn is indispensable for Boston finance and accounting professionals . Ensure your profile is comprehensive and showcases your expertise.

Professional Headshot & Banner: Use a high-quality, professional photo and a banner that reflects your industry.

Compelling Headline & Summary: Use keywords relevant to Boston finance, accounting, staffing, and recruiting. For example, "Financial Analyst seeking opportunities in Boston," or "Senior Accountant specializing in tech finance in Boston."

Detailed Experience & Skills: Quantify your achievements. Instead of "Managed budgets," t ry "Managed a $5M annual budget, re ducing expenditures by 15%."

Endorsements & Recommendations: Actively seek endorsements for your skills and ask colleagues or supervisors for recommendations. These act as powerful social proof f or Boston employers and recruiters.

Thought Leadership: Share relevant articles, comment on industry posts, or even publish your own articles on topics like financial regulations in Massachusetts, local market trends, or accounting best practices for Boston's businesses. This demonstrates your expertise and keeps you top-of-mind for finance and accounting staffing professionals.

Get Expert Feedback : Have a trusted source with industry expertise review your LinkedIn profile. Our Boston Finance & Accounting team is a great place to start–we know what hiring managers are looking for and partner with job seekers to make sure their profile stands out.

2. Engage in Online Boston Finance & Accounting Communities

Beyond LinkedIn, explore industry-specific forums, groups on platforms like Reddit or Facebook, or specialized online communities.

Join Professional Groups: Seek out groups focuse d on finance careers in Boston, accounting jobs, or specific areas like forensic accounting or investment banking in Boston.

Participate Actively: Don't just lurk. Ask insightful questions, offer valuable answers, and contribute to discussions.

Follow Industry Leaders and Firms: Stay updated on news from major financial institutions, finance and accounting staffing agencies, and thought leaders in the greater Boston area.

3. Leverage Digital Portfolios (If Applicable)

For some roles, especially in financial modeling or data analysis, a digital portfolio showcasing your work can be a huge advantage. This might include project summaries, data visualizations, or even code repositories.

Excelling at In-Person Networking: Making Lasting Connections

While online networking sets the foundation, in-person interactions often solidify connections and lead to more tangible opportunities.

1. Attend Boston Industry Events, Conferences, and Seminars

This is arguably the most effective way to meet a large number of professionals in your field.

Identify Key Events: Research upcomi ng finance and accounting events in Boston and the surrounding areas. Look for conferences, workshops, and seminars hosted by professional associations (e.g., AICPA, CFA Society of Boston, local chambers of commerce).

Prepare Your "Elevator Pitch": Be ready to introduce yourself concisely, your current role or career aspirations, and what you're looking for.

Set Goals: Don't just attend; aim to meet a certain number of new people or learn about specific topics.

Engage Thoughtfully: Ask open-ended questions, listen actively, and find common ground. Focus on building rapport rather than just collecting business cards.

Follow Up Promptly: Within 24-48 hours, send a personalized email connecting on a point of discussion. Suggest connecting on LinkedIn.

2. Join Professional Associations

Becoming a member of local and national finance and accounting associations in Massachusetts offers numerous benefits.

Networking Opportunities: Access to exclusive member directories, events, and committees.

Professional Development: Many associations offer training, certifications, and resources.

Leadership Roles: Volunteering for a committee or board position can significantly boost your visibility and demonstrate leadership skills—highly attractive to employers and staffing agencies.

3. Informational Interviews

Reach out to professionals whose careers you admire for a brief "informational interview."

Research Thoroughly: Understand their background and company before reaching out.

Be Respectful of Their Time: Keep the meeting brief and focused on learning about their career path and industry insights.

Don't Ask for a Job Directly: The goal is to gain information and build a connection. If a suitable opportunity arises, they might remember you. This is an excellent way to gain insights into specific companies or roles in Boston.

Building Your Reputation: Consistency and Value

Networking isn't just about accumulating contacts; it's about building a reputation as a valuable, reliable, and knowledgeable professional.

1. Be a Resource to Others

The best networkers are givers, not just takers.

Share Knowledge: If you come across an article or opportunity that might interest someone in your network, share it.

Make Introductions: Connect people in your network who could benefit from knowing each other.

Offer Help: If someone asks for advice or a favor, and you can genuinely help, do so. This reciprocity builds strong, lasting relationships.

2. Maintain Regular Contact

Don't let your network go cold.

Periodic Check-ins: Send a quick email or LinkedIn message to catch up, share a relevant article, or congratulate them on an achievement.

Remember Key Details: Jot down notes about people you meet—their interests, family, or career aspirations. This helps personalize future interactions.

3. Specialize and Differentiate Yourself

In a competitive market like Boston, specializing in a particular area of finance or accounting can make you stand out. The city is a hub for FinTech, with hundreds of FinTech companies in Massachusetts. FinTech venture capital funding in Massachusetts reac hed $1.41 billion in 2022, ranking fourth in the nation ( Mass FinTech Hub ). Highlighting expertise in this growing field can be a key differentiator when recruiting agencies are searching for niche talent.

Your Network, Your Net Worth

For Boston job seekers looking to build a meaningful finance and accounting career, strategic networking can be a powerful tool for growth. By actively engaging both online and in-person, consistently building relationships, and focusing on providing value, you'll not only expand your professional reach but also enhance your reputation within the finance and accounting industry.

This proactive approach ensures you're well-positioned to seize the next exciting opportunity, whether it's through a direct connection or via a specialized finance and accounting staffing firm dedicated to connecting top talent with leading employers.

Start investing in your network today—it's an investment that truly pays dividends throughout your career.

Top In-Demand AI Job Titles and What They Mean for Hiring Managers and Candidates

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 15:14:54 GMT

The Rise of AI Roles: Top In-Demand Job Titles and What They Mean for Hiring Managers and Candidates

By Ryan Tweedy, Chief Revenue Officer, Technology Talent and Project Delivery

A 2026 Update:

As we move into 2026, AI is no longer just a trend— it has become the primary engine driving innovation across the entire tech landscape . To help you stay ahead of this rapid evolution, we’ve just released our 2026 Technology Salary Guide , featuring a deep dive into the 12 most in-demand AI roles for the coming year. Whether you are a hiring manager looking to benchmark competitive offers or a job seeker aiming to maximize your market value, our guide provides the invaluable compensation data and market insights you need to navigate this high-growth sector with confidence.

The AI Revolution: Navigating Top Roles and Cultivating Future-Ready Talent

The year is 2025, and artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic concept but a fundamental force reshaping every industry. From healthcare to finance, manufacturing to retail, AI is automating tasks, augmenting human capabilities, and driving unprecedented innovation. This pervasive integration has created a dynamic and highly competitive job market for AI professionals that isn’t slowing down anytime soon. The global AI market is projected to reach $243.72 billion in 2025 ( Statista ) and AI is expected to contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030 ( PWC ). For both hiring managers seeking to build high-performing AI teams and candidates aspiring to thrive in this evolving landscape, understanding the in-demand roles, requisite skills, and strategic approaches to talent acquisition and development is paramount.

The Evolving Landscape of AI Roles

The sheer breadth of AI applications means that the "AI professional" is not a monolithic entity. Instead, a diverse array of specialized roles has emerged, each requiring a unique blend of technical expertise and soft skills. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that employment for data scientists will grow 36% from 2023 to 2033 , much faster than the average for all occupations. Similarly, software developers, a closely related field, are projected to see a 17.9% increase in employment over the same period (BLS). Here are some of the most sought-after AI job titles in 2025:

Machine Learning Engineer: These professionals are the architects of AI's intelligence. They design, build, and optimize machine learning models, deploying them into production environments. Their work is foundational, transforming theoretical algorithms into practical, scalable AI solutions. Key skills include proficiency in Python, TensorFlow, PyTorch, and a deep understanding of MLOps for efficient model management and deployment.
AI Product Manager: Bridging the gap between technical teams and business objectives, AI Product Managers define the strategy, roadmap, and features for AI-powered products. They possess a unique blend of technical literacy, business acumen, and strong communication skills to translate complex AI capabilities into tangible business value.
Data Scientist (AI Applications): While data scientists have long been crucial for extracting insights from data, their role has evolved significantly with AI. Today, they are adept at leveraging AI and predictive analytics to solve complex business problems, using advanced statistical modeling, data visualization, and machine learning techniques to drive data-driven decision-making. Notably, 77% of AI-related job postings require machine learning skills for data scientists, emphasizing the shift towards AI applications.
Prompt Engineer: This relatively new but rapidly growing role focuses on optimizing interactions with large language models (LLMs) and generative AI systems. Prompt engineers possess a deep understanding of how these models work and are skilled at crafting precise and effective prompts to achieve desired outputs, crucial for applications in content creation, customer service, and more. The global prompt engineering market size is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 33% from 2024 to 2030 , underscoring the rapid expansion of this specialized field.
AI Researcher: At the cutting edge of AI innovation, AI Researchers explore new algorithms, develop novel AI techniques, and push the boundaries of what AI can achieve. Often holding advanced degrees, they contribute to the academic and industrial advancement of AI through research, experimentation, and publication.
Computer Vision Engineer: Specializing in systems that interpret and process visual data, Computer Vision Engineers are critical in industries like autonomous vehicles, healthcare imaging, and security. Their expertise lies in developing algorithms that enable machines to "see" and understand images and videos.
Natural Language Processing (NLP) Engineer: With the explosion of conversational AI and large language models, NLP Engineers are in high demand. They build systems that enable computers to understand, interpret, and generate human language, powering everything from chatbots and virtual assistants to advanced translation services.
AI Ethics Specialist/Consultant: As AI becomes more pervasive, the ethical implications of its use are paramount. These professionals focus on ensuring AI systems are fair, transparent, and unbiased, addressing concerns around data privacy, algorithmic bias, and accountability. They play a critical role in guiding responsible AI development and deployment. Demand for professionals with AI ethics and governance competencies has grown rapidly. More than 100,000 professionals with expertise in AI ethics and governance are now requested annually, with the highest concentration in the financial and information sectors.

Key Skills of High-Performing AI Talent

As Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, asserts, "AI is going to reshape every industry and every job." This transformation necessitates a focus on both technical proficiency and crucial "power skills" to navigate the evolving landscape (Time Magazine, April 2025). The World Economic Forum (WEF) forecasts that AI could create 97 million new jobs globally while displacing 85 million, resulting in a net gain of 12 million jobs by 2025. Beyond the specialized technical skills associated with specific roles, certain foundational and "power skills" are essential for any high-performing AI professional in 2025:

Identifying Top AI Talent: A Hiring Manager's Guide

In a competitive market, hiring managers need strategic approaches to identify and attract top AI talent.

Prioritize Proven Project Experience: While academic degrees are valuable, hands-on experience with real-world AI projects often speaks louder. Look for candidates who can demonstrate their skills through open-source contributions (e.g., GitHub), participation in AI competitions (e.g., Kaggle), or successful deployments in previous roles. Skills-based hiring, focusing on demonstrable abilities rather than just credentials, is a growing trend.
Assess Problem-Solving and Adaptability: Technical interviews should go beyond rote memorization of algorithms. Present candidates with complex, ambiguous problems and observe their approach to critical thinking, creative solutions, and ability to adapt their strategies when faced with new information. Case studies and hypothetical scenarios are excellent tools.
Evaluate for Ethical Awareness: Incorporate questions that probe a candidate's understanding of AI ethics, bias, and responsible development. Ask about situations where they had to consider the societal impact of an AI system or how they would address potential biases in data or models.
Look for Cross-Functional Aptitude: The best AI professionals can translate technical concepts into business value and collaborate effectively with diverse teams. Assess their communication skills, their ability to understand business needs, and their experience working with product managers, domain experts, and other stakeholders.
Leverage AI-Powered Screening (Thoughtfully): AI tools can automate resume screening, identify promising candidates from vast pools, and even help with initial assessments. However, remember that AI should augment, not replace, human judgment. Be mindful of potential biases in AI screening tools and ensure a balanced approach that includes human-centric evaluations.
Build a Strong Employer Brand: In a talent-short market, your company's reputation as a place where AI professionals can learn, grow, and work on meaningful projects is crucial. Highlight your commitment to cutting-edge AI research, ethical AI practices, market-informed compensation , and a supportive learning environment.

Positioning for Success: A Candidate's Roadmap

For individuals looking to enter or advance in the AI space, proactive career development is essential.

Master Core Technical Skills: Start with a strong foundation in programming (Python is a must), machine learning fundamentals, and data science. Online courses (Coursera, edX, Udacity), bootcamps, and university programs offer structured learning paths.
Specialize Strategically: Once you have a strong foundation, identify a niche within AI that aligns with your interests and career goals (e.g., NLP, computer vision, MLOps, ethical AI). Deep dive into that specialization through advanced courses, certifications, and hands-on projects.
Build a Robust Portfolio: Practical projects are your best resume. Contribute to open-source projects, participate in Kaggle competitions, or develop your own AI applications. Showcase your code on GitHub and clearly articulate the problem you solved, your approach, and the impact of your work.
Embrace Lifelong Learning: The AI field is constantly evolving. Commit to continuous learning by following AI research, reading industry publications, attending webinars and conferences, and experimenting with new tools and frameworks.
Cultivate Soft Skills: Don't underestimate the importance of communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, and adaptability. These "power skills" will differentiate you in the job market and enable you to thrive in cross-functional teams.
Network Actively: Connect with other AI professionals, attend industry meetups, and engage in online communities. Networking can open doors to mentorship, collaborative opportunities, and job leads.
Consider Certifications: While not always a replacement for a degree, targeted certifications from reputable institutions or cloud providers can validate your skills in specific AI domains.
Understand Ethical Implications: Develop a strong understanding of AI ethics and responsible AI development. This knowledge is not just a "nice-to-have" but an increasingly critical skill for all AI professionals.

The rise of AI roles presents both exciting opportunities and significant challenges. For companies, it means reimagining hiring strategies to attract and retain specialized talent. For individuals, it demands a commitment to continuous learning and a strategic approach to skill development. By focusing on the evolving traits of high-performing AI talent—from deep technical proficiency and data fluency to crucial ethical considerations and adaptability—both hiring managers and candidates can navigate this transformative landscape and build a future where AI truly amplifies human potential.

How to Stand Out as an AI Engineer in a Competitive Job Market

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 17:16:19 GMT

How to Stand Out as an AI Engineer in a Competitive Job Market

By Justin Dyer, Director, Technical Consulting

The AI revolution is here, driving tremendous demand for skilled AI engineers. This escalating demand means increased competition. Whether you're a recent graduate or a seasoned professional, you need to stand out in today's dynamic AI job market.

This blog offers actionable advice to help you get hired and advance your AI career, highlighting how DeWinter can be a valuable partner.

The Booming Demand: Why Standing Out Matters

AI jobs are on a steep upward curve. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects software developer employment, highly relevant to AI engineering, to grow by 17.9% from 2023 to 2033, translating to an estimated 303,700 new jobs. As of Q1 2025, AI-related positions in the U.S. alone saw a 25.2% increase from Q1 2024. Companies need strategic thinkers who can translate research into tangible business value. A degree isn't enough; you must demonstrate innovation, adaptability, and delivery.

What AI Job Titles Should You Look For?

The AI field is expanding rapidly, creating a diverse range of specialized roles. Beyond the general title of "AI Engineer," understanding the specific responsibilities of each position is crucial for tailoring your resume and career path. To help you navigate this complex landscape, the table below breaks down some of the most common AI job titles and their primary focuses, from developing models to advancing cutting-edge research.

Getting Started on Your AI Engineering Job Search

Once you've defined which AI job titles best fit your skills and preferences, how do you create a strategic approach to your job search? The following sections offer a comprehensive guide, from building a standout portfolio to mastering the interview, giving you a clear roadmap to success.

1. Build a Project-Backed Portfolio

Your portfolio is your most powerful tool. It showcases your practical skills, problem-solving abilities, and passion for AI.

Open Source Contributions : Contribute to open-source AI projects. This shows initiative, collaboration skills, and familiarity with industry standards.
GitHub as Your Digital Resume : Treat your GitHub profile as a professional portfolio.
Showcase diversity : Include projects across various AI domains (e.g., Computer Vision, NLP, Reinforcement Learning, Generative AI).
Real-world problems : Focus on projects that solve genuine problems.
Clean code and documentation : Write well-commented, readable code. Include comprehensive README.md files.
Visualize results : Use data visualizations to present findings and model performance clearly.
Deploy Real-World Applications : Go beyond theoretical models. Deploying a simple Flask app using your trained model demonstrates understanding of the entire ML lifecycle.

2. Master Essential Tools and Frameworks

Proficiency in the right tools is non-negotiable.

Deep Learning Frameworks : TensorFlow and PyTorch are key. Understand their core concepts, model building, and respective strengths. Keras is valuable for rapid prototyping.
Programming Languages : Python is paramount. Be proficient in libraries like NumPy, Pandas, and Scikit-learn.
Big Data Technologies : Familiarity with tools like Apache Spark is crucial for large datasets.
Specialized Libraries : Depending on your interest, delve into libraries like:
NLP: Hugging Face Transformers, NLTK, spaCy.
Computer Vision: OpenCV.
Deployment and MLOps Tools : Docker, MLflow, and cloud platforms like AWS SageMaker, Google Cloud AI Platform, or Azure Machine Learning are increasingly important for production deployments.

3. Show Off Your Soft Skills

Technical prowess isn't enough. Successful AI engineers also possess strong soft skills. A General Assembly report found 95% of HR professionals struggle to find candidates with both technical and soft skills. Hiring managers cited communication (39%), problem-solving (37%), and teamwork as the hardest skills to find.

Communication : Essential for working with diverse teams and explaining complex AI concepts to non-technical audiences.
Collaboration : AI projects are rarely solo. Effective teamwork, constructive contributions, and Git proficiency are paramount.
Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving : Necessary for evaluating model performance, troubleshooting, debugging, and creative problem-solving.
Adaptability and Continuous Learning : The AI landscape evolves rapidly. Cultivate a growth mindset and commit to continuous learning.
Ethical Thinking : Understanding and addressing ethical considerations like bias, fairness, transparency, and privacy is increasingly important.

4. Optimize Your Resume and LinkedIn

Your resume and LinkedIn profile are your first impression. Make them count.

Keywords are King : Recruiters and ATS scan for keywords. Include relevant AI terms (e.g., "Machine Learning," "Deep Learning," "NLP," "Computer Vision," "TensorFlow," "PyTorch") throughout your resume and LinkedIn.
Quantify Your Impact : Use metrics. "Improved model accuracy by 15%" is more impactful than "Developed an AI model."
Tailor for Each Role : Customize your resume and LinkedIn for each application.
Highlight Projects : Dedicate a prominent section to your AI projects, linking to GitHub or deployed applications.
Professional Profile Picture and Headline : A professional headshot and keyword-rich LinkedIn headline are crucial for visibility.

5. Conquer the Technical Interview

AI/ML technical interviews are rigorous, combining theoretical knowledge with coding.

Fundamentals First: Solidify core ML concepts (e.g., supervised/unsupervised learning, overfitting, evaluation metrics).
Algorithm Deep Dive: Be ready to discuss common algorithms (e.g., Decision Trees, Neural Networks) and their applications.
Coding Proficiency: Expect live coding challenges (e.g., data manipulation, algorithm implementation). Practice on platforms like LeetCode.
System Design: For experienced roles, prepare for questions on building scalable AI systems (e.g., distributed training, MLOps).
Behavioral Questions: Prepare to discuss your experience, problem-solving, and teamwork.
Ask Thoughtful Questions: Show engagement and genuine interest.

6. Partner with DeWinter: Your Edge in the AI Job Market

Navigating the AI job market can be tough, but you don't have to do it alone. DeWinter specializes in connecting top tech talent, including AI engineers, with leading companies. Here's how DeWinter can give you a significant advantage:

Resume Review and Optimization: DeWinter's recruiters understand what hiring managers look for in AI resumes. They'll help you refine yours to highlight relevant skills and experience.
Extensive Network with Top Companies: DeWinter has long-standing relationships with companies actively seeking AI talent, providing you access to exclusive, unadvertised opportunities.
Targeted Job Matching: DeWinter understands your skills, aspirations, and cultural fit to connect you with roles where you can truly thrive.
Insightful Salary Guidance: DeWinter's 2025 Technology & Digital Salary Guide offers comprehensive salary benchmarks for AI and tech roles, empowering you to negotiate confidently.
Networking Opportunities: DeWinter leverages its network to facilitate connections, providing valuable networking opportunities within the tech sector.
Guidance Through the Hiring Process: DeWinter supports you from initial screenings to final interviews, helping you prepare for technical interviews and navigate offer negotiations.

The AI job market is competitive but full of opportunity. By building a strong portfolio, mastering tools, honing soft skills, optimizing your professional presence, excelling in interviews, and partnering with a specialized recruiting firm like DeWinter, you can confidently secure your place in the AI revolution.

Ready to accelerate your AI career? Submit your resume to DeWinter today or search our technology job board to find AI jobs hiring now.

2025 Mid-Year Boston Finance & Accounting Salary Guide and Industry Report

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 16:26:23 GMT

2025 Mid-Year Boston Finance & Accounting

Salary Guide and Industry Report

Update: DeWinter's updated 2026 Boston Finance & Accounting Salary Guide and Industry Report is available here .

How to Get the Most Out of the Boston Finance & Accounting Job Market in 2025: Your Guide to Smarter Decisions

Are you a hiring manager looking to attract and retain top talent in Boston's competitive finance and accounting sector? Or are you a job seeker aiming to land your dream role with the compensation you deserve? In today's dynamic market, making informed decisions is more critical than ever. Our 2025 Mid-Year Boston Finance & Accounting Salary Guide and Industry Report is designed to be your most powerful tool.

Navigate the dynamic 2025 hiring landscape with confidence.

Our comprehensive 2025 Mid-Year Boston Finance & Accounting Salary Guide and Industry Report provides the data and expert insights you need to make informed career and hiring decisions. Our report also features data-backed market trends, including:

In-demand positions shaping the current hiring climate.
The impact of AI on skills, roles, and compensation.
The latest developments and preferences in the Bay Area's return-to-office strategies.

Why a High-Quality Salary Guide is Essential for Your Success

A salary guide is much more than a list of numbers; it's a strategic resource that empowers both sides of the hiring equation.

For Hiring Managers:

Set Competitive Salaries: Understand the going rate for various finance and accounting positions in the Boston area. This helps you craft compelling offers that attract the best candidates without overspending.
Strategic Planning: Get insights into market trends like in-demand skills and the impact of AI on roles. This allows you to plan your team's growth and upskilling initiatives effectively.
Boost Retention: By ensuring your current team's salaries are in line with market benchmarks, you can improve employee satisfaction and reduce turnover.

For Job Seekers:

Know Your Worth: Whether you're a Senior Financial Analyst or a Controller, a salary guide helps you confidently negotiate your salary based on real, data-backed information.
Identify Growth Opportunities: Learn about the most sought-after positions and skills in the Boston market, guiding your professional development and job search.
Prepare for Interviews: Understand the latest industry trends, from return-to-office preferences to the increasing importance of AI, so you can speak with authority and demonstrate your market awareness.

Frequently Asked Questions About our 2025 Mid-Year Boston Finance & Accounting Salary Guide and Industry Report

Ready to gain a competitive edge in your career or hiring strategy? Access the full 2025 Mid-Year Boston Finance & Accounting Salary Guide and Industry Report today.

2025 Mid-Year Bay Area Finance & Accounting Salary Guide and Industry Report

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 16:24:43 GMT

2025 Mid-Year Bay Area Finance & Accounting Salary Guide and Industry Report

Update: DeWinter's updated 2026 Bay Area Finance & Accounting Salary Guide and Industry Report is available here .

Navigate the dynamic 2025 hiring landscape with confidence.

Our comprehensive 2025 Mid-Year Bay Area Finance & Accounting Salary Guide and Industry Report provides the data and expert insights you need to make informed career and hiring decisions. Our report also features data-backed market trends, including:

In-demand positions shaping the current hiring climate.
The impact of AI on skills, roles, and compensation.
The latest developments and preferences in the Bay Area's return-to-office strategies.

2025 Mid-Year Southern California Technology & Digital Salary Guide

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 16:20:54 GMT

The 2025 Mid-Year Southern California

Technology & Digital Salary Guide

Update: DeWinter's updated 2026 Southern California Technology Salary Guide and Industry Report is available here .

Explore DeWinter's 2025 Mid-Year Southern California Technology & Digital Salary Guide, your essential resource for navigating the evolving tech and digital landscape.

Inside, you'll find comprehensive salary data for 67 top tech and digital roles, with precise local reporting for Boston, the Bay Area and Southern California. Our report also features data-backed market trends and expert insights on:

In-demand positions shaping the current hiring climate.
The impact of AI on skills, roles, and compensation.
The latest developments and preferences in the Bay Area's return-to-office strategies.

Fill out the form below to get your copy and to access our Salary Search tool to easily compare positions across the Bay Area and Boston, or download the full guides for all three locations.

2025 Mid-Year Boston Technology & Digital Salary Guide

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 16:19:02 GMT

The 2025 Mid-Year Boston

Technology & Digital Salary Guide

Update: DeWinter's updated 2026 Boston Technology Salary Guide and Industry Report is available here .

Explore DeWinter's 2025 Mid-Year Boston Technology & Digital Salary Guide, your essential resource for navigating the evolving tech and digital landscape.

In-demand positions shaping the current hiring climate.
The impact of AI on skills, roles, and compensation.
The latest developments and preferences in the Bay Area's return-to-office strategies.

Fill out the form below to get your copy and to access our Salary Search tool to easily compare positions across the Bay Area and Boston, or download the full guides for all three locations.

2025 Mid-Year Bay Area Technology & Digital Salary Guide

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 16:15:54 GMT

The 2025 Mid-Year Bay Area Technology & Digital Salary Guide

Update: DeWinter's updated 2026 Bay Area Technology Salary Guide and Industry Report is available here .

Explore DeWinter's 2025 Mid-Year Bay Area Technology & Digital Salary Guide, your essential resource for navigating the evolving tech and digital landscape.

Inside, you'll find comprehensive salary data for 67 top tech and digital roles, with precise local reporting for the Bay Area, Boston, and Southern California. Our report also features data-backed market trends and expert insights on:

In-demand positions shaping the current hiring climate.
The impact of AI on skills, roles, and compensation.
The latest developments and preferences in the Bay Area's return-to-office strategies.

Fill out the form below to get your copy and to access our Salary Search tool to easily compare positions across the Bay Area and Boston, or download the full guides for all three locations.

The Heart of DeWinter: Living Our Core Values

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 19:45:38 GMT

The Heart of DeWinter: Living Our Core Values

At DeWinter, we often say that our greatest strength isn't just what we do, but who we are. We know that behind every successful placement, every strong client relationship, and every innovative solution, there are incredible individuals making it happen. Our team members aren't just colleagues; they're the embodiment of our culture and our commitment.

That's why we're so excited to shine a spotlight on a few of these amazing individuals who truly exemplify our five Core Values. T hese values aren't just words on a wall; they're the principles that guide us every day, shaping how we interact with each other, our clients, and our candidates.

In the video below, you'll hear directly from some of our team members as they share what these values mean to them personally and how they translate into their daily work. Their insights offer a unique glimpse into the passion and dedication that drive our collective success.

Watch to learn more about what truly drives our team and why we're so proud of the people who make DeWinter an exceptional place to work and partner with.

Equity and Belonging

Great Relationsihps

Unwavering Integrity

Fierce Determination

Fun

A Practical Guide to Interviewing Finance & Accounting Talent in the Bay Area

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 14:31:17 GMT

A Practical Guide to Interviewing Finance & Accounting Talent in the Bay Area

In the competitive landscape of the Bay Area, securing top finance and accounting talent or landing your dream role within the industry demands more than just a resume and a standard Q&A. It really boils down to understanding what makes people excel in these crucial areas: being great with the technical stuff, communicating clearly, and having a sharp business mind.

This guide provides a roadmap for both hiring managers and job seekers, outlining the most effective interview questions that can help you identify the finance talent that can best support your team.

For Hiring Managers: Securing the Right Fit

When interviewing candidates for finance and accounting roles, your goal isn't just to verify technical skills; it's to assess their critical thinking, problem-solving abilities, and how they contribute to strategic decision-making.

At DeWinter we make a conscious effort to secure the right fit for your team by asking the right questions. Provided in this article are four key questions that some of our recruiters use, categorized by role, along with strong answers that you should look for in a candidate:

1. Accounting Roles (Staff Accountant, Senior Accountant, Accounting Manager)

Accounting professionals are the bedrock of any business, demanding precision and the ability to adhere to ever-changing standards.

Question: "Walk me through the process of preparing a month-end close for a growing tech company. What are the common challenges you've faced and how did you overcome them?"

What to look for: A strong answer will detail the steps (e.g., reconciliations, journal entries, variance analysis), demonstrate knowledge of relevant accounting software (e.g., NetSuite, QuickBooks, SAP), and highlight proactive problem-solving. They might discuss automating processes, improving data integrity, or collaborating with other departments to resolve discrepancies. This reveals technical knowledge and practical application.

Question: "Describe a time you identified a significant accounting error. What was your process for investigating it, correcting it, and preventing future occurrences?"

What to look for: The candidate should outline a structured approach: initial discovery, root cause analysis, corrective actions (e.g., adjusting entries), and preventative measures (e.g., implementing new controls, training staff). This showcases attention to detail, problem-solving, and integrity.

Question: "How do you stay updated on changes in accounting standards (GAAP/IFRS) and tax regulations?"

What to look for: Evidence of continuous learning through professional organizations, industry publications, webinars, or certifications (e.g., CPA). This demonstrates a commitment to professional development and compliance.

2. FP&A Roles (Financial Analyst, Senior FP&A Analyst, FP&A Manager)

FP&A professionals are the strategic partners, translating financial data into actionable insights that guide business decisions. For those working in major cities like San Francisco, this figure sees a significant jump, with Financial Analysts making an average of $183,792, a substantial 72% above the national average Financial Analyst salary of $106,892. Highlighting the premium placed on FP&A expertise, especially in high-cost, innovation-driven markets like the Bay Area.

Question: "Imagine our company is considering a new product launch. How would you go about building a financial model to assess its viability, including revenue projections, cost analysis, and profitability?"

What to look for: A detailed explanation of financial modeling principles (e.g., drivers, assumptions, sensitivity analysis, scenario planning), showcasing proficiency in Excel and financial forecasting software. They should articulate how they'd work with sales, marketing, and operations to gather data and validate assumptions. This demonstrates strong technical modeling skills, business acumen, and cross-functional collaboration.

Question: "Describe a situation where your financial analysis directly influenced a key business decision. What was the challenge, your recommendation, and the ultimate outcome?"

What to look for: A clear narrative using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result). The candidate should emphasize the impact of their analysis, demonstrating how they translated complex financial data into understandable insights for non-finance stakeholders. Highlighting strong communication skills and a drive for real impact through with their analysis.

Question: "How do you handle situations where actual results significantly deviate from your forecasts? What's your process for variance analysis and communicating these insights?"

What to look for: A robust approach to identifying the root causes of variances (e.g., market shifts, operational inefficiencies), the ability to explain complex financial concepts clearly, and the confidence to present potentially challenging news while offering solutions. The candidate should show analytical thinking, communication, and proactive problem-solving.

3. Auditing Roles (Internal Auditor, IT Auditor, Audit Manager)

Auditors provide assurance and improve operational efficiency by evaluating controls and processes.

Question: "Explain the importance of internal controls. Can you describe a specific example where you identified a weakness in internal controls and recommended improvements?"

What to look for: A strong understanding of control objectives (e.g., safeguarding assets, ensuring data accuracy). The candidate should detail a specific control deficiency, their assessment of its risk, and the practical, actionable recommendations they made to strengthen the control environment. Demonstrating technical knowledge of controls, risk assessment, and problem-solving.

Question: "How do you approach a challenging conversation with a department head who is resistant to your audit findings or recommendations?"

What to look for: Evidence of strong interpersonal and negotiation skills. The candidate should describe a diplomatic approach, focusing on collaboration and the mutual benefits of implementing recommendations rather than an adversarial stance. Above all, the candidate should emphasize strong communication skills and fortitude.

Question: "How do you stay current with evolving regulatory requirements and industry best practices in auditing?"

What to look for: Continuous professional education (CPE), certifications (e.g., CIA, CISA), participation in professional forums, and a proactive attitude towards learning. This indicates a commitment to professionalism and compliance.

4. Finance Leadership Roles (Controller, CFO, Director of Finance)

Leaders in finance are not just technical experts; they are strategic visionaries, team builders, and effective communicators.

Question: "Describe your leadership style. How do you motivate and develop your finance team to achieve strategic objectives?"

What to look for: Specific examples of leadership in action, demonstrating empathy, mentorship, and a results-oriented approach. They should discuss delegation, performance management, and fostering a collaborative team environment. The candidate should exemplify their leadership capabilities and a commitment to team development.

Question: "How do you contribute to the overall business strategy as a finance leader? Provide a specific example of how you've partnered with other C-suite executives."

What to look for: A clear articulation of their role beyond traditional finance, showcasing their ability to understand and influence broader business goals. They should provide concrete examples of strategic initiatives they've supported or led, demonstrating business acumen and executive presence.

Question: "What are the biggest financial challenges facing companies in the Bay Area today, and how would you advise our organization to navigate them?"

What to look for: A well-researched answer that reflects an understanding of economic trends, industry-specific challenges (e.g., valuation fluctuations, talent acquisition costs), and potential solutions. This demonstrates strategic thinking, market awareness, and proactive problem-solving.

The Rise of AI in Finance & Accounting: A Key Trend

It's crucial to acknowledge the evolving role of technology in finance. Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the industry, automating routine tasks and enabling deeper insights. According to a recent study, 59% of accountants across the US and UK report that they are already using AI-based tools and applications to save an average of 30 hours of work per week across their teams. For hiring managers, this means seeking candidates who are not only comfortable with, but also eager to leverage, new technologies.

By approaching the interview process with a strategic mindset, hiring managers in the Bay Area's dynamic finance and accounting sector can significantly increase their chances of finding the perfect fit. It's about looking beyond the resume and truly understanding the depth of talent, communication capabilities, and business insight that drives financial success.

The Role of AI in Finance & Accounting Hiring: What Boston Companies Should Know

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 20:05:07 GMT

The Role of AI in Finance & Accounting Hiring: What Boston Companies Should Know

By Rachel Laufersweiler, Manager, Consulting Services

The vibrant finance and accounting landscape in Boston is no stranger to innovation. From established financial institutions to rapidly growing tech startups, the demand for top-tier talent remains consistently high. However, a shift is underway, one that promises to fundamentally reshape how finance and accounting professionals are recruited, trained, and utilized: the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

For Boston-area employers and hiring managers, embracing the AI-driven revolution in hiring is no longer optional—it’s essential to staying competitive. With our finger on the pulse of both candidate expectations and market demands, we understand the stakes firsthand. Located in the heart of Boston, our DeWinter team has built a reputation as a trusted partner in finance, accounting, and technology staffing across Massachusetts and the greater New England region. In this article, we’ll explore how AI is reshaping hiring in finance and accounting, highlighting key automation trends, in-demand skills, and actionable strategies to help your team lead in this evolving landscape.

Automation: Redefining Roles and Routines

AI and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) are rapidly automating many of the repetitive, rule-based tasks that have historically formed the backbone of finance and accounting roles. Think invoice processing, data entry, reconciliations, and even some aspects of financial reporting. These aren't just efficiency gains; they are fundamental shifts that free up team members for higher-value activities.

In Boston, firms are already leveraging AI to:

Streamline internal processes: Automated systems can handle the heavy lifting of data aggregation and initial analysis, leading to faster month-end closes and real-time financial insights. This translates to finance departments operating at faster speeds, enabling quicker decision-making. In fact, some studies find that reporting errors are reduced by 90% when automation is implemented across financial operations.

Enhance accuracy and compliance: AI-powered tools virtually eliminate human error in data handling, ensuring greater accuracy in financial records and significantly improving audit readiness. These automated workflows even create comprehensive audit trails, meeting stringent accounting standards.

Reduce operational costs: While there's an upfront investment, the long-term cost savings from reduced labor and fewer errors are substantial. Scalable AI platforms can accommodate significant business growth without a proportional increase in headcount, a major benefit for scaling Boston businesses. Indeed, AI has shown significant potential, with some reports indicating cost reductions of up to 20% in procurement and operational tasks by automating processes and reducing labor expenses.

This automation trend means that the traditional duties of entry-level and even some mid-level finance and accounting professionals are evolving. The emphasis is shifting from transactional processing to analytical interpretation and strategic contribution. As Ginni Rometty, former CEO of IBM, famously put it, "AI will not replace humans, but those who use AI will replace those who don't."

In-Demand Skills for the AI-Powered Finance Professional

As AI takes over the mundane, the skills that will define success for finance and accounting professionals in Boston are shifting dramatically. Employers should look for candidates who aren't just good with numbers, but also comfortable with new tech.

Here are some of the most in-demand skills:

Data Literacy and Analytics: Beyond basic Excel, professionals need to be adept at understanding, interpreting, and even manipulating large datasets. Skills in data mining, advanced analytics, and familiarity with business intelligence (BI) tools are becoming crucial. This includes understanding statistical analysis techniques to extract meaningful insights from data.
AI Literacy and Understanding: It’s not about being an AI developer, but about understanding how AI tools work, their capabilities, and their limitations. This includes knowing how to leverage AI for tasks like forecasting, risk modeling, and generating financial reports. For example, understanding how to interact with Generative AI models to summarize information or analyze complex financial data is invaluable.
Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving: With automation handling routine tasks, finance professionals will spend more time analyzing exceptions, identifying discrepancies, and solving complex financial problems. The ability to think strategically and critically about financial data is extremely important when given these more complex and technical problems.
Communication and Storytelling: Translating complex financial insights, often generated by AI, into understandable and actionable recommendations for non-finance stakeholders is a vital skill. Strong communication, presentation, and collaboration abilities are essential for finance professionals to contribute meaningfully to strategic planning.
Adaptability and Continuous Learning: The pace of technological change means that finance and accounting professionals must embrace a mindset of continuous learning. Staying updated on new AI tools, regulatory changes, and evolving best practices is non-negotiable for career longevity. The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report indicates that "analytical thinking and innovation are among the top skills projected to grow in prominence by 2027," reflecting the increasing value placed on data-driven decision-making in accounting.
Cybersecurity Awareness: As more sensitive financial data is processed and stored by AI systems, a strong understanding of data governance, security, and privacy best practices is crucial to mitigate vulnerabilities.
Risk Management: In a rapidly evolving financial landscape driven by AI, the ability to identify, assess, monitor, and mitigate risks, including those introduced by new technologies, is highly sought after.

For Boston employers, finance and accounting staffing and recruiting efforts should actively seek out candidates who demonstrate these future-proof skills. Investing in upskilling current employees in these areas will also be critical for retaining top talent and maintaining a competitive edge.

Reshaping Recruitment: AI in Finance and Accounting Staffing

The impact of AI isn't limited to the finance department itself; it's also revolutionizing the finance and accounting recruiting process. Staffing agencies and internal HR teams in Boston are increasingly using AI to enhance effectiveness.

Forecasting Talent Needs: AI can analyze market trends, economic indicators, and internal business growth projections to help firms anticipate future hiring needs, allowing for proactive talent acquisition strategies rather than reactive ones.
Chatbots for Candidate Engagement: AI-powered chatbots can answer common candidate questions, schedule interviews, and provide updates, offering a seamless and efficient experience for job seekers.
Bias Reduction (with caution): While AI can introduce new biases if not carefully managed, when properly implemented, it can help reduce human bias in the initial screening process by focusing purely on skills and qualifications. However, continuous monitoring and ethical considerations are crucial.

For Boston-based finance and accounting staffing and recruiting firms, adopting these AI tools is crucial for staying ahead in a competitive market. It allows them to deliver more qualified candidates faster, ultimately providing greater value to their clients. The "global financial automation market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 14.2% from 2024 to 2032 ," highlighting the rapid adoption of these technologies.

How Boston Firms Can Adapt to AI and Stay Ahead

To thrive in this evolving landscape, Boston employers and hiring managers need a proactive strategy

Redefine Job Descriptions: Re-evaluate existing finance and accounting roles. Update job descriptions to reflect the new emphasis on analytical, technological, and strategic skills. Clearly communicate the shift from transactional processing to value-added analysis.

Invest in Upskilling and Reskilling Programs: Look beyond external hiring. Identify current employees with potential and invest in training programs that build AI literacy, data analytics skills, and critical thinking. Partner with local educational institutions or offer internal workshops.

Embrace Hybrid Roles: The integration of AI means many roles will become hybrid, combining traditional finance responsibilities with technology-driven tasks. Foster an environment where professionals are comfortable with both aspects.

Partner with Forward-Thinking Staffing Agencies: Collaborate with finance and accounting staffing agencies in Boston, like DeWinter , that are already embracing AI in their recruitment processes. These partners will have a deeper understanding of the evolving skill sets and access to a future-ready talent pool.

Foster a Culture of Continuous Learning: Encourage curiosity and a growth mindset within your finance and accounting teams. Provide opportunities for experimentation with new technologies and celebrate learning from both successes and failures.

Focus on Soft Skills: While technical skills are vital, never underestimate the importance of soft skills like communication, collaboration, and adaptability. These are inherently human qualities that AI cannot replicate and will become even more valuable. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics highlights "analytical and critical-thinking skills," "communication skills," and "organizational skills" as important qualities for accountants and auditors, emphasizing their continued relevance alongside technological proficiency.

Ethical AI Implementation: As you integrate AI into your hiring and financial operations, prioritize ethical considerations. Ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability in your AI systems, especially when handling sensitive data.

The future of finance and accounting staffing in Boston is deeply linked to the integration of AI technology. For employers and hiring managers, this evolution isn’t something to fear—it’s a powerful chance to build smarter, more strategic finance teams. By staying ahead of these changes, Boston firms can attract top-tier talent equipped to handle the complexities of today’s financial landscape and keep their competitive advantage on a global scale.

That’s where DeWinter comes in, a trusted local partner with deep expertise in finance, accounting, and technology recruiting. DeWinter is uniquely positioned to help your organization connect with the AI-ready professionals who will drive your success in this new era.

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Inside Boston’s Top Recruiting Team for Finance & Accounting

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 19:15:00 GMT

Inside Boston’s Top Recruiting Team for Finance & Accounting

By Jacqueline Berman, Managing Director, New England

How Our Boston Finance & Accounting Team Became a Go-To Talent Partner

When we first launched our Boston office, our vision was clear: to build a team that could provide the same level of expert finance and accounting staffing our firm is known for in other markets, while also offering services tailored to the unique needs of Boston-area employers. Since then, our team has grown, evolved, and fine-tuned its approach to become one of the most trusted partners for finance and accounting recruiting in the region.

Built for Boston, Backed by a National Network

From day one, we knew that the Boston market demanded a specialized strategy. New England employers expect highly skilled, well-vetted professionals who can hit the ground running. Our local team combines that regional focus with the power of our national infrastructure, giving clients access to a top-tier candidate network, technology-enabled search tools, and the streamlined process that sets us apart.

We’ve invested heavily in tools and systems that make our team nimble and highly efficient. Our recruiters can identify, vet, and present top finance and accounting professionals faster than many of our competitors—a speed-to-market advantage that has made a difference for dozens of our Boston-based clients.

Learn more about Boston’s Most Trusted Staffing and Recruiting Experts

The Launch of Our Boston Salary Guide and Industry Report

One of our proudest milestones this year was the release of our first-ever Boston Finance & Accounting Salary Guide and Industry Report . This guide was created to give employers actionable insights into local compensation trends, role-specific salary benchmarks, and hiring market intelligence. It’s been incredibly well-received by both clients and candidates looking to make informed decisions in a competitive job market in New England and beyond. Whether you’re looking for a new Financial Analyst job and figuring the market rate for your title or a hiring manager needing compensation data as you need to expand your Accounts Payable team, our Boston Finance and Accounting Salary Guide empowers our partners with the information they need.

We created the guide because we believe in supporting our clients with data that helps them stay ahead—especially when it comes to attracting and retaining top talent. Boston’s finance and accounting hiring landscape is dynamic, and staying competitive requires a deep understanding of both market compensation and candidate expectations.

Creating Space for Community and Connection

Recruiting is about more than matching resumes to job descriptions—it’s about building relationships. That’s why we’ve expanded our in-person presence this year with more networking opportunities for Boston’s finance and accounting professionals. As a premier Boston staffing and recruiting agency, our goal is to create spaces where top talent and hiring managers can connect in meaningful ways, from happy hours to client-hosted events.

These events have become more than just social gatherings. They’re opportunities for our team to hear what’s happening on the ground—what challenges finance leaders are facing, what candidates are prioritizing, and what trends are emerging. This real-time market intelligence helps us serve our clients even better.

A Curated Network of New England's Best

Our Boston team is more than just local—we’re deeply embedded in the Northeastern talent ecosystem, helping our clients and candidates fill finance and accounting jobs in Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont, and beyond. We’ve cultivated relationships with consultants, full-time professionals, and rising stars across the region. Whether you need a high-impact interim Controller or are hiring for a long-term leadership role, we know where to find the right fit.

Because of our candidate-first approach, our talent network is both loyal and highly responsive. We invest time in understanding what each professional is looking for in their next opportunity so we can make connections that truly last. That’s why our clients come back again and again—not just for the placements, but for the confidence that we understand their goals.

Why Boston Employers Choose Us

Speed and Efficiency : Our streamlined recruiting and onboarding process means we can deliver top-tier candidates faster than the industry average.
Deep Local Expertise : With a dedicated Boston team and New England focus, we understand the unique needs of this market.
Relationship-Driven Approach : From in-person networking events to ongoing client support, we prioritize connection and communication.
Insight-Backed Strategy : Our insights, including our case studies, Boston Salary Guide and Industry Reports, and blogs, equip hiring managers with the data they need to stay competitive.
Flexible Talent Solutions : Whether you need interim project support, contract-to-hire talent, or a full-time leader, we offer solutions tailored to your needs.

Explore Our Full-Service Finance and Accounting Offerings

Looking Ahead

As we look toward the second half of 2025, we’re excited about what’s next for our Boston team. We’re planning additional events, expanding our consultant bench, and continuing to invest in technology that helps us serve you better.

Whether you’re building out a new team, facing an urgent hiring need, or just want to learn more about how our finance and accounting recruiting team can support your goals—we’re here to help.

Let’s connect and talk about what’s next for your team.

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The Role of AI in Tech Hiring: How Automation is Changing Recruitment

Wed, 21 May 2025 14:33:36 GMT

The Role of AI in Tech Hiring: How Automation is Changing Recruitment

By Colin Reposa, Executive Vice President, Technical Consulting

Struggling to find top tech talent fast enough in today’s competitive market? You’re not alone—and AI might be the game-changer you need.

At DeWinter, we’ve integrated cutting-edge automation and AI tools into our recruiting process , transforming how we connect clients with the right candidates—faster, smarter, and with fewer interviews than our competitors. Our highly experienced team, powered by innovative technology, consistently beats industry benchmarks to deliver seamless, high-impact hiring solutions. Integrating AI and automation into our process revealed powerful insights about how these tools can enhance the hiring experience.

In this blog, we’ll break down how AI is reshaping tech hiring and what it means for the future of recruitment.

The Shift Toward AI-Powered Recruitment

AI and automation have transformed numerous industries and recruitment is no exception. From sourcing candidates to conducting initial screenings and even scheduling interviews, AI is making hiring more efficient, data-driven, and scalable.

According to 2024 data by DemandSage : More than 65% of recruiters have used AI to hire people. According to 67% of hiring decision-makers, the main advantage of using AI in the recruitment process is its ability to save time.

How AI is Transforming the Recruitment Process

Intelligent Candidate Sourcing

AI can proactively search for candidates by scanning job boards, social media profiles, and professional networking sites. Platforms like LinkedIn Recruiter leverage AI to suggest potential candidates based on job descriptions, company needs, and historical hiring data. This technology helps recruiters discover passive candidates—individuals who may not be actively job hunting but are open to new opportunities.

AI-Powered Chatbots and Candidate Engagement

Candidate experience is a crucial aspect of successful recruitment. AI-powered chatbots, such as those integrated into career pages or recruitment platforms, provide real-time responses to frequently asked questions, schedule interviews, and keep candidates informed about their application status. This automation improves communication and engagement, reducing frustration and uncertainty for job seekers.

Predictive Analytics for Hiring Decisions

AI-driven predictive analytics help recruiters make data-backed hiring decisions. By analyzing past hiring trends, employee performance, and candidate data, AI can predict which applicants are more likely to succeed in a given role. This predictive approach helps companies make better long-term hiring choices and reduce turnover rates, keeping upper management and teams happier.

Bias Reduction and Fair Hiring Practices

Unconscious bias in hiring has been a longstanding issue, leading to a lack of diversity in tech workplaces. AI-powered recruitment tools aim to minimize this bias by focusing purely on qualifications, skills, and experience rather than subjective factors. AI-based hiring platforms assess candidates based on structured data, ensuring a fairer and more inclusive hiring process. However, it is important to continuously monitor AI algorithms to prevent unintended biases from creeping into automated decision-making.

The Future of AI in Tech Hiring

As AI continues to evolve, its role in tech recruitment will expand. Here are some trends we can expect to see in the coming years:

Hyper-Personalized Job Matching: AI will refine its ability to match candidates with jobs based on nuanced preferences, including work culture, preferred job roles, and career aspirations.

AI-Driven Skill Assessments: Companies will use AI-powered coding tests and technical assessments to evaluate candidates objectively.

Enhanced Onboarding Automation: AI will not only assist with hiring but also help new employees transition smoothly by automating onboarding tasks, training schedules, and HR processes.

Improved Human-AI Collaboration: While AI enhances efficiency, it will not replace human recruiters. Instead, AI will handle repetitive tasks, allowing recruiters to focus on relationship-building, employer branding, and strategic decision-making.

Balancing AI with Human Touch

Despite its advantages, AI is not without limitations. It lacks the emotional intelligence and nuanced judgment that us human recruiters bring to the hiring process. No algorithm can fully replace the importance of human intuition, empathy, and the ability to gauge cultural fit. Therefore, the key to successful AI-driven recruitment is balance—leveraging AI for efficiency while maintaining the human touch for critical decision-making.

As a leading technology staffing and recruiting agency in Boston and the Bay Area , we’ve seen first-hand how integrating state-of-the-art technologies into the hiring process can benefit both our clients and candidates. Our experienced team and tech-enabled process deliver a smooth, efficient hiring experience—connecting our clients with top talent faster than the industry average and speeding up time to onboard and productivity.

Conclusion

AI and automation are revolutionizing the tech hiring landscape, making recruitment faster, smarter, and more efficient. As AI continues to advance, tech companies that embrace a balanced approach—leveraging AI while maintaining the human element—will gain a competitive edge in attracting and retaining the best talent. The future of recruitment lies in intelligent automation that complements, rather than replaces, human expertise. Interested in discussing how AI-fueled recruiting and staffing could help your team? Contact us today to see how it could benefit your tech hiring needs.

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Navigating the 2025 Bay Area Job Market: A Guide for Finance & Accounting Professionals

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 19:03:03 GMT

Navigating the 2025 Bay Area Job Market: A Guide for Finance & Accounting Professionals

By Lyn Ambler, Bay Area Managing Director, Recruiting

As we move further into 2025, the job market in the Bay Area continues to evolve, particularly for finance and accounting professionals. With shifting economic trends, emerging technologies, and changing employer expectations, job seekers in this field must be proactive, strategic, and well-informed to stay ahead of the curve. Whether you’re a seasoned CPA, an FP&A analyst, or just entering the field, navigating this competitive landscape requires preparation, insight, and the right support. That’s where DeWinter comes in.

The 2025 Bay Area Finance & Accounting Landscape

The Bay Area has long been a national leader in tech innovation, venture capital, biotech, and financial services—industries that demand sophisticated and strategic financial and accounting support. In 2025, several key trends are shaping the local job market:

A Bay Area Office Rebound: According to a recent CBRE report, the Bay Area ranked third—behind Manhattan and Washington, D.C.—for the highest share of the 100 largest U.S. office leases in 2024.

Hybrid Work is the Standard: While San Francisco is still a national leader in remote work, Bay Area employers are increasingly embracing hybrid models, with teams expected to collaborate effectively across in-office and remote environments. According to recent data from WFH Research, the Finance industry has the second-highest rate of remote employees.

Specialized Skill Sets Are in Demand: Companies are seeking professionals proficient in ERP systems like NetSuite and SAP, data visualization tools like Power BI, and financial modeling. Experience with IPO readiness, SEC reporting, and SOX compliance remains highly valued—especially in a market rich with startups and late-stage tech companies.

Business-Forward Soft Skills: Finance professionals must go beyond the numbers. Strong communication, leadership, and cross-functional collaboration skills are essential, particularly in fast-paced, high-growth environments.

Want to know what salary expectations look like in your area or what are the most in-demand accounting jobs in the Bay Area in 2025? Visit our 2025 Mid-Year Bay Area Salary Guide to get up-to-date compensation data and job search insights.

Steps to Prepare for Your Job Search

If you're considering a move or re-entering the job market in the Bay Area this year, here’s how to stand out:

Refresh Your Resume and LinkedIn Profile
Focus on results and impact. Employers want to see metrics—cost savings, process improvements, revenue growth. On LinkedIn, make sure your profile is optimized with keywords relevant to Bay Area roles and reflects your professional brand.
Invest in Technical Upskilling
Consider training in Excel, SQL, Tableau, or Python. Certifications like CPA, CMA, or CFA also add weight. If you’re eyeing a transition into tech or startup finance, fluency in SaaS metrics is a plus.
Stay Current with the Market
Keep tabs on trends in industries like biotech, renewable energy, and fintech. Our Job Board offers real-time insight into which roles are hot—and where.
Refine Your Interview Skills
Storytelling is key. Practice framing your achievements using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to show how you've driven outcomes.
Network With Intention
Leverage the Bay Area’s rich professional ecosystem—attend meetups, webinars, and alumni events. Reach out to past colleagues. Referrals carry serious weight in this tight-knit market.

How DeWinter Can Help

At DeWinter , we specialize in connecting top-tier finance and accounting professionals with the Bay Area’s most innovative and reputable employers. Whether you’re aiming to break into a tech start up or find stability in a publicly traded company, we’re here to help.

Personalized Career Guidance: We take time to understand your career goals and unique skill set. Our recruiters provide hands-on support with resume feedback, interview coaching, and market insight.

Exclusive Access to Roles: Many of the Bay Area's best opportunities aren’t advertised. Partnering with DeWinter gives you direct access to hiring managers at industry-leading companies within our network.

Real Results: Don’t just take our word for it—check out our case studies to learn how we’ve helped professionals just like you land roles they love.

Looking Ahead

The Bay Area finance and accounting job market in 2025 is dynamic, fast-moving, and full of opportunity—but it favors those who come prepared. With the right strategy and a trusted recruiting partner, your next career move can be your best yet.

Ready to take the next step? Explore our Job Board , or connect with a DeWinter recruiter today. Let’s make 2025 a year of growth, fulfillment, and fresh opportunity.

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DeWinter Creates Data Access and Reporting Solution for Major MedTech Company

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 18:48:38 GMT

DeWinter Creates Data Access and Reporting Solution for Major MedTech Company

CASE STUDY: DATA & REPORTING ANALYTICS

Our Client

A Fortune 500 MedTech organization that develops advanced medical technologies supporting heart function and blood circulation. Their products help patients recover from heart failure or surgery by assisting the heart in pumping blood.

The Challenge

Our client's Clinical Data Analytics Team needed to improve their data management and reporting, which were previously scattered across individual machines. They needed a solution that would allow their team to collaborate more effectively and ensure that everyone had access to the most up-to-date information.

Key Capabilities Delivered

Centralized Data Hub

All data and resources are centralized in one shared location for easy access.

Automated Updates

Dashboards now refresh automatically, reducing the need for manual updates.

Streamlined Processes

With everything in one place, development and collaboration are more efficient than ever.

The Solution

To address these needs, the DeWinter team used U.S.-based resources to set up a powerful, centralized server to host Power BI data dashboards and related scripts, enhancing the efficiency and usability of their team’s data. End-to-end, the project was completed in six months.

Benefits

Faster Data Access

The team can now access the information they need quickly.

Simplified Reporting

We created an easier and more intuitive reporting processes.

Enhanced Collaboration

Our solution enabled their team to work together seamlessly using the latest data.

Reduced Manual Work

The team no longer needs to make frequent manual updates on individual computers.

Find Your Solution

Need help finding top tech talent or expert project support? Our team specializes in contract, contract-to-hire, and full-time placements and project delivery solutions , ensuring you get the right tech talent for the right goals. Let’s connect and build your dream team today!

Navigating the 2025 Boston Job Market: A Guide for Finance & Accounting Professionals

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 21:17:42 GMT

Navigating the 2025 Boston Job Market: A Guide for Finance & Accounting Professionals

By Tayla McCartin, Manager, Consulting Services

The job market in Boston has always been dynamic, but as we enter 2025, finance and accounting professionals are navigating an environment shaped by economic shifts, evolving industry demands, and technological advancements. Whether you’re actively seeking new opportunities or looking to advance in your current role, having a well-thought-out job search strategy is essential. This guide provides practical advice on how to stand out in the competitive Boston market, from resume tips to interview best practices and networking strategies.

Understanding the Boston Finance & Accounting Job Market

Boston remains a financial hub, home to top investment firms, corporate headquarters, and a thriving startup scene. Demand for skilled finance and accounting professionals continues to grow, especially in areas like financial planning and analysis (FP&A), risk management, and compliance. Additionally, companies are increasingly looking for professionals who can leverage technology, such as AI-driven financial modeling and data analytics.

Optimizing Your Resume for 2025

Your resume is your first impression—make it count. Here are some key tips to ensure your resume stands out:

Keep It Concise & Relevant: Recruiters and hiring managers spend mere seconds scanning resumes. Tailor your resume to highlight relevant skills and experience, keeping it to one or two pages.
Quantify Your Achievements: Employers want to see measurable results. Instead of saying, “Managed budgets,” say, “Managed a $10M budget and reduced operational costs by 15%.”
Incorporate Technology Skills: With finance and accounting increasingly intertwined with technology, showcasing proficiency in tools like Excel, QuickBooks, NetSuite, or financial modeling software can give you a competitive edge.
Highlight Certifications: If you have a CPA, CFA, CMA, or other relevant certification, make sure it’s prominently displayed. These credentials can significantly boost your credibility.
 Use Keywords from Job Descriptions: Many companies use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to filter resumes. Mirror the language in job postings to increase the likelihood of passing through these systems.

Mastering the Job Interview

Interviewing for a finance or accounting role in Boston requires preparation, confidence, and strong communication skills. Here’s how to put your best foot forward:

Research the Company: Understanding the company’s mission, financial health, and culture will help you tailor your responses. Review recent news, earnings reports, and industry trends to demonstrate your knowledge.
Prepare for Common Questions: Expect technical and behavioral questions. Common questions include:
“How do you handle tight financial reporting deadlines?”
“Can you explain a time when you identified a financial risk and took action?”
“How do you stay updated with changes in accounting regulations?”
Demonstrate Problem-Solving Skills: Finance professionals need strong analytical skills. Be prepared to discuss case studies or problem-solving scenarios that showcase your ability to analyze data and make informed decisions.
Ask Thoughtful Questions: Show engagement by asking about company growth, team structure, or technological advancements in their financial processes.
 Follow Up: Always send a thank-you email within 24 hours. Express appreciation for the opportunity and reiterate your interest in the role.

Building a Strong Professional Network

Networking is crucial in the finance and accounting sector. A strong network can lead to job referrals, mentorship opportunities, and industry insights. Here’s how to expand your connections in Boston:

Leverage LinkedIn: Optimize your profile with a professional headshot, an engaging summary, and detailed work experience. Regularly share industry articles, insights, or personal career updates to stay visible.
Join Professional Associations: Consider joining organizations such as the Massachusetts Society of CPAs (MSCPA), the CFA Society Boston, or Financial Executives International (FEI). These groups offer networking events, industry news, and professional development opportunities.
Attend Local Networking Events: Boston hosts numerous finance and accounting networking events, including industry panels, conferences, and workshops. Platforms like Eventbrite and Meetup can help you discover relevant events.
Connect with Alumni Networks: If you attended a local university like Boston College, Northeastern, or Bentley, tap into their alumni networks. Many universities offer career services and networking events for graduates.
Engage in Informational Interviews: Reach out to professionals in your target companies or roles for casual coffee chats. This is a great way to gain insights into different career paths and build relationships in the industry.

Exploring the Boston Job Market

Understanding which sectors are actively hiring can help you focus your job search efforts. Here are some key finance and accounting sectors experiencing growth in Boston:

Financial Services & Investment Firms: Boston is a financial powerhouse with firms like Fidelity, State Street, and Wellington Management hiring for finance professionals.
Healthcare & Biotech: With major players like Mass General Brigham and Biogen headquartered here, the demand for finance professionals in healthcare is rising.
Technology Startups & Venture Capital: Boston’s thriving tech scene presents exciting opportunities for finance professionals in FP&A, venture capital, and startup finance.
Corporate Accounting & Compliance: With evolving regulations, companies seek skilled accountants and compliance specialists to ensure financial transparency.

Leveraging Staffing Agencies for Career Growth

Partnering with a specialized recruiting firm can provide access to exclusive job opportunities, career advice, and industry insights. A reputable staffing firm specializing in finance and accounting recruitment can:

Connect you with top employers in Boston
Provide resume and interview coaching
Offer insights into market trends and salary expectations
Give you access to temporary, contract, or direct-hire opportunities

Final Thoughts

Navigating the 2025 Boston job market as a finance or accounting professional requires a strategic approach. By optimizing your resume, preparing thoroughly for interviews, expanding your professional network, and staying informed about market trends, you can position yourself for success. Whether you’re seeking your next opportunity or aiming to advance within your current company, staying proactive and leveraging all available resources will give you the competitive edge needed in today’s job market.

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Contract vs. Full-Time Tech Roles: Which Is Right for Your Business?

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 17:25:59 GMT

Contract vs. Full-Time Tech Roles: Which Is Right for Your Business?

By Matt Berg, Vice President & Managing Director, Technical Consulting

Update: Is your business considering hiring contract or full-time tech roles in 2026? Empower your search with the latest technology industry compensation data, with DeWinter's updated 2026 Technology Salary Guide and Industry Report .

Hiring the right tech talent is one of the most critical decisions a company can make, especially in today’s competitive and fast-moving job market.

Whether you’re scaling your team for a new project, filling gaps in specialized skills, or looking for long-term leadership, choosing between

contract, contract-to-hire, and full-time employees can significantly impact your organization’s success.

Each hiring model comes with its own advantages and trade-offs, and the best choice depends on your company’s project needs, budget, long-term goals, and workforce strategy. In this blog, we’ll explore the key differences between these hiring models, the pros and cons of each, and how to determine the best fit for your business.

Contract Roles: Agility and Specialized Expertise

Contract roles are temporary positions filled by tech professionals who work on a short-term basis, typically for 3 to 12 months. These workers are either independent contractors or employed through a staffing firm, providing companies with flexibility and access to specialized skills.

Pros of Hiring Contract Tech Talent:

✅ Faster Hiring Process – Contractors can be onboarded quickly, helping businesses meet urgent project deadlines.
✅ Cost-Effective for Short-Term Needs – Companies save on benefits, payroll taxes, and long-term commitments.
✅ Access to Highly Specialized Skills – Contractors often bring niche expertise in emerging technologies.
✅ Scalability – Businesses can ramp up or down based on project demands without the burden of permanent headcount.

Cons of Hiring Contract Tech Talent:

⚠️ Less Long-Term Stability – Contractors may leave after their assignment, requiring frequent rehiring.
⚠️ Limited Cultural Integration – Short-term hires may not fully align with company culture or long-term strategy.
⚠️ Higher Hourly Costs – While cost-effective in the short term, hourly contract rates are often higher than full-time salaries.

When to Choose Contract Hiring:

You need specialized expertise for a short-term project.
Your company has variable workloads and needs flexibility.
You’re launching a new product or system and need expert support.
You want to test new technologies before committing to full-time resources.

What Are The Main Differences Between Contract and Full-Time Tech Jobs?

Trying to decide whether a contract or full-time hire is the right move for your business? It can be tricky, as both options bring different benefits to the table. To help you get a quick handle on the pros and cons, we've put together a handy table. Take a look below for an at-a-glance overview of how these two hiring models stack up against each other.

Contract-to-Hire: A Trial Period Before Commitment

Contract-to-hire (C2H) is a hybrid model where a candidate starts as a contractor and, after a set period (usually 3-6 months), may transition into a full-time employee. This model allows both the company and the candidate to assess fit before making a long-term commitment.

Pros of Contract-to-Hire Roles:

✅ Reduces Hiring Risk – Employers can evaluate a candidate’s performance, cultural fit, and skills before extending a full-time offer.
✅ Speeds Up Hiring – It’s often easier to secure contract talent than direct hires, helping businesses fill roles quickly.
✅ Flexible Budgeting – Companies can manage costs by hiring on a contract basis first and converting top talent to full-time as budgets allow.
✅ Stronger Candidate Engagement – Employees view C2H as an opportunity for long-term stability, making them more invested in their work.

Cons of Contract-to-Hire Roles:

⚠️ Not Always a Guarantee – Some candidates may be reluctant to accept a C2H role if they prefer immediate full-time employment.
⚠️ Limited Benefits Initially – Contractors typically don’t receive full employee benefits until conversion.
⚠️ Potential for Losing Talent – If a contractor finds another full-time offer before conversion, you may have to restart the hiring process.

When to Choose Contract-to-Hire Hiring:

You want to evaluate a candidate’s fit before committing to a full-time hire.
Your company has a limited hiring budget but may have more flexibility in the near future.
You need to fill a permanent role quickly but don’t have time for a lengthy hiring process.
You’re building a new department or function and want to test the role before fully staffing it.

Full-Time Hiring: Long-Term Investment in Your Workforce

Full-time employees are permanent team members who receive salaries, benefits, and opportunities for growth within your company.

This model is best for businesses looking to build long-term teams and invest in company culture, employee development, and sustained innovation.

Pros of Hiring Full-Time Tech Talent:

✅ Long-Term Stability – Full-time employees are committed to the company’s growth and success.
✅ Stronger Cultural Fit – They integrate fully into the company culture, mission, and team dynamics.
✅ Greater Knowledge Retention – Investing in full-time hires ensures that key expertise remains within your organization.
✅ Employee Loyalty & Engagement – Full-time workers are more likely to stay engaged and motivated when offered growth opportunities.

Cons of Hiring Full-Time Tech Talent:

⚠️ Higher Long-Term Costs – Salaries, benefits, and overhead costs add up over time.
⚠️ Longer Hiring Process – Recruiting and onboarding full-time employees can take weeks or months .
⚠️ Less Flexibility – If your project’s needs change, reducing permanent headcount can be challenging.

When to Choose Full-Time Hiring:

You need long-term team members who will grow with your company.
Your business has stable and predictable workloads requiring continuous support.
You’re building company culture and investing in employee development.
You need leadership and strategic thinkers to drive innovation.

Making the Right Choice for Your Business

Choosing between contract, contract-to-hire, and full-time hiring depends on your company’s immediate needs, budget, and long-term workforce strategy.

If you need flexibility, speed, and niche expertise, contract hiring is the best option.
If you want to test a candidate’s fit before committing, contract-to-hire is a smart approach.
If you’re building a stable, long-term team, full-time hiring is the way to go.

Check out our case studies for some real-world examples of custom tech staffing solutions that helped our clients meet their project goals:

The key to success is aligning your hiring strategy with your business goals. Whether you’re scaling for a short-term project or investing in long-term innovation, the right hiring model can help you stay competitive and agile in the fast-moving tech industry.

Need help finding top tech talent? Our team specializes in contract, contract-to-hire, and full-time placements and project delivery solutions , ensuring you get the right tech talent for the right goals. Let’s connect and build your dream team today!

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The DeWinter Difference | The Role of Male Allyship A Conversation with Brad Johnson, PhD and David Smith, PhD

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 17:52:59 GMT

The DeWinter Difference: T he Role of Male Allyship A Conversation with Brad Johnson, PhD and David Smith, PhD

About The Episode

In this episode of the DeWinter Difference, Derek sits down with Brad Johnson, Ph.D., and David Smith, Ph.D., co-authors of Athena Rising and Good Guys, to explore the critical role of male allyship in the workplace. As seasoned researchers and professors—Brad at the U.S. Naval Academy and Johns Hopkins University, and David at the Carey Business School at Johns

Hopkins—they bring a wealth of insight into how men can be more effective allies and

mentors for women.

Their conversation delves into the challenges and misconceptions surrounding allyship, the importance of engaging men in gender equity efforts, and actionable strategies leaders can implement to foster more inclusive workplaces. Brad and David share their personal motivations

for this work, lessons from their research, and how organizations can move beyond individual actions to create systemic change.

Whether you're a leader, mentor, or simply looking to better support your colleagues, this discussion offers valuable perspectives on making workplaces more equitable for all.

Transcript:

The Role of Male Allyship A Conversation with Brad Johnson PhD and David Smith PhD

Derek DeWinter: Hello, everyone my name is Derek DeWinter and welcome to our listeners who are tuning into the DeWinter Difference, an audio podcast where I spend a bit of time with incredible people I've known for years and you get to listen in. I hope that our conversations are insightful, fun, challenge us all, make you think a little and are just long enough to listen to while running an errand.

Our goal is to have a good time and provide something that you can apply in your own career, life and relationships. Today we're speaking with Brad Johnson and David Smith. Brad is a professor of psychology in the Department of Leadership, Ethics, and Law at the U. S. Naval Academy, and a faculty associate in the Graduate School of Education at Johns Hopkins University.

David is an associate professor in the Carey Business School at Johns Hopkins University.

Together, they coauthored two books, Athena Rising, How and Why Men Should Mentor Women, and Good Guys, How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace. Now, this is a bit of a departure from our typical conversations with a CFO, CEO, or CHRO, and that we've had in our podcast in the past, which on its own is a great reason to do anything. For all of those out there leading organizations, developing teams, teaching and promoting high achievers, then Brad and David are well worth the listen. Me, maybe not so much. Gentlemen, it's a pleasure to have you join me.

David Smith: Thanks for having us.

Brad Johnson: Great to be here.

Derek DeWinter: So where to begin? Well, all good stories need to start, so let's start at your beginning. In no particular order, share a little bit about how you two met, what you're spending the bulk of your time on today, and how this concept of male allyship that you discuss in your books and and in other conversations that you have, probably also started taking shape along that journey.

David Smith: Yeah, glad to do that. I'll start here. This is David and, you know, Brad and I met when we were both teaching at the Naval Academy. We were both professors there at the same time. We overlapped for about seven years, I think Brad and I very quickly recognized that we had a connection in terms of our work, our research, and our teaching and as we began to explore that, I think we found a kind of a common area of interest that we were interested in.

A lot of our own individual research that we do, Brad is a clinical psychologist. He's done all of his research in the area of mentoring and career developmental relationships and resources. I'm a sociologist, and I've done all my research in the area of gender, work and family issues. One of the things that we noticed in our own organization at the time, and as well as across many other organizations, is that we wanted to explore often the solution to what we view as gender inequities.

For example, a lack of representation of women and senior leadership positions in your organization, or just a lack of gender parity broadly in your organization, the solution is often to focus programming and resources toward things like women in leadership programs or women's mentoring programs, which are great.

Those are much needed, the challenge with that is that it often sends a signal to men that you don't have a place there. It's not, that's not for you, you don't have a role or a function, so, they don't engage and they don't see their place there. The challenge with that is we need, of course, all of us involved in creating equity in the workplace to level the playing field there.

We need men involved just as much as we do women in collaboration to do this work. We love to look at this as more of a leadership issue that we all men and women as leaders have a role and a function when it comes to creating that, and we certainly saw a lot of the disparities in our own research.

This kind of got us more curious about how do we engage more men in doing this work and how do we level the playing field? That's what began this collaboration. I will also tell you that for both of us, that we both kind of have personal connections to this work in terms of people, women in our lives who have shared some of their experiences.

For me, it was my wife who had a parallel career in the military. For Brad, it was his sister again, followed in his footsteps in terms of both the Navy and in psychology and they shared a lot of their, the challenges, the barriers, the microaggressions, the things that they faced that really get in touch with that sense of fairness and justice that I think we all have.

I think that was a great motivating factor for us as well. We use that to really explore in our work, that's of course led to our first two books, Athena rising, and then later on good guys, which focuses on allyship. As far as what we're focused on today, we're in the process of really thinking about how to take this to the next level in terms of changing systems.

We've been focused so much on individually around people, which is important because we need to do that. As leaders, we need to think about how we help managers and the everyday person on the floor be great, be a great ally in the workplace and be part of the solution.

But at the same time, we know there are everyday practices. There are parts of our culture, there are policies and processes in our organizations that reinforce bias that are creating some of these things that are, you know, holding us back from getting to true gender equity in the workplace. Our focus right now, the work that we're doing and really moving toward our third book is on how do we create that in the workplace?

What are leaders and organizations doing today that are having great success there, how can we extrapolate that to other organizations, maybe of different sizes, different sectors, different industries out there so that we can all kind of share and learn from each other in doing this.

We're trying to bring together all these great best practices, which fortunately there are a lot of them, but that's also the challenge of how do you boil that down and get that into a book? So we're really excited to launch this new venture.

Derek DeWinter: It's a good foundation for us too! To kind of the listeners, especially to kind of conceptualize this conversation and where we kind of want to take it. Brad several years ago, I attended an event as part of a women’s organization that I was on the board of, and you were presenting on this topic of allyship, which honestly, I hadn't really heard it spoken to so specifically before.

One of the exercises that we went through at the time was for a man, which I was one of several that were there out of a group of about 100 or 150 people to approach a woman about being a mentor or ally for them. I was on a round table with another man and between the two of us, we did a terrible job in our mock session.

It was a very intimidating thing to do without a lot of planning for what I was going to say. Because the exercise wasn't preplanned, I didn't really know about it, I came off as almost predatory and I wish I had a different word for it, but that's the one that I keep coming back to again and again, I hate to use the word predatory, but I was pitching the idea of being an ally to someone who, even in this exercise, immediately seemed to give off some concern about the authenticity of the overture.

There are certainly right and wrong ways to do it, I probably did it the wrong way in that exercise. So I'd love for you to talk about some of the things that you've heard in your experience, for us to combat this notion.

Brad Johnson: Yeah, well, well first of all, Derek you know, thanks for your courage and giving that a shot. I know that it's not easy in these workshops to kind of bust out your ally chops and give some of these ally skills a try. So, you know, I think this was probably exercise around, Hey, if I see a high talent woman in my organization, there are probably lots of them. How do I go about initiating a developmental relationship conversation? And Derek, I'm going to give you a different word other than predatory. I think it can sometimes come off as a little creepy, maybe that's a little softer than predatory, but you know I think it's natural, but men may show up and say something like this.

I'd like to mentor you, right? and I just use my creepy voice, which you never should. But I think we can get it wrong when we do this offer without any context. She, of course, has no idea what you are talking about? Where did this come from? It's quite different to sort of come alongside and build in some affirmation, make it authentic and say, hey, you know, I saw you do that talk last week in the meeting. I thought it was really great. And I was thinking to myself we're really lucky that we got to hire you, and I was also thinking, I hope we can keep you on board so, you know, if you ever just want to talk about next steps in the organization, what that might look like, if there's any way I can support or amplify that I've got an open door, feel free to drop by.

Right? That's a little different, right? It doesn't have the creepy vibe. It's an offer, but there's context to it and I'm able to convey to her some of what I already admire about her performance and the way she shows up. Now it's over to her, right? To decide if she wants to take me up on that, I think that feels different.

I don't think it feels uncomfortable and you know, now it's up to her, but I think most people would probably take me up if I was a senior person in the company, I think they'd drop by. So that's maybe just an example of how that might look. One other example, Dave and I, you know, often encourage men to build what we call their GQ, their gender intelligence.

I think when it comes to allyship, it's really important not to put all the work on women to educate you about what they experience in the workplace. So how about self-educating, listen to some great podcasts like this one, learn about some of the headwinds women encounter, and then go to some of those trusted colleagues that you have who happened to be women and just say, Hey, I was in this session I learned about this, and I'm really curious if this is going on here or if there are things I am missing and would it be okay if I asked you about some of your experiences here? So, Dave and I call this the ask, you know, I think that kind of overture really conveys your curiosity, your interest, your humility.

I think a lot of people are willing to share with you about what they may be encountering in the workplace with you as a majority male or not. So that's just another kind of contextualized way to begin a conversation.

Derek DeWinter: You are both incredible presenters, the topic is awesome and I can't help but wonder, there must have been a few times, maybe in the early stages of talking about this, where the conversation landed poorly or awkwardly, you know, in a room or you got a very unexpected response from a group of people around male allyship.

Am I wrong in thinking this? Or is that something you can talk about a little bit more?

David Smith: You're not wrong at all and it's probably no surprise, but it often comes in more majority male audiences and, and there could be, you know, it really comes in the form of often some pushback or at least some very, very in depth questioning about the validity or what we're really talking about here.

I think that you know, when we first started doing this work, just to be very, very honest and open about this, I think, you know, early on, that was one of those kinds of fears, right? If you don't want to be in that audience where you're going to get all the pushback. I think what we learned along the way is that we really do want people to push back and in areas that they don't understand or they're not comfortable with or they have other ideas.

Because this gives us an opportunity to engage in the conversation around why we think this is important or to understand different ways and perspectives of thinking about this. I think that's very helpful and so something that may have started out to be very uncomfortable in dealing with I think we quickly recognize that this was actually very helpful, and we do want people to ask the hard questions or the maybe what may seem like a very uncomfortable question or pushing back on some of the concepts that we have and about why this is true, or, you know, and for example, zero sum beliefs are one of those things that we often encounter with again, a lot of majority identities certainly with a lot of white men.

And that, you know, somehow by advancing another group like women, that somehow men are going to lose in that and not understand maybe the, the perspective of understanding that, well. You know, businesses and organizations and people all tend to advance and to gain more when we expand the pie and do it this way.

There's a lot more in it for your organization and your business, no matter what that is but two, there's more to be learned and to be gained individually for you as a person and as a leader. When we diversify we increase the gender equity within the workplace and make it a place where again, everybody can thrive.

The other thing is that policies and practices that we end up changing, for example, more men today, especially as we think about younger generations of men entering the workplace have expectations about being more involved parents and partners at home so they're looking for a workplace that's supportive of that.

So again, as we begin to normalize things like caregiving and who we are as caregivers in the workplace, that again, tends to be associated more with women. Well, if that becomes more normalized, then it's acceptable for men to be doing that as well and so again, we can be gaining in lots of other ways that people are looking for, maybe not so eager to talk about in different ways.

Brad Johnson: And let me add one more, Derek, that is the other part of the audience. It's often there when Dave and I are speaking to women, I think that we have encountered pushback at times from women. And I think initially we were a little surprised by that, like, hey, we're women, we're trying to be part of the solution here on gender equity. What's the deal? I think we had to learn some humility around how women can experience this. If men sort of bud in to, you know, maybe it's a women's ERG or a women's conference, you know, these are safe spaces historically for women to get together, share what they're going through, collaborate with each other.

These have felt like, I think, almost sacred spots for women to have one place free of, you know, sexism and microaggressions. So when men show up, understandably, some women can, you know, feel put off by that. I think we all have to show up with some real humility. I hope that we can get invited in because, you know, the World Bank estimates we've got roughly 200 years to close the gender pay gap and other inequities in the workplace at our current rate of progress we're not going to get there quickly unless men start leaning in, but how we collaborate with women matters is cannot come off as intrusive, it can't come off as rescuing and white knighting.

So men who show up in this space need to be collaborative, need to listen and need to ask women hey, what do you need from me or how can I be helpful?

Derek DeWinter: You've got a third book coming out, which you talked about a little bit more of a systemic look at the topic. How much work are you guys doing at corporations specifically on this topic? Or is it just books and speaking engagements? Help me understand that a little bit.

Brad Johnson: Yeah, great question. I can mention a few things, Dave, and I'm sure you'll think of others you know, we do the keynotes and the speaking for sure, but I think more and more, Derek, I think organizations are interested in not just the keynote, which can be inspirational and give kind of a level set for everybody in their organization about, why allyship, what's the business and moral case? Why are we talking about this? What's in it for everybody? And here are some tactics. More organizations are interested in how we upskill?

So Dave and I find ourselves doing more workshops and, you know, those are both workshops with men. These can be men in senior leadership roles, they can be men writ large, but these are men who are leaning into partnering with women in the organization to really be better allies for inclusion and equity.

I think a lot of men believe in this, that's what we find. They just often don't know what to do so that's really the solution that we're after. How do we upskill people, bring them in, let them have collaborative conversations, kind of like you, Derek, at that workshop you attended, let's practice, you know, some of the micro skills.

We also do it with mixed gender audience, and I think I don't want to speak for Dave, but I think for both of us, that's really kind of our favorite when we can talk about gender collaboration broadly, and then let both men and women and non binary colleagues engage in these conversations and practice moments.

The learning is so rich when you're doing that at a table with colleagues who don't look like you. So the skill building workshops, and then interestingly, we've been pulled into doing a lot of sponsoring work. I think a lot of organizations are saying, hey, the mentoring thing's important, and Dave and I do a lot of that as well, but we really want to get to advocacy.

We're not going to close this gap until men, especially start getting comfortable with loudly sponsoring, loudly advocating for women, becoming their raving fan. We want to put resources into that we've been involved in setting up and launching a number of sponsoring programs across gender, but Dave, anything else comes to mind.

David Smith: Yeah, I think that covers most of it, a lot of it tends to be focused on more kind of cultural shift in the organization as well and making it a place where it's not only safe to talk about some of these topics, but encouraged to share and to talk about what's the challenges that people are facing.

I think we're really looking to move in the coming years and are really getting back into the organizations to think about their specific practices, right? What are the structural things that need to change right before we could have lasting change? And we can create change for many people, lots of people, as opposed to just these one on one encounters that we're focused on right now.

Derek DeWinter: You both spent a fair amount of time at the Naval Academy, and this is not a question that I gave you advance warning on, I'm curious if being in that institution, that environment advanced some of these thoughts in a way that you may not have been able to advance them in a strictly corporate setting.

I'm not even sure that was an actual question, that's more of a statement, but like, is there an idea in that or not? Is the Naval Institute a place where you can kind of think about things a little bit differently and maybe apply them in, I shouldn't say the real world, but a different world, you know, outside of that?

David Smith: That is an interesting question you know, I think the military context in that it's again longstanding, very traditional hypermasculine institution and profession presents a lot of similarities as it turns out to other professions. So as you think about medicine and law, for example, there's a lot of commonality and even academia broadly the Naval Academy is kind of that blend between the academic world and and the military.

So we get two professions you know, in getting the best or the worst of, and both of those as you think about it so I think that it did provide the context for us in our work. Our own experiences having been around the military for so long to think about how things work or don't work and how these would apply and some of the things that we've encountered.

I think it certainly informed a lot of the questions that we had as we began doing the research and how we were going to explore this. I think it also equipped us in understanding how, again, a group of people focused on a mission, a purpose focused group, right? The military and people focused on being leaders.

Leadership is important, right? It's a critical part of who we are in the military. I think that gave us that context in a way to talk to audiences in other professions and other industries and other types of occupations out there. They're different and I think that one of the challenges is finding the nuanced differences of what can I leverage in the culture of this occupation or profession that's different than maybe the military or another legal profession and use that to your advantage.

Because again, I do think there are differences in the cultures within these different professions that allow you to leverage different things and you should look for that.

Brad Johnson: I think two other things come to mind for me, Derek. I mean, number one, one of the inspirations for our first book, Athena rising was these women we worked with at the Naval Academy. These are incredibly inspirational, incredibly talented and tough young women who are preparing to go lead sailors and Marines in combat.

When they graduate, I think, you know, our sense was that if more men around the country could engage with some of these women, I think we could solve gender inequity much more quickly because it would so shift their mindset on women and their capability and I just think it would build a whole different framework for a lot of men who maybe are suffering from some real embedded gender bias, they don't understand fully.

The other thing about the military is, you know, we have the luxury in the military of making this, as Dave said, a mission driven organization. So when the four star admiral, who's a CNO says, make it so we are going to incorporate women into this specialty, you do it. You know, those are your marching orders, right?

And everyone falls into line, this is about the mission and we know we're gonna be better and stronger if we get this right. So people fall into line and I think that's a luxury a lot of organizations don't have, and there's something valuable about that.

Derek DeWinter: Well, we've talked a little bit about the unfamiliar territory. This topic is, amongst others, to men, they're a minefield, they're full of trapdoors, vernacular that you get thrown around that you don't understand, even references to pioneers, female pioneers that are doing amazing things that men just don't naturally see.

They're not around it nearly as much, they're not part of these sacred circles where those conversations happen more naturally. Do you have any advice? Just quick advice for a guy out there, it's like, all right, I really would like to lean in but I'm a little nervous or I'm a lot nervous, where do I start?

Brad Johnson: Yeah, there's so much here, you know, Dave and I, in our first book Athena rising described this as reluctant male syndrome, right?

There's so many things that make us men uncomfortable with leaning into this idea or the topic of allyship really, frankly, just anxious about close relationships with women.

Maybe it's mentoring, maybe it's friendship, men are reluctant and there are different ingredients, you know, maybe I don't want to step in it, get it wrong. Maybe I'm afraid of gossip or rumors, if I start mentoring a junior woman, maybe I've got implicit bias. So I see women as nice, but not really leadership material.

You know, maybe I'm afraid of getting “me too”, I put that in quotations. A lot of false narratives around Me Too that have allowed men to sort of avoid women post Me Too you know, with the false narrative that women are dangerous. I will just tell you as a clinical psychologist, and I spend a lot of time reminding men of this, there's only one cure for anxiety and that includes anxiety about women, it's called exposure therapy.

More engagement, more interaction, more lunches, more coffee, more mentoring. Don't make that her problem, you know, if you're feeling the anxiety, you need to address that yourself because your organization is going to be held back. If you don't lean on some other ingredients for overcoming this, get comfortable being uncomfortable, right?

You know, a lot of this is new to you. That's fine, you need to take the first step and start showing up at maybe the women's ERG or other gender events. Start learning and start having more conversations with female colleagues. When you step in it, when you get it wrong, when you learn something, share that with other people, you know, maybe other men say, here, I really got this wrong today in a meeting. I got feedback about it, I had no idea I was doing this, I'm sharing this with you in a spirit of humility. Maybe you can learn from my mistake and I think I'm better for having learned that, so those are just a few ideas.

Derek DeWinter: Well I've asked you both a bunch of questions that you've been so thoughtful about answering and the final part of our podcast is me flipping the script a little bit and throwing it to you guys to ask me a question which I don't know what it is and so I'll do my very best to try not to step in that trap door myself, so I'll let you have at it.

Brad Johnson: Okay, well Derek, it won't shock you. I got to follow up my last comment by just asking you, you know, have you had one of those experiences that Dave and I have experienced almost every month in the last 12 years where you kind of got something wrong maybe in the space of relationships with women.

To be an ally, maybe in a meeting you did something or said something that didn't land well. Was there an example, you know, something that came to mind and then how did you pivot from that? How did you learn from it? How did you recover? Because often these are sort of epiphany moments for men so I just wonder, is there something for you?

Derek DeWinter: Well, I'd be lying if I said it doesn't happen often enough to be dangerous. Like I can't give you a specific example right now. Maybe I don't want to be on air but it happens, and I think the important thing that you talked about was like being in a comfortable enough place where you could actually acknowledge it again. Share it with somebody, share it ideally directly with the person, in my opinion, who maybe did take something the wrong way or find what you said uncomfortable or whatever it might be.I think the important thing is to not brush it under a rug because then you can't be better for it.

You know, I first started my journey on being part of women's organizations about 10 years ago when I was asked to be the only man on the board of a women's organization called Watermark and being the first man in the door was really exciting and really daunting.

I found myself in the first several board meetings not expressing my opinion much and doing a whole lot of listening, which I don't think is a bad idea, by the way. My very first introduction to that organization was one of the board members coming up to me, up to me saying, Derek, I did not vote for you to be on the board.

Brad Johnson: Hmm.

Derek DeWinter: I thought to myself, well, this is, this is a crazy introduction. How am I going to fix this? And my response to her was, well, it will be up to me to make you change your mind. So, you know, I take that into consideration when I'm having these reflective conversations with people. It's up to me to make you change your mind about the things that I'm saying.

It's up to me to make myself a better resource, a better mentor, a better advisor, and a better person in general. So that was very long winded.

Brad Johnson: I love that example.

Derek DeWinter: Well, and so a little commercial for the two of you, how do our listeners get a hold of you for speaking engagements for anything related to this topic, other than obviously going to your favorite bookstore and picking up a couple of books and a third on the way?

David Smith: Yeah, you can. I think the easiest way is just to go to our website and that's

workplace allies and you can find out the latest on what we're up to and reach out. We can certainly talk about things if there's ways you would like to collaborate with us.

Derek DeWinter: Fantastic, well on behalf of everybody who's listening, I thank you for the great work that you're doing. You're two incredible men, leaders, fathers, and resources to our country. In addition to being great sociologists and psychologists so thank you for your time. I appreciate it very much, and I hope you guys have a fantastic day.

Brad Johnson: Thanks

David Smith: Thanks

Derek DeWinter: Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to the DeWinter Difference podcast. If you like this episode, head to dewintergroup. com backslash DeWinter hyphen difference to catch future episodes and share your thoughts, comments, or suggestions, and make sure to connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

This podcast is produced by the DeWinter Group. The leading recruiting firm in the Bay Area and beyond. We help top companies and people reach their fullest potential through world class accounting, finance, and technology recruiting services.

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The 2025 Bay Area and Boston Finance & Accounting Salary Guides

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 14:45:00 GMT

The 2025 Finance & Accounting Salary Guides

Gain valuable insights into the Bay Area and Boston job markets with our 2025 Finance & Accounting Salary Guide. This year’s report provides comprehensive salary data for 27 top finance and accounting roles, plus expert-driven market trends to help you navigate the evolving hiring landscape.

Highlights from the 2025 report include:

Salary benchmarks for 27 finance and accounting positions
Location-specific salary insights for the Bay Area & Boston
Exclusive industry and market trends
NEW: Our Salary Search tool to compare salaries across

company sizes

The impact of AI on hiring
2025 hiring trends and what they mean for you

Stay ahead in 2025—download the full report today!

2025 Technology & Digital Salary Guide

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 13:15:02 GMT

The 2025 Technology & Digital Salary Guide

Stay ahead with DeWinter’s 2025 Technology & Digital Salary Guide. This year’s report provides detailed salary data for 67 top technology and digital roles, along with localized insights for the Bay Area, Boston, and Southern California. Backed by industry expertise and market trends, this guide is your go-to resource for navigating hiring and compensation in 2025.

Highlights from the 2025 report include:

Comprehensive salary benchmarks for 67 technology and digital positions
Location-specific salary insights for the Bay Area, Boston, and Southern California
Exclusive industry and market trends shaping 2025
NEW: Our Salary Search tool to compare salaries across regions
The impact of AI on hiring and workforce demand
Compensation trends and labor market insights for the year ahead

Stay ahead in 2025—download the full report today!

Meet DeWinter’s Technology Talent and Project Delivery Team

Sun, 05 Jan 2025 18:30:00 GMT

Reintroducing DeWinter’s Technology Talent and Project Delivery Team

As we look to the future and continue to evolve as a technology staffing and recruitment firm, we are thrilled to share an exciting milestone with our clients and candidates: Maris Consulting Group is rebranding to come under the name of our parent company, DeWinter.

This transition represents more than a change in our name—it’s a reflection of our commitment to providing unparalleled technology talent solutions and project delivery services, and a testament to the strength we’ve built as part of the DeWinter family. We’re excited for what this reunion means for everyone involved—our clients, candidates, and team.

With this rebranding, we are raising the bar on our tech talent solutions and project delivery services . In the two-plus decades since our founding in 2000, DeWinter has established itself as a trusted partner in connecting top-tier talent. We want to thank you—our clients and candidates—for the trust and loyalty you’ve shown us over the years. As we embark on this exciting new chapter, we’re more committed than ever to serving as your strategic partner in achieving your goals.

We look forward to continuing to grow with you, delivering the highest standards of excellence, and setting new benchmarks for success under the DeWinter name. Together, we’re building the future of tech talent solutions, and we can’t wait to see what we’ll accomplish. By aligning under DeWinter, we’re able to bring together the best of our expertise in staffing and recruitment, while also expanding our capabilities and resources to meet the ever-evolving needs of the tech industry. Our clients can expect an elevated experience, as we’re ready to deliver the quality and depth of service that only DeWinter can offer.

What does this mean for our clients and candidates? It means you’ll be working with a more agile, national tech team that’s dedicated to helping you stay ahead in a fast-moving world. Technology is advancing rapidly, and so are we. By uniting under DeWinter, we’re able to leverage the latest technology and industry insights, providing you with innovative, forward-thinking solutions that give you a competitive edge. From talent acquisition to project delivery, our goal is to empower our partners to not only keep up with changes but to thrive amidst them.

Kathryn Krueger

President, DeWinter Technology Division

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A Message From Our CEO: DeWinter's 2025 Rebranding

Sat, 04 Jan 2025 15:15:00 GMT

A Message From Our CEO: DeWinter's 2025 Rebranding

As we mark our 25th year in business, we’re thrilled to unveil an exciting refreshed look for our firm. Today, I’m proud to announce our rebranding, which brings a refreshed logo and a unified identity as we reunite Maris Consulting Group, our technology talent and project delivery team, under the DeWinter name. This update isn’t just about aesthetics; it represents a homecoming to the values that have guided us since 2000—values rooted in great relationships, integrity, and a fierce determination to serve our clients and candidates.

Rebranding is a powerful moment of reflection, and it’s been inspiring to look back at how far we’ve come. Over the past 25 years, we’ve grown from a small team with a big dream to a leading staffing and recruitment firm with a nationwide reach. The decision to unite our technology division under the DeWinter brand reflects the strength of our collective mission. By consolidating our expertise and aligning our identity, we can continue to provide even stronger, more seamless services for both existing and new clients, and a more unified experience for our candidates.

We're grateful to everyone who has been with us for any part of this journey and we're thrilled you'll be with us as we continue to write our story. This rebrand is not just a new look; it’s a reaffirmation of our commitment to be a partner impacting your success, now with a renewed energy and vision. We’re excited to embark on this new chapter with you, and we look forward to the next 25 years of connecting exceptional talent with meaningful opportunities. Thank you for being part of our continuing story!

Derek DeWinter

CEO and President of DeWinter

DeWinter Delivers Data and Analytics Solution to Industry-Leading Social Media Company

Sat, 04 Jan 2025 00:10:43 GMT

DeWinter Delivers Data and Analytics Solution to Industry-Leading Social Media Company

The Challenge

Our longtime client, an industry-leading social media company based in the Bay Area, needed to augment teams that provided Data Analytics and workflow tooling across a 1,500-person Engineering and Product organization.

These teams required expert talent and were responsible for the consumer app and all revenue contributions for the company.

The Solution

Our team consulted with our client’s key stakeholders, to develop a customized plan for a more efficient and impact data and analytics support system.

We helped our client move from a disjointed “embedded” team model to a shared services team that was able to scale at a level that brought more expertise, domain knowledge and efficiency to the group.

We were able to create a standardized recruitment process that allowed us to fill each role in under 18 days on average and 1.6 candidates to 1 hire.

The DeWinter team of Data Analysts, Scientists and Engineers provided analytic solutions for ad partners, user behavior, consumer trends, and monetization. These insights contributed to achieving revenue growth targets and led to the development of consumer-focused features that have increased user retention.

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DeWinter Places Cyber Risk Analyst at Major Computing Platform Company

Fri, 03 Jan 2025 18:00:01 GMT

DeWinter Places Cyber Risk Analyst at Major Computing Platform Company

The Challenge

Our client, a major computing platform company in the Bay Area, needed additional support and expertise to help drive and mature their cyber risk program.

DeWinter Group had partnered with their Cyber Security team for a few years, finding the right talent to grow their small team.

Cyber Security expertise is in extremely high demand so finding an experienced resource in this labor market can be a challenge.

The Solution

Our team consulted with the client’s Chief Information Security Officer and Head of Cyber Risk Team to define their needs.

We started our search and identified a highly qualified consultant to support their team in this specialized role. Our candidate had an extremely high level of professionalism, excellent communication, and technical expertise, including experience in both offensive and defensive practice areas to help define and operationalize new capabilities.

Our client interviewed only 4 candidates for the position and selected our consultant, who helped to establish and lead the Cyber Risk Program within the corporate Information Security organization. He helped with investigations, insider threat, threat intelligence, threat hunting, and coordinating purple team exercises to continuously improve the client’s security program.

Bringing a backgroud as Security Engineer, our Cyber Risk Analyst consultant was hands-on and a leader, driving innovation and partnership across security and non-security teams. Using his expertise and research experience, he found opportunities for improvement and for upskilling the technical defenses of the client’s environment through internal activities, public industry engagements, and R&D.

Our consultant was so successful, the client converted him to a full-time employee.

DeWinter Accelerates iOS Modernization Plan for Bay Area Tech Company

Fri, 03 Jan 2025 16:45:00 GMT

DeWinter Accelerates iOS Modernization Plan for Bay Area Tech Company

The Challenge

Our longtime client, an industry-leading social media platform, needed to accelerate their iOS modernization effort to move from Objective C to Swift.
They had over 40 modules that need to be migrated to Swift on a timeline of 6-9 months for completion.
This team was not able to take on this scope of work with existing resources and needed DeWinter Group to fully staff a team of 12 within two weeks.

The Solution

Our team coordinated with the Chief of Staff to the Engineering Organization and Mobile Engineering Director to develop a custom solution for their project’s needs.
Our team’s plan would meet the key requirement to find consultants who had experience with large code bases that had done large-scale iOS migrations from Objective C to Swift on an expedited timeline.
We leveraged our Recruiting Blueprint which included streamlined screening techniques to ensure quality resources, including:
Technical coding assessments
Customized screening document to detail specific past projects and technical expertise
Reference, background, and ID verifications
Our team was able to onboard a highly qualified team from scratch in two weeks for a time-sensitive and high-priority client project.

DeWinter Develops Cloud-Based User Ecosystem for Bose

Fri, 03 Jan 2025 16:45:00 GMT

DeWinter Develops Cloud-Based User Ecosystem for Bose

About Bose

Bose Corporation is driven by its founding principles, investing in long-term research with one fundamental goal: to develop new technologies with real customer benefits. Bose innovations have spanned decades and industries, creating and transforming categories in audio and beyond. Bose products for the home, in the car, on the go and in public spaces have become iconic, changing the way people listen to music.

The Challenge

Bose tasked DeWinter with developing a cloud-based infrastructure to support millions of their users. Our team would need to pull on multiple technical specialties and services to create this scalable and secure ecosystem.

The Solution

Implementation and Scaling

Our team successfully launched their new cloud-based user ecosystem, allowing a new wave of IoT devices to connect to the platform seamlessly and scale this platform to support millions of concurrent users.

Technical Expertise and Support

DeWinter consulted across the stack, providing resources that have built microservices at a large scale and provided DevSecOps services to secure their users.

Specialty Support

Our team provided the following specialty services and technologies to achieve our client's goals:

Microservices Development at Scale
DevSecOps
Cloud Development
Embedded engineering
IoT development

DeWinter Creates ERP Solution for Executive Coaching Platform

Fri, 03 Jan 2025 16:30:00 GMT

DeWinter Creates ERP Solution for Executive Coaching Platform

The Challenge

Our client was a San Francisco-based company specializing in virtual executive coaching that can help users of their platform to be more productive and achieve personal goals.

Their team was struggling to utilize Workday as their ERP. No one on their team had experience with the system nor did they feel they were effectively leveraging it as a tool.

The Solution

Our team met with key stakeholders, including their Controller, to develop a targeted plan to improve their ERP experience.

We determined that finding a dedicated Workday Administrator to help with the system would alleviate the challenges their team was facing. Tapping on our network of top Business Systems professionals, we identified and presented two highly-qualified profiles.

In less than a week, our candidate, a Workday Administrator that had primarily focused on Workday as an ERP and not as an HRIS, was selected and is still a successful part of their team.

DeWinter Group Expands Technology Consulting Services into Southern California

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 17:47:27 GMT

DeWinter Expands Technology Consulting Services into Southern California

We’re excited to announce that the DeWinter is expanding our technology consulting and project delivery services in Southern California. We and our colleagues at Maris Consulting Group are dedicated to matching top talent with premier organizations across various industries. This expansion allows us to bring a more holistic suite of solutions to the Southern California market, helping companies achieve their technology goals with ease and efficiency.

Led by Ryan Tweedy , our Southern California technology team is passionate about this new opportunity and ready to take on the challenge.

Jody Stevenson will be joining Ryan as our first Manager of Technical Consulting in the region. Our team brings years of experience and a deep understanding of the tech landscape, ensuring that our team is equipped to place the right talent in the right roles. Whether companies need to rapidly scale up for a major project or require specialized consultants for ongoing support, our team’s expertise and local insights make us an invaluable partner. We’re excited to support Southern California’s dynamic tech community by connecting companies with the skilled professionals they need to drive innovation and growth.

This new chapter is a testament to DeWinter Group’s commitment to continually improving our client and candidate experience. By combining our staffing and recruiting expertise with robust consulting capabilities, we are uniquely positioned to address the evolving needs of today’s fast-paced tech industry. We look forward to working closely with our Southern California clients and candidates to accomplish big things together. Here’s to a future of strong partnerships, successful projects, and continued growth in Southern California!

About DeWinter

DeWinter is the industry leader in helping top companies and people reach their fullest potential through world-class accounting, finance and tech recruiting services.

Search Technology Jobs

Find the Best Career Opportunities in the Bay Area, Southern California, and Boston.

How to Know If You Need Additional Support For Year-End Accounting

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 15:40:39 GMT

How to Know If You Need Additional Support

For Year-End Accounting

By Emily Calicchio, Managing Director, New England

As we approach the end of another fiscal year, businesses face the crucial task of closing out their financials, which can be both time-consuming and complex. According to a report by Thomson Reuters, keeping up with tax law and government regulations ranked No. 3 among the top accounting challenges in 2024.

From reconciling accounts to ensuring compliance with the latest tax regulations, the year-end accounting process can strain internal teams, especially when short on staff or expertise. DeWinter Group, with its extensive network of accounting professionals, is ready to help businesses navigate this critical period.

Year-End Challenges and Why Companies Need Support

The year-end financial close can stretch internal accounting teams to their limits, especially as they face various challenges:

Increased Workload

As companies prepare financial statements, finalize budgets, and file taxes, accounting departments often struggle with the sheer volume of work. The burden increases if teams are already understaffed or working with less-experienced personnel.

Tight Deadlines

Deloitte's year-end financial report states that 70% of companies encounter significant issues when trying to meet audit timelines.

Compliance

Tax laws, particularly around deductions and credits, change frequently. The IRS has introduced over 400 tax code revisions in the past decade alone. Staying compliant in day-to-day operations is a considerable burden for many businesses.

How Support From Accounting Consultants Can Improve Your

Year-End Workflow

1. Handle Increased Workload

Year-end tasks often pile up quickly. Consultants help manage the extra workload, allowing your internal team to focus on priority tasks without getting overwhelmed.

2. Specialized Expertise

Consultants bring specialized knowledge of complex year-end procedures, tax regulations, and compliance, ensuring accuracy and reducing

the risk of errors.

3. Time Efficiency

With extra hands on deck, deadlines are met faster, allowing your team to close books promptly and prepare for audits or tax

filings without delays.

4. Fresh Perspective

External consultants can identify inefficiencies in your processes that your internal team might overlook, bringing in new strategies to improve workflows.

5. Cost-Effective

Hiring short-term accounting support during peak periods, like year-end, prevents the need for permanent hires while still ensuring you have the resources necessary to close the books smoothly.

Getting extra support ensures smoother operations, reduced stress, and better results for year-end reporting.

How DeWinter Group Can Help

DeWinter Group understands the pressures that come with year-end accounting, and our firm specializes in staffing and recruiting top-tier accounting and finance professionals. Whether your business needs extra hands for temporary positions or skilled experts for permanent roles, DeWinter Group can connect you with professionals who are equipped to manage the complexities of year-end financial close.

Here’s how we can support your team:

1. On-Demand Talent

We maintain a robust network of experienced accountants, auditors, and financial analysts who are available for immediate long or short-term assignments, covering gaps in your team for the busiest times of the year.

2. Experienced Professionals

Our consultants have years of expertise in key areas like general ledger reconciliation, tax preparation, financial reporting, and more. Our candidates have the skills to ensure your year-end financials are managed efficiently.

3. Industry Expertise

DeWinter Group’s talent pool includes professionals who have worked in diverse industries—ranging from tech startups to Fortune 500

companies — ensuring you find someone who understands the specific needs and regulatory environment of your sector.

4. Customized Solutions

We tailor our staffing solutions to meet the unique demands of your business, ensuring a smooth year-end close.

Why Choose DeWinter Group?

DeWinter Group has over 24 years of experience in connecting businesses with finance and accounting talent in the Bay Area and beyond. Our deep understanding of the financial and regulatory landscape means we can provide the specialized support your team needs to meet year-end deadlines without compromising on quality.

As you prepare for the end of the fiscal year, now is the time to assess your team’s capacity to manage the added pressures of year-end accounting. Whether you need temporary staffing, permanent hires, or project-based support, DeWinter Group has the expertise and talent pool to ensure your financial close is seamless and successful.

For more information on how we can support your year-end accounting needs, contact your friends at DeWinter Group today.

About the Author:

Emily Calicchio brings a wealth of knowledge and talent to the DeWinter Group, including seven years of institutional knowledge of the Finance and Accounting industry, proven skills in developing teams, and experience working with household-name clients in the NYC market.

"As a Boston native, I'm excited and ready to bring DeWinter Group's highly-regarded reputation and my passion for high-level service and top-tier candidate experience to my own backyard."

About DeWinter Consulting Boston:

Are you considering additional finance or accounting consulting solutions in 2024? Whether you need immediate, short-term accounting support or have an urgent project that requires specific skills , DeWinter Consulting’s Boston has the finance and accounting network to help New England's top companies thrive. DeWinter Group's Boston Consulting team offers professional on-demand finance and accounting support. Learn more and get in touch today.

8 Times Tech Companies Should Turn to a Recruiting Agency

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 13:29:52 GMT

8 Times Tech Companies Should Turn to a Recruiting Agency

By Matt Berg, Vice President and Managing Director , Technical Consulting

Hiring top-tier talent in today's competitive landscape can feel like trying to find a needle in a haystack. However, partnering with a recruiting agency can be your secret weapon to save time, money, and sanity.

With over 12 years of experience in IT consulting and staffing, I’ve seen it all. Here are eight crucial moments when a recruiting agency can swoop in to save the day:

1. Urgent Hiring Needs

Got a sudden departure or a project deadline breathing down your neck? No worries! Recruiting agencies have a vast network of pre-screened tech pros ready to jump in. They excel in swift turnarounds, getting the right talent in place faster than you can say “deadline.”

2. Specialized Skill Requirements

Need a unicorn who knows AI, cybersecurity, or cloud architecture? A recruiting agency has your back! They know how to find those with the exact skills you need. They dig deeper than resumes to ensure candidates have the knowledge and tech chops your projects demand.

3. Limited Internal Resources

Feeling overwhelmed with stacks of resumes? Let a recruiting agency handle the heavy lifting! They act as an extension of your HR team, managing candidate sourcing, screening, and interviews. This frees up your team to focus on what they do best. In New England, most software developer roles get hundreds of applicants on LinkedIn, and 66% of job seekers wait only two weeks for a callback before moving on. Recruiting agencies are the most efficient way to cut through the noise and connect with the applicants that most qualified for the job.

4. Confidential Searches

Need to replace a key leader or address underperformance discreetly? Recruiting agencies maintain top-notch discretion. Their professional approach ensures your company’s privacy and reputation are protected throughout the process.

5. Access to Passive Candidates

The best talent isn’t always on the job hunt. Recruiting agencies have connections with passive candidates who might just need the right offer to make a move. Their sought-after networks of tech pros bring exceptional skills and experience to your team.

6. Temporary or Project-Based Needs

Got a short-term project or need to cover a leave of absence? Recruiting agencies have skilled temporary employees ready to jump in. Keep your productivity high without long-term commitments.

7. Geographic Expansion

Expanding into new markets can be tricky. Recruiting agencies can help you navigate local talent pools to ensure you attract the best local tech professionals and establish a strong foothold in new regions - they already know the candidates in the market!

8. Cost-Effective Solutions

Think recruiting agencies are too pricey? Think again! Partnering with one can be more cost-effective than managing the hiring process in-house. Avoid the costs of unfilled positions, high turnover, and hiring mistakes. Agencies work on contingency or fee-for-service models, ensuring you only pay for successful hires.

Whether it’s tackling urgent hiring needs, sourcing specialized skills, managing confidential searches, or expanding into new markets, recruiting agencies offer the expertise, resources, and support needed to achieve your hiring goals and drive business success. Not sure if partnering with a recruiting agency is right for your tech team? Reach out and chat about how they can support your unique staffing needs.

About the Author:

With over 12 years of IT staffing and consulting experience, Matt Berg is a dynamic business development executive and team leader. He currently serves as the Vice President and Managing Director at DeWinter Technology, dedicated to ensuring that technical teams meet their goals by providing top IT talent. Matt resides in Millbury, MA, with his wife and three kids, a dog, and some chickens.

About DeWinter Technology:

Born out of the fast-paced, future-focused, and highly diverse culture of the Bay Area, DeWinter Technology believes that embracing the power of people is the key to breakthroughs. From the West Coast to the East Coast, we understand the power, depth, and unpredictability of the tech industry and can help you find the best people to navigate it.

Are you considering additional technology staffing solutions in 2025? Whether you need immediate, short-term technology support or have an urgent project that requires specific skills, DeWinter Technology has the network to help top companies thrive.

The DeWinter team offers professional on-demand technology support. Learn more and get in touch today.

The DeWinter Difference with Dave Stephenson, Chief Business Officer and Head of Employee Experience at Airbnb

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 18:59:54 GMT

The DeWinter Difference with Dave Stephenson, Chief Business Officer and Head of Employee Experience at Airbnb

About The Episode

In this episode of the DeWinter Difference, Derek sits down with Dave Stephenson, Chief Business Officer and Head of Employee Experience at Airbnb. Dave shares his incredible career journey, from being a ski racer and aspiring architect at Montana State, to roles at Procter & Gamble, Amazon, and his current position at Airbnb.

They discuss the importance of gaining deep functional skills, the value of mentorship, and the critical role Airbnb played as an Olympic sponsor. Dave also offers advice for aspiring leaders and reflects on his own experiences, including teaching skiing and what he’s learned hosting on the Airbnb platform.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro

00:30 Meet Dave Stephenson: From Amazon to Airbnb

01:05 Dave's Early Career and Education

02:35 Transition to Amazon and Joining Airbnb

04:26 New Role at Airbnb and Leadership Insights

07:20 Advice for Aspiring Leaders

10:36 Airbnb's Role in the Olympics

14:44 Personal Experiences with Airbnb

18:41 Future Aspirations and Final Thoughts

About Dave Stephenson:

Dave Stephenson is responsible for growing Airbnb’s global businesses and overseeing Airbnb’s employee experience. As Chief Business Officer, he is focused on commercializing Airbnb’s new and existing businesses, recruiting and developing Airbnb’s global supply of stays, Experiences, and services, and executing Airbnb’s global in market strategy. As Head of Employee Experience at Airbnb, he oversees talent and leadership development, recruiting, compensation, diversity initiatives, and Airbnb’s Live and Work Anywhere program. Dave previously spent five years as Airbnb’s Chief Financial Officer.

Prior to joining Airbnb, Dave spent 17 years at Amazon, where he was Vice President and CFO of their Worldwide Consumer Organization. Dave also served as CFO of Amazon’s International Consumer business and led finance across many areas of the company, including Amazon Web Services, North America Retail, and Merchant Services.

Dave holds an MBA from the University of Iowa and a BS in Industrial and Management Engineering from Montana State University. He is an Airbnb host in Washington State.

Listen now at the streaming sites listed.

Learn more about the DeWinter Difference podcast here and share your thoughts and comments below.

Where to Stream

Leadership Lessons from 15 Years in Technical Consulting & Staffing

Fri, 13 Sep 2024 13:39:02 GMT

Leadership Lessons from 15 Years in Technical Consulting & Staffing: Insights from Colin Reposa

By Colin Reposa, Executive Vice President, Technical Consulting

In the ever-evolving world of technical consulting and staffing, strong leadership can be the difference between a team that merely survives and one that truly thrives.

With over 15 years of experience in tech staffing and project delivery, Colin Reposa’s teams have placed more than 1,000 people in technology roles across 100 clients. During this time, Colin has gathered invaluable lessons that can elevate both current and aspiring tech leaders.

Lead by Example & with Passion

Your actions set the standard, and your passion drives results. When you're passionate about your work, it inspires your team to bring their best. In an industry where innovation is key and turnover can be high, enthusiasm makes all the difference.

Understand the Competition

Knowing what your competitors offer helps you stay ahead. To capture your share of the market, it's essential to understand who you’re up against, what’s working for them, what’s not, and most importantly—why.

Listen More Than You Speak

Great leaders listen. By paying attention to your team, clients, and candidates, you gather insights that lead to better decisions. Employees are more engaged when they feel heard by their leaders.

Empower Your Team

Give your team the tools and autonomy they need to succeed. Empowered employees are 67% more likely to exceed expectations, driving better results for your team and business.

Master the Art of Prioritization

In the fast-paced world of tech staffing, it's easy to get lost in the daily noise. Effective leaders prioritize what truly matters, focusing on high-impact activities that drive results. This often means making tough decisions and saying "no" to less critical tasks.

Adaptability is Key

Tech staffing and consulting evolve rapidly—it's estimated that 90% of the world’s data was created in just the last two years. To stay relevant, you must quickly adapt to market changes and guide your team through constant shifts.

Be Transparent

Transparency builds trust. Teams that operate with openness see better performance. Being clear about goals, challenges, and decisions fosters collaboration and loyalty.

Celebrate Wins

Celebrate every success, big or small. Recognizing wins keeps morale high and teams motivated. Find out what motivates your team when goals are met, and use that to keep them driven.

Colin Reposa’s journey in tech consulting and staffing offers valuable leadership lessons. By leading by example, studying the competition, empowering teams, and focusing on long-term growth, leaders like Colin can create thriving organizations in any industry. Reach out and chat about how he can support your unique staffing needs.

About DeWinter Technology:

DeWinter Technology combines unparalleled technology talent acquisition expertise with an in-depth and agile understanding of the technologies we service to create the best technology staffing experience available.

Are you considering additional technology staffing solutions in 2025? Whether you need immediate, short-term technology support or have an urgent project that requires specific skills, DeWinter has the technology network to help top companies thrive.

The DeWinter Technology team offers professional on-demand technology support. Learn more and get in touch today.

The DeWinter Difference with Dara Bazzano, SVP, Chief Accounting Officer at T Mobile

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 17:30:44 GMT

The DeWinter Difference with Dara Bazzano, SVP, Chief Accounting Officer at T Mobile

About The Episode

In this episode of the DeWinter Difference, Dara Bazzano, SVP, Chief Accounting Officer at T-Mobile & Independent Board Director, sits down with Derek to share insights from her career journey. From her start in public accounting to a run of successful executive leadership positions and board seats, Dara shares what propelled her through professional and personal challenges, including early motherhood and divorce, and what inspired her to move on from public accounting.

Derek and Dara discuss how she developed the skills necessary to lead her team at T-Mobile, the best ways to advocate for your needs in a professional setting, and the best podcasts they may or may not be listening to.

Listen now at the streaming sites listed.

Learn more about the DeWinter Difference podcast here and share your thoughts and comments below.

Where to Stream

2024 Bay Area Mid-Year Finance and Accounting Industry Report & Compensation Guide

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 14:54:35 GMT

2024 Bay Area Mid-Year

Finance and Accounting

Industry Report & Compensation Guide

Our 2024 Bay Area Mid-Year Finance and Accounting Industry Report & Compensation Guide industry is here! Get valuable insights into the current state of the finance and accounting industry to shape your strategies for the rest of the year. Check out the report and get in touch to discuss how to make the most out of the rest of 2024.

Highlights from the 2024 report include:

Detailed compensation bands for 27 key finance and accounting roles
A closer look at the Bay Area labor market
Industry and hiring market insights

DeWinter Group Named One of the Largest US Staffing Firms in 2024 For a Third Year in a Row!

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 17:35:57 GMT

DeWinter Group Named One of the Largest US Staffing Firms in 2024 For a Third Year in a Row!

We’re delighted to announce that DeWinter Group has been included in Staffing Industry Analysts' Largest US Staffing Firms 2024!

This amazing achievement showcases our team's hard work and dedication to matching great talent with top companies.

Join us in celebrating this milestone on LinkedIn, and follow us for more updates and insights from the DeWinter Group.

DeWinter Group Named One of the Best Places to Work in the Bay Area 2024

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 22:00:00 GMT

DeWinter Group Named One of the

Best Places to Work in the Bay Area 2024

The DeWinter Group is proud to have been named one of the 2024 Best Places to Work in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times and Silicon Valley Business Journal! As a people-first organization, we’re thrilled our Bay Area teams are feel valued, engaged, and excited about the work we do making top-tier matches for our clients and candidates.

Take a look at some of the survey results that our teams shared.

What Our Employees Said About Working at the DeWinter Group

Our Employee Survey Results

The DeWinter Difference with Anarghya Vardhana Partner at Maveron

Tue, 11 Jun 2024 14:31:45 GMT

The DeWinter Difference with Anarghya Vardhana, Partner at Maveron

About The Episode

In this episode of the DeWinter Difference, Derek chats with Anarghya Vardhana, a Partner at Maveron, an early-stage, consumer-only venture capital firm that invests across the US in end consumer brands. Anarghya shares her insights on finding career success through authenticity, the key traits she looks for in leaders before investing, and her professional journey from Stanford to Google and eventually to the world of Venture Capital.

Learn more about the DeWinter Difference podcast and share your thoughts and comments at DeWinterGroup.com/dewinter-difference

About Anarghya Vardhana:

Anarghya spends her time understanding consumer and cultural behavioral shifts, identifying the billion-dollar businesses that will emerge, and partnering with the right founders to help grow those startups into iconic consumer brands. She is particularly interested in companies improving the health and wellness of large populations and she has invested across early stages and sectors such as mental health (Two Chairs, Tempest), women's health (Alife, Odela), rare disease (Allstripes), healthcare platforms (Goodbill), and connection and community for wellness (RecRoom, Co-Star). Prior to joining Maveron seven years ago, Anarghya was a seed investor and a product manager at several startups, notably Medable in the healthcare space. She started her career at Google and has been in the Bay Area tech scene since her undergraduate years at Stanford, where she studied Science, Technology, and Society, graduating with honors with a focus in Human Biology, and Mathematics. Anarghya was listed on Forbes "30 Under 30" for venture capital, won the Diversity Champion Awards from Forbes and JP Morgan Chase, was nominated for the NVCA's rising star award, and gathered several accolades during her time at Google. She is a Kauffman Fellow, and an active participant in All Raise and other diversity initiatives in tech and venture capital. Anarghya hails from the pacific northwest, is a slow marathoner, and is an Indian classical dancer (Bharatanatya).

About Maveron:

Maveron is a consumer-only venture capital firm that empowers consumers to live on their terms.

Listen now at the streaming sites listed.

Learn more about the DeWinter Difference podcast here and share your thoughts and comments below.

Where to Stream

Episode Transcript

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

Derek DeWinter: Welcome to our listeners who are tuning into the DeWinner Difference, an audio podcast where I spend a bit of time with incredible executives I've known for years, and you get to listen in. I hope that our conversations are unique, insightful, short enough to hold your attention, but long enough so that you get some great takeaways that you can apply in your own careers, lives, and relationships.

Today, I'm excited to speak with Anargya Vardhana, a general partner at Maveron LLC. Maveron is an early stage consumer only venture capital firm that invests across the U. S. in end user consumer brands. A few of Maveron's investments include eBay, Zulily, Allbirds, Common, August Home, and Trupanion, to name just a few. We'll let Anarghya share more about that shortly, but as it relates to our paths crossing, that happened way back in about 2011 or 2012, just a couple of years after she graduated from Stanford with a BS in Science, Technology, and Society. Anargya spent time at Sandia National Laboratories as a security research scholar, Google, and sits on multiple boards in a role as investor and advisor with Navron, Anargya, thanks for joining us today.

Anarghya Vardhana: Hi, Derek. Thank you for having me. Gosh, I haven't received my Sandia days in a while. Thank you for that throwback shout out.

Derek DeWinter: We'll see if we can get you to divulge a few things here as we go through this process. I do think you're the only person we have talked to that has worked in a nuclear facility. So you don't have to, you know, start there, but maybe at some point in time, we'll have you talk a little bit about that.

Could you share a little bit about your background culminating where you are today and what areas in venture investing you're focused on above others?

Anarghya Vardhana: Yes, absolutely, and thank you again for having me. I'm Anargya Vardana, excited to be here today. You know, my story kind of goes back to being born in India and then moving to the U. S. shortly after my second birthday. I grew up in Oregon in the Beaverton area, which is a suburb of Portland. Beaverton is mostly known for being Nike town, and I'm a diehard Nike girl, just from a function of having been raised there and from Oregon. I made my way down to California to go to Stanford and have been here ever since I wanted a career in technology and this was the place to be back in 2010 and continues to be. Certainly very central to technology, if not still core, obviously, some of the remote work and pandemic things have shifted things around.

The Bay Area is certainly thriving and has a very strong technology scene. It feels like the right place for me to be in terms of my path to Maveron and to venture capital, as Derek mentioned, I did a number of different internships in college, one of them being at Sandia National Labs, working on nuclear and radiation detection, working on wide area restoration after disaster. That really got me interested in thinking through how science and technology can be applied to society and how Humans, regular people living their regular lives, impact the technology around them and morph it to fit their needs and how simultaneously technology changes the way we live, we behave and frankly changes culture. That was pretty much what I studied at Stanford, doing an honors thesis in cell phones in the rural sector of developing countries from Stanford. I made my way to the mothership of Google and I was there for three years working on a number of different products right before I left. I was working on AdWords Express, which is a local ads product, think restaurants near you, dentists, chiropractor, any kind of business that is local that you may drive or walk to or train to, I guess from Google.

I really wanted to try my hand in the startup world and I was seeing a lot of my classmates and peers from Stanford drowning, swimming, thriving, diving into startups and felt envy at the level of learning they were experiencing.

I'm kind of a hardcore person, I guess is the way to put it. I was envious of the hours they were putting in the startup world, the impact they were having, how every hour seemed to matter. I wanted that for myself, so I jumped into the startup world head first and learned a lot, spent a couple of years at a number of different startups, I say learning a lot, mostly what not to do. I learned some really tough lessons from startups that didn't work out. I'd like to think that they have made me a grittier person today and hopefully a better investor and a more empathetic investor today.

In 2015, I made my way over to venture capital and for those of you who are listening and who may not really know what venture capital is, I didn't know that much either. I got exposure through startups and basically startups raise money from, from VCs and VCs then thereby buy a small percentage of that company and advise them and hopefully help them grow from what we say obscurity to ubiquity.

I joined my firm Maveron in 2015.

Maveron has been around for 26 years now. It was founded by my partner, Dan Levitan and Howard Schultz, the former CEO of Starbucks. They really came together off the premise that there should be available capital advisory and an opportunity for consumer companies to grow and thrive and to become household names. Obviously that first company for them was Starbucks, which went from a little tiny coffee company to the coffee brand globally and did that again with companies like eBay, Groupon, Tropanion, and Shutterfly.

I've been there for eight and a half years. I've invested in a number of different businesses across a number of different sectors, but really my focus is in the health and wellness space. I've invested in businesses focusing on mental health for adults and children, reproductive care, rare disease, primary care, and a whole set of things. Investing at the early stages is really the bread and butter being series A.

I live in the Bay Area with my husband and two kids and the one thing that I like to do outside of work and spending time with family is running. I'm a pretty avid runner, mostly a trail runner but if you don't find me in front of a computer or with my kids, I'm probably on a run.

Derek DeWinter: Well, you made the comment envious of the hours that your colleagues were working in the startups, which must sound crazy as a mother of two.

Anarghya Vardhana: Totally

Derek DeWinter: Specifically target venture when you were leaving the startup world. When you left those operating roles, were you looking at A variety of different VC firms.

Anarghya Vardhana: I wasn't really considering VC. I was actually approaching it as what's another startup I can join and what's a good way to meet great startups while going through VCs because startups are in their portfolio. So that's how I got exposed to VCs, talking to different friends and folks I knew in venture capital and saying, hey, are there any top companies in your portfolio? Companies you're excited about?, companies I should meet and consider for a product manager role? Which was kind of the operating chops that I had at the time and that's kind of when one thing led to another, and it went from, can I join a portfolio company to maybe I will join you. I don't know much about venture capital, but I'm a halfway decent product manager so maybe I can help portfolio companies, if you can in turn teach me and mentor me in learning about venture capital.

Derek DeWinter: You could probably make this comment about any specific time period in a venture, which is when you started your career in venture at a pretty interesting time.

Anarghya Vardhana: Yeah.

Derek DeWinter: Would be true if it was 30 years ago, or 5 years ago, or 2 weeks ago. But, you started in 2015, which was a time period that was pretty interesting and pretty uniquely marked in the industry with kind of sexism and discrimination allegations, which we don't need to go into great detail of, but it was a pretty unique time period.

Can you comment on that for you as a new venture capital professional. At that part of that stage of your career as a woman and a woman of color in the venture industry.

Anarghya Vardhana: Yeah, to take it back a little bit more for me and my own identity in, in the different fields I've been in you know. Different kids have different things they do in high school, different activities.

For me, my thing was science fairs, I was a science fair kid, and I guess I still probably identify with that. You know, some people are athletes, some people are musicians, some people are the funny kids in town. I was the science fair kid, and I started doing science fairs in middle school and that was, you know, what took up most of my time outside of school was science fair stuff. I did independent math research, submitted papers, applied to many science fairs, competed in many science fairs, both at the regional, national, and international level. The reason I share that is because the main field I was in was mathematics. Within that, a specific field was the field of number theory, which is the study of whole numbers. I specifically focused on prime numbers and as you can imagine back then, you know, this is the late nineties, early two thousands, there were not a lot of girls in the science fair circuit.

Within that, specifically in math, they were, if there were that many girls there, they were in maybe different fields and, and not necessarily in math. So, I have had many experiences being the one of few girls or if not the only girl in my advanced math classes and in that early rigorous extracurricular activity sphere of my life for a long time.

So, that's kind of been my experience, and you know, Google was a really interesting place for me because I worked with a lot of women. I worked with a lot of diverse people. I certainly don't know what it's like today, but my first manager was a woman, I had a couple of different managers, all but one were women.

The senior leadership were women I had a lot of female colleagues and many of them were technical product managers, engineers. It was a great experience for me, for one of the first times in my life, not to be the only woman, and it was important for me to have that kind of work environment. But then I went to startups and, you know, the first startup I was at was in the FinTech space and I was the only woman on the technical side of things.

I'm not an engineer, but I was the product manager and there were no other women in engineering or product or design. I realized how much I kind of wanted to go back to the experience of not being the only one. It was important to me for a variety of reasons, but also culturally I felt like that diversity would make for a stronger team, a better team, a team with more opinions and more diverse opinions and diverse voices.

When I was speaking with a number of different VCs and some of them started to say, hey, would you ever consider working with us? One thing that was very important to me was that there was at least another woman around the table. Most specifically that there was a path for a woman to be a senior person at the firm. That was certainly true at Maveron. Maveron has always had at least one female check writer around the table in the 26 years of its history, something we're very proud of. We invest in consumer businesses, and a lot of them are founded and run by women.

That's kind of been core to the DNA of Maveron since the early days and researching that history and realizing that was very important to me. Finally, I saw junior people joining as senior associates, which is what I joined as, and I had risen through the ranks, been mentored and guided to then become principals, partners, and then eventually general partners.

Seeing that precedence was important to me and I give you that history because yes, while I did join venture capital in an interesting time, especially to be a woman and to be a woman of color, I felt like I was in this very powerful, supported and really ideal place to be. As a young person starting off as a senior associate in venture capital and for that place to be Maveron and you know, there was a woman who was a general partner and she was an incredible champion for me, but it wasn't just her. My partners, Dan and Jason, who are still my partners today have been mentors, coaches, champions of me since day one and have really pushed me to succeed and have supported me in coming up through the ranks and in becoming a general partner.

I know not everyone has had those experiences and those opportunities and you know, haven't been as lucky as me. I think part of the advice I got early on was to create a close knit group of other women who were starting venture capital around the same time as me, I did that. There's a group of like eight or 10 of us who started around that time. We would do dinner once a month and have really kept close through the last eight, nine years. It has been incredible to watch each other's careers grow and develop. I think that was key and feeling kind of connected and supported through my early days of VC.

Derek DeWinter: Well, no doubt. This is maybe just a statement versus a question. It sounds like you have great intentionality around that in terms of paying it forward. To those around you which is awesome. So we met when you were younger. Well, I was much younger. I say that because I look 10 times worse. It's a good thing, this is an audio podcast.

As you look back on your career today, and I heard you talk about this a little bit in a speech you gave in Boston. I can't remember what it was exactly, but, you know, the attributes that we believe are important when we're younger can very often be attributes we don't find important when we are older, smarter, and wiser as we move along our careers and lives.

What were some of the attributes that you felt were really important when you were the 25 year old version of yourself? What do you thin those attributes are now that make somebody not just successful, but like a person worth being around in the professional world.

Anarghya Vardhana: That's a great question, I think one of the biggest lessons I've learned in terms of how to approach who you are in a professional setting is to be really authentic to yourself. Let me dig a little bit in terms of what I mean by that. I feel like when you are a young person in your professional career, maybe in tech, there are so many archetypes of what you could be like, you could be this kind of VC or this kind of founder or this kind of product manager.

Earlier we were talking about the pressures of growing up with social media. I don't think it's that different if you're, you know, say 25 years old in tech, you see so and so's tweet, you see so and so's YouTube video, you listen to this podcast and you're like, okay, I want to be like them so I'm going to mold my style, my approach, my thoughts to fit this person or to fit the style, because I aspire to be like them.

I think what I have learned time and time again is that the beauty of venture capital is that you get an opportunity to make it your own. Each person has their own style and it has never served me well to try and mimic someone else who I admire. Sure, I can learn from them and pick up things here and there, but I think that the best people in this field are so true to themselves.

What do I mean by that? If they're just a brutally honest, direct person, they just stay brutally honest and direct. Even if other board members are approaching it slightly differently or other board members are maybe delivering a message in a way that is not as direct or might not be perceived as brutally honest. I think the best board members stick to their style and embrace it and. Obviously try to be respectful and kind, you know, within your style, but going after how you approach the world and continuing to stay true to that, I think makes for a really good professional in this field.

I think if you had asked me you know, 10 years ago, if I agreed with that statement, I might say, you know, there was a right way to do this and you do need to kind of follow and figure out that right way and look to the greats and kind of model yourself after them.

Derek DeWinter: I wholeheartedly believe there's a million ways to solve puzzles and do things. I think the folks that try to be someone else generally have some of the more difficult paths forward because that's hard. That's really difficult.

Anarghya Vardhana: It's hard to fake it for a long

Derek DeWinter: It sure is, we went over this a little bit in advance of doing the podcast so I didn't give you this question at all in advance. I'm going to throw a curveball at you. One of the thoughts I had was about what attributes tyou look for in a founder or CEO. I thought maybe a more interesting one is what are the attributes you look at and go like, oh my goodness, not this again, or like there's no way I'm touching this simply because of this spidey sense that I have around it. You know, a vibe that somebody is giving off around this type of lack of emotional intelligence or style or something.

Anarghya Vardhana: Yeah, I'll answer both, some of this I've learned the hard way, but I think building a company and investing at the seed and series A stage to early stage building a company is so freaking hard. Building a venture scale company, building any company is probably very challenging, but building a venture scale company, the demands are incredibly high.

You have to grow incredibly fast, you have to be able to manage an incredible amount of stress, and a lot of your time, you know an inordinate amount of your time and energy passion, and mental power needs to be devoted to it. I think that because of that founders have to be extremely passionate and obsessed with the idea that they want to work on and have to have a clear reason for why they're working on it.

The why may not be very mission driven, purpose driven, doesn't matter. They just have to have a very strong reason for why they're working on it. Otherwise it makes it way too easy to give up. So one of the first things I'm looking for is: Is this person kind of off the charts obsessed with working on this?

One of the Maveron values that we talk about is being unapologetically non- normal. So I'm trying to assess whether the founders are unapologetically non-normal about working on this specific thing. The second thing is related to the first, I think founders have to be very gritty, I want to understand what challenges they've overcome in their life.

For every person that could be different I think that the founder profile that I work best with is founders who've overcome something or a couple of things in their past. It could be personal, it could be professional, but they have the grit and the tenacity to persevere and to keep going despite dead ends, despite failures, despite falling completely flat on their face.

The third thing I'll share, of course, there's many things, but the third thing I'll share is I want to invest in people who are smart and have a point of view and are confident in themselves to learn and take feedback. It is very tough if a founder feels like they need to be the smartest person in the room because then they don't learn, they don't grow.

Most importantly, they don't hire people who are better than them. They lack the confidence to hire Jill down the street because they think Jill is smarter and they're intimidated by her and they're not going to hire her. That is a huge detriment to the business. So those are the three kinds of things that I'll share with you that off the top I will look at.

And then kind of the things that are yellow flags or stay away from I think that flip the last thing I shared that founders who feel like in the pitch meeting, I may push back a little. I may ask questions. I may say, what do you think of this? What do you think of that to gauge whether they have that learning and growing mentality, but are able to also be confident in their approach.

There are some pitches where a founder gets almost defensive and aggressive and pushes back on a differing opinion. That is a flag for me, another thing is, I think that when you are building a venture capital backed company, you have to have an aspiration for big with a capital B.

I tell founders, not every company needs to be venture backed. That is completely okay, there are plenty of amazing businesses in America that don't take or have not taken a single dollar of venture capital money, and they are great businesses. One can do that but a founder who doesn't want to build something huge and doesn't have the aspiration to build something huge that is evidenced in the pitch meeting, that's also a yellow flag for me to stay away from.

Derek DeWinter: Interesting, you have been very gracious with your time. And so this is the point in the podcast where we get to flip the script a little bit and you get to ask me a question.

I don't know what it is you've maybe had some time to prepare for what it is and may give me a giant zinger, which I'll fumble around with, but this is your shot at me.

Anarghya Vardhana: You know, I have a number of questions, but let me stick to one, which is going to be indicative of the different ages and stages of career that the two of us are at. I entered the workforce in 2010 recently until the last two years where it has just been a colossal shift.

I myself have been grappling with it, I've seen my peers grappling with it. Frankly, I've seen a lot of people leave venture capital, leave tech, a lot of disillusionment and you know, given the ages of our children, I'm assuming you've got a couple of years on me and I would love to hear what you saw in the different, ups and downs of the market that you lived through, worked through, what you saw then, what's different now, and any kind of predictions or thoughts you have for what we will see over the next 12, 18, 24 months from a private public market standpoint.

Derek DeWinter: I have been through a million cycles. I started my career back in 1993, a whole big, long time ago and have been through a variety of ups and downs. You know, the .com crash, the financial markets crash, 9/11, and a variety of massive world events that have happened.

COVID has been has had kind of the most profound effect on our outside of business and where it's really kind of pushing people into their homes, around the people that they care about, if they're fortunate, hopefully into their homes, around people they care about, you know, contemplating the next version of their lives, what that may look like.

The older you get, like me, I'm in my 50s, early 50s, that is, you start to really contemplate the why of the next thing you're going to do, which is why you talked about like a founder. What's the why of your business? You start to think more about the why of your life and the opportunity cost of doing the next thing is significantly higher than when I was at 24.

I could make a mistake at 24 and I would be able to bounce back from most of them. You start making a few mistakes when you're 52 or 3 . There's life in the rearview mirror that you're not getting back, what's in front of you is, I mean, just logically a little bit shorter so you really want to maximize that.

I think, you know, kind of summarizing that all up, I feel like that has had a really profound impact on our work experiences, our work commitments, how we spend our time, how much time we spend at our workplaces in a way that was really different than anything that has ever happened prior to this.

I'm still kind of grappling with how to process this all because, I mean, this is one of those situations to where we were all in the same boat and that did not apply, you know, in the different examples that I used before, whether it's a financial crisis, .com bust, or you know, the big boom or whatever it might be.

Not everybody participated in each of those things. This is one where we all kind of participated together across all kinds of different socioeconomic landscapes and, you know, Where you lived and how you lived. It's been pretty profound. I don't have a great answer as to where this is going to take us.

It feels like, now, a few years into this world, sort of coming back to a version of normal, and maybe it's a better, maybe it's a better version of normal, because maybe we were living in a little bit of a world of abnormal from a pure market perspective. I'm super good at predicting the future.

So, you know, bear with me. Notwithstanding the fact that this is an election year, which is always, now, clunky there are a lot of, and I just hate using this word, but everybody does. There's a lot of dry powder. There's a lot of this. There's a lot of that. VCs don't like to sit on money.

Private equity does not like to sit on money. Your job is to deploy funds and to get things moving up and to the right. So there's only so long that that can remain on the sidelines. We are going to get into the middle and second half of 2024 with a directional beacon that gets us back to a better place.

Anarghya Vardhana: Yeah. No, that's all super helpful and thoughtful. So thank you for sharing you know, both the first part, if we have, you know, 100 coins to give around to all the different things in our day, work, personal life, kids, our own health, I do agree. I think people have been forced to become more thoughtful about it and perhaps think more about it.

Given the huge health crisis that happened and then to your second part I'm also optimistic and hopeful that the second half of this year and then early next year, we'll start to have a pickup in pace. That's not just AI oriented, but, but broader than that. So definitely looking for that slight shift to happen this summer.

Derek DeWinter: Let's both cross our fingers for sure. Well, I get to set you free now. Thank you so much, Anarghya, I really appreciate it. Mavron hired this amazing person back in the day and she's taken full advantage of all opportunities in front of her, and she had a focus on primary numerical something or other thing that I can't possibly understand.

My guess is you probably are about the smartest person in the room when you enter most rooms, so don't hold it against anybody. I hope our paths cross again real soon, I really do appreciate your time.

Anarghya Vardhana: Well, thank you so much for having me. It's always a treat to spend time together and looking forward to seeing you soon.

Derek DeWinter: All the best.

Derek DeWinter Named CEO of the DeWinter Group

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 17:30:16 GMT

Derek DeWinter Named CEO of DeWinter

DeWinter, a national staffing and recruiting firm with offices in the Bay Area and Boston and the parent company of Maris Consulting Group , has named Derek DeWinter as Chief Executive Officer.

About Derek DeWinter

Derek DeWinter is a Founding Partner of the DeWinter Group and previously served as CEO from 2000 to 2019. In 2019, Derek stepped aside into the role of President to elevate the role of the company's previous CEO, Shane Oberg. Oberg stepped down from the position in May of 2024 after a great 5-year stint as the organization's leader.

Derek DeWinter has over three decades of experience in leading strategic growth initiatives and creating hiring solutions for industry-leading companies. His leadership style emphasizes collaboration, strategic thinking, and a deep commitment to client satisfaction. As CEO, he will leverage his experience to enhance service offerings, expand market presence, and drive the firm towards new heights of success.

The DeWinter Grou p is backed by New Heritage Capital, a Boston-based private equity firm focused on founder-led businesses. The DeWinter founder-owners partnered with Heritage in 2020 to accelerate growth through organic and M&A initiatives.

Learn more about Derek's background here and catch up with Derek's podcast, The DeWinter Difference.

The DeWinter Difference with Sheri Savage, CFO of Ultra Clean Technology

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 14:13:28 GMT

The DeWinter Difference with Sheri Savage, CFO of Ultra Clean Technology

About The Episode

In this episode of the DeWinter Difference, Derek sits down with Sheri Savage, Chief Financial Officer of Ultra Clean Technology. Hear from Sheri about her expansive career journey in hi-tech manufacturing and her long tenure with Ultra Clean Technology. Sheri and Derek discuss how career planning is different for today’s generation of early-career workers, her experience over the years as a female leader, the different skills needed for financial leaders as SAAS versus Hardware firms, and more.

Learn more about the DeWinter Difference podcast and share your thoughts and comments at DeWinterGroup.com/dewinter-difference

About Sheri Savage:

Sheri Savage has served as Ultra Clean Technology's Chief Financial Officer since July 7, 2016. Ms. Savage joined the company as the Senior Director of Finance in April 2009. Before joining UCT, Ms. Savage served at Credence Systems Corporation as Corporate Controller and Vice President of Finance and as Director of Internal Audit. Prior to Credence Systems, Ms. Savage held various accounting and finance roles at Protiviti and KLA-Tencor Corporation. Ms. Savage also served as Manager, Business Process Risk Accounting at Arthur Anderson LLP.

Ms. Savage holds a B.S. in Managerial Economics from the University of California, Davis.

About Ultra Clean Technology:

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. is a leading developer and supplier of critical subsystems, components, parts, and ultra-high purity cleaning and analytical services, primarily for the semiconductor industry. Under its Products division, UCT offers its customers an integrated outsourced solution for major subassemblies, improved design-to-delivery cycle times, design for manufacturability, prototyping, and high-precision manufacturing. Under its Services Division, UCT offers its customers tool chamber parts cleaning and coating, as well as micro-contamination analytical services. Ultra Clean is headquartered in Hayward, California.

Listen now at the streaming sites listed.

Learn more about the DeWinter Difference podcast here and share your thoughts and comments below.

Where to Stream

Episode Transcript

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

Today, I am very pleased to speak with my friend Sheri Savage, Chief Financial Officer of Publicly Traded, Ultra Clean Technology. Sheri has spent her career almost exclusively in high-tech manufacturing and contrary to a lot of what you see in Silicon Valley, she's spent the past 15 years at Ultra Clean Technology. We go back over 20 plus years and our conversation is long overdue as we haven't seen one another in a while. Sheri, I appreciate you tolerating me all these years and joining us.

Sheri Savage: Thank you for having me.

Derek DeWinter: Oh, absolutely, so let's return to my intro. You've been with UCT which we'll, you know, refer to as Ultra Clean Technology going forward for over 15 years and a CFO for over seven. As a search professional, it brings a big smile to my face as the average tenure for CFOs in the Bay Area is significantly shorter than that and what research I did ran anywhere from two and a half to four and a half years. So can you share your professional journey with us at UCT and what's kept you there all these years?

Sheri Savage: Yeah, absolutely, when I came in I was pregnant with my smallest child who's now almost 15. I came in thinking this is a nice company. I'll see how it goes and, 15 years later, I'm still here. I think part of it is having a lot of opportunities to move around and do different things within the company and the company's changed quite a bit. I think that makes a big difference as to why you would stay for a long time. I came in as a senior director of finance. They had a material weakness in inventory that needed to be fixed and just didn't have as much of the audit rigor that I had seen at other companies. That's why they brought me in as well as the FP&A side, didn't have as much talent on that as well. I had come in through a lot of the larger OEM semi-cap companies that had a lot more experience with that. As a result, they hired me, and I just slowly moved up the chain as I stayed there in the company.

The company changed quite a bit, allowing me to do different things. I have a lot of experience on the banking side and have done a couple of equity offerings as well as larger loans. I think the key thing is it allowed me to ultimately become CFO which I kind of looked at like that was just an awesome opportunity for me to take advantage of, and I've enjoyed it.

It's allowed me to expand my breadth of knowledge in finance as well as just as an executive leader. That's the reason why I've stayed in the company all these years.

Derek DeWinter: Well, you were promoted into the CFO position internally, I recently had an exchange with a different public company CFO who had an internal successor step into his seat. This is a pretty prominent company, it has over a hundred billion in market cap. So, you know, kind of a big deal type of company and a pretty significant transition. I ended up congratulating the amazing person who's now in the seat, but I also took time to congratulate the outgoing CFO who's still with the company. It spoke to the thoughtfulness, coaching, and strategic planning of not just that person, but of the organization on the whole, because internal promotions to CFO positions, I mean, I'd like to say that they're frequent, but they're not as frequent as I'd like them to be or see.

Given the multiple roles you've held at UCT, is this something you think about, you know, as you're in your seat and does that, does that promotion internally resonate with you more profoundly? Or am I making a bigger deal out of this?

Sheri Savage: No, absolutely, I think you know I always loved promoting people internally. I think if you can get the right people in the right jobs to be able to do that and also allow them to grow as they move through the company, that's quite key, to give the amount of experience for people that have the jobs that can grow into those roles. I find at least in my experience that they know so much more going into those roles than getting someone that is going to take six months to a year to come up to speed. When they come in, fresh into a company, not to say that you can't be successful doing that because I think you can, but I feel very thankful that I had the opportunity to know UCT before I got into that role.

I think it's a little scary stepping into a C-suite role when you haven't ever had one and knowing so much about the company allowed me to do a, I would say a better ramp-up of that because I didn't have as much experience on the investor side. I was mostly dealing with the internal operating role within the UCT.

In terms of running the business, the external side I didn't have as much experience with. So really, you know, having that internal experience helped with when I ultimately transitioned into dealing with the external side. I've tried to hire people in my organization who can succeed me. It's not a obviously 100 percent done deal at the end of the day but you know, it's a much better option to have someone you know have that experience and go up through the ranks as far as I'm concerned. So I think it's a great opportunity for someone.

Derek DeWinter: How much of your role has transitioned to be external versus internal?

Sheri Savage: Oh, it's humongous. When I first started, it was as a CFO, it was not my natural inclination to be dealing with the external side. So I had to kind of transition and that happened very quickly. I think over the years, more and more of my role has transitioned to dealing with investors as well as the banking opportunities that we've had. So it's transitioned quite a bit I still know enough to be dangerous within the operations and everything, but I'm not in the middle of the details as much as I used to be.

I really had to cognizantly step back and not be in the middle of everything and let the people below that work for me you know, that is probably much better at it than I am at this point, especially because they're running things day to day, but I really had to step back and allow them to be able to do that, obviously I help guide them and, and give them my insight, my history, but you know I've really had to completely shift my focus and be more strategic and really help the CEO more run the company versus be in the middle of every single little thing day to day.

Derek DeWinter: It's funny how, as you transition over the course of your careers, and I've had to deal with this myself too, is, you know, you're pretty proficient at the things that you have to give up. That can be a hard thing to do, you know, you've got to sever a lifeline to the things that were comfortable to you, that you were very good at, that people counted on you for. And counted on you to produce and manage. It almost takes a significant intentionality to make that transition go well. If you hang on to it for too long, people don't feel like you're giving them the opportunity. That certainly impacts your ability to step into your new role and be successful too, it's tricky.

Sheri Savage: Agree it's a hard transition for many people. I find that and I've seen it with certain roles where they just, they work 24/7 and they don't delegate down and it's just, they're not successful. Their people aren't successful.

I'm a big believer that it can take some time to transition into that, but I think it makes a big difference for the whole organization to be able to you know, continue to grow people within it so that they, you know, are able to run more detail and more day to day stuff versus like some of the, you know, higher level executives. I think it's a hard transition, but it definitely is a good thing.

Derek DeWinter: Yeah, so we couldn't have a conversation without using the term AI or SaaS. It is all the rage. But the last time I checked we still make physical products that are the foundation of all of those SaaS software and AI things. You are a hardware CFO, although you probably wouldn't want to be labeled such. I apologize for saying that, but you certainly have a great skill set in the area.

Do you see a significant difference in the skills of a SaaS versus hardware, CFO and what are some of the things that you think you likely think more about in your role at UCT than somebody might at, you know, x, Y, Z software or AI company?

Sheri Savage: Yeah.

Derek DeWinter: Maybe that's an unfair question because you're not there, but you have conversations with others, you know colleagues in the marketplace. So I'm curious.

Sheri Savage: Absolutely, I get asked about AI all the time, especially when I talk to investors and how that role plays in our company. But you know, I would say that, fundamentally, I think a lot of things in finance are very similar. There's obviously revenue recognition, and certain things are, are somewhat different. I think the strategies surrounding SaaS and AI with their subscriptions and selling software are much, much different. You know, I think one of the things that is very important to a SaaS or AI company, but for us you know, for a hardware company, one of the key things is working capital management that you have to pay attention to as well as, you know, capital expense that you are trying to manage.

I am managing large numbers of inventory, not me specifically, I'm not in the warehouse, but, you know, we're managing the overall capital and cash needed to manage that, that's pretty heavy in a hardware company compared to, you know, a SaaS company. I think the other thing is just the capital structure that you have to have in place to be able to have all these factories and the specific people associated with that.

That's also something that's very different from say a software company. I do think you can travel between the two. I think it's always a good thing to have a different perspective, especially as board members who are in different companies that have the software component as well as the hardware, but I think the working capital is probably the biggest difference between the two that I see at this point.

Derek DeWinter: For those non-finance people out there, that's the balance

Sheri Savage: Yes.

Derek DeWinter: You think about that probably more. Well, I won't say that. I will say it anyway. You probably think about it significantly more than most CFOs do at other companies because it's such a critical part of being able to look around those corners. Like, if you're not on top of that, you cannot plan for 6, 9, 12, or 18 months

Sheri Savage: Absolutely.

Derek DeWinter: Yeah, I mean, UCT is uniquely international. Most of the companies in the Bay Area technology companies are international, but you have a footprint that is significantly international with manufacturing customers, and operations.

You started your career at UCT 15 years ago, but have been in the CFO position for over seven years.

Can you comment on what it's like to be internationally, in the markets that you're in I imagine, it’s just you know the elephant in the room, a C-suite female executive traveling to places that I assume could be a little bit difficult. How have you navigated that? Or am I incorrect in assuming that there have been any uniquely difficult experiences?

Sheri Savage: You know I would say that I haven't had anything that has been, more uniquely difficult at UCT. Maybe it's because I grew up in the organizations and I had a lot of credibility within different locations as I've been here so long. I think I probably saw it more earlier in my career you know, especially when I was doing the Arthur Anderson days at multiple companies. I can recall going to Japan and some of my male counterparts didn't even want to speak to me or being the only woman in the room when I did presentations back when I worked at different companies and felt very kind of weird about that.

I think as I've gotten obviously a lot more confidence in my ability as well as, you know, my career's grown a lot. I really just don't even think about it anymore. It's kind of a weird thing and maybe it's the position that I'm in. I could see where, you know, some women in lower positions would definitely feel that difference, but luckily I really have not at UCT. I think we've always tried to harbor a really open and diverse company I'm hoping that most everyone doesn't feel any impact to that.

At one point I had started a women’s group you know, kind of didn't do as well during COVID. But I really try to harbor that as a woman, you really need to take your power and be present and be there and you're right at the table with everybody else.

So hopefully I think my presence as an executive there gives some insight to other women that you can continue to move up and you can have a big job. It's just not any different being a woman versus a man.

Derek DeWinter: What would, on that note of diversity, would you tell your younger self about how we've done in the last 25 or so years in corporate America as it relates to creating really diverse organizations? And in sharing your thoughts, if you would imagine being that 25-year-old self, would she be surprised to know that we've come this far or would she be disappointed we haven't come further?

Sheri Savage: Oh, she'd be completely surprised. She's come this far

Derek DeWinter: Hmm.

Sheri Savage: Which is I think a good thing, you know, I mean I always was a big believer that you know I would take opportunities as they came. I really didn't manage my career crazily as I think, you know, kids today probably need to come out of college, they probably have to manage it far more than we did when we started. You know, I think I'm amazed at where I've come to. I feel so lucky, you know, for the opportunities that I've been given you create your luck but along the way, I've been in the right place and I've met the right people. I think I'm truly blessed and ecstatic with the things that I've accomplished and the people that I've worked with and friends along the way I couldn't do it without any of them. I feel like it's been a great experience

Derek DeWinter: That's awesome. On that note, what might you be doing if you weren't in the senior leadership CFO role you're in?

Sheri Savage: Oh boy, there's probably multiple things that I could do. I'm really big into fitness. I would probably have a lifestyle-type business, you know, whether it be as a CFO or, or something in a lifestyle business would probably suit me well.

If I were going to completely off the wall, I would probably be more of an event planner or wedding planner. I tend to be very organized and process-driven. So I've built several houses and had to keep those organized. So that's something that I enjoy. These projects are where you're either building something or building something physically. I think that's kind of my deal as much as if I weren't, you know, doing my current job.

Derek DeWinter: Good stuff. I don't envy the project stuff. Like, certainly any house remodel I've thought about doing, like, oh my gosh.

Well, I tell you what, you have been so good at answering all of my questions, this is the time of our little conversation where I get to turn it over to you. And you get to ask me a question, unscripted, that I don't have any clue what is. So hopefully you'll be kind and nice.

Sheri Savage: Of course. Yeah. No, you know, you asked me about AI before, and I'd love to know from your standpoint, because you've been a longstanding recruiter in the valley, like how you think AI is going to take on a broader role, both from a recruiter standpoint, as well as like the employee experience. Do you think that's going to have any impact as it continues to grow?

Derek DeWinter: Oh, boy recruiter's experience we talk about it all the time. We certainly are building practices around it, both in our consulting practice, as well as our search practice that has, kind of, some focus in that area. It's relatively, I mean, it's relatively new, but AI is not only a year old. It's been around for a little bit longer, but the amount of money, resources, and attention that it's getting is going to force all of us to think about it differently. Even UCT, which is, you know, a hardware company, and think, Oh, how's AI going to impact your products you get asked about it just the same as companies in the social media space.

We think about it a lot and we are gearing our business towards being able to answer those questions in the marketplace from an employee experience perspective. I'm super conflicted on that. I mean, I don't go a day without hearing something about Chat GPT, and I did this in two minutes, or I did this in five minutes, what took me a day, and I think doing things easily can sometimes get in the way of the experience of doing the thing. The connections that happen while you're in the process of building out a project, or building out a tool, or building out a spreadsheet, or building out a, you know, an agenda.

I think we will lose a lot of those conversations, despite the efficiencies of the end product. So, I have concerns with that a little bit, I have concerns as a parent too.

I've got two, I've got two, 20-year-olds and a 17-year-old boy, things are going to be a whole lot different for them and already are. In even the two years that my kids have been in college. They know how the professors go about, you know, teaching classes, grading classes, and, you know, the animus that is created between students who know one's doing one thing authentically and the other thing, the other one's not so it's complicated.

Sheri Savage: Yeah. No, I agree with you. I agree with you 100%.

Derek DeWinter: Yeah, so I look at it through a couple of different lenses and, currently the lens that I'm more concerned about is the personal how that is going to truly impact, you know, our kids and our communities and our connections to one another.

So, I don't know. I hope I'm not being the old guy on the lawn who says, get off my lawn, but I sort of feel like that a little.

Sheri Savage: No, I agree with you.

Derek DeWinter: Final question for you and then I'll let you rush off to do your real job. I hope you've seen the movie the Barbie movie. Did you like it?

Sheri Savage: Oh, I loved it. I didn't dislike anything about the movie. I watched it with my husband that part where America Ferreira does her kind of diatribe about being a woman. I teared up because I was like, Oh my gosh, I understand this. This is like, you know, it's, you know, although I have not had major impacts with being a woman at UCT, but you still feel certain things along the way in life.

It's just, oh my gosh, it resonated with me in a very big way. So I think it was a great movie from a messaging perspective. I think we need more of that out in the marketplace. I told my daughter, you have to watch it. So I think it's a really good message. I resonated with many things that were said in it.

Derek DeWinter: That was one of the best two-minute speeches of all.

Sheri Savage: Yes, totally agree.

Derek DeWinter: Just like, oh my gosh. I wonder how many takes it took to do that. It feels like she probably could have done that without a script just drawing on experiences or whatever. Like, I don't need your script, I got this!

Sheri Savage: Oh, I agree.

Derek DeWinter: Well, look, it was so great to catch up with you and you're so generous with your time to be able to spend with us.

I hope everyone who's listening to this enjoyed it. I do hope that our paths cross this summer somewhere, somehow, and continued success in your role as an executive, a mother, a wife, and a member of our community.

Sheri Savage: Thank you. Appreciate it.

Celebrating Our May DeWinter Group Anniversaries

Wed, 08 May 2024 09:00:00 GMT

Celebrating Our May DeWinter Group Anniversaries

Sending a big congratulations to all our wonderful team members celebrating their work anniversaries in May at DeWinter Group! Their hard work and dedication haven't gone unnoticed. Thank you for everything you do to make our team great.

Here's to more successes and memories together!

Join us in congratulating them on LinkedIn.

Kathryn Krueger Announced as President of Maris Consulting Group

Tue, 07 May 2024 16:09:15 GMT

Kathryn Krueger Announced as President of Maris Consulting Group

The DeWinter Group is thrilled to announce that Kathryn Krueger will be stepping into the role of President of Maris Consulting Group , our technical consulting practice. With nearly two decades of experience leading exceptional recruiting and staffing teams, Kathryn brings a strategic mindset and a proven track record of delivering exceptional results for our clients.

Shifting from her role as Chief Operating Officer of the DeWinter Group, where she’s been part of our leadership team since 2019, Kathryn comes equipped with deep knowledge of our clients' needs, our teams’ strengths and agility, and a commitment to success.

Learn more about Kathryn’s background here.

About Maris Consulting Group

Maris Consulting Group , the technical consulting practice within DeWinter Group, combines unparalleled talent acquisition expertise with an in-depth and agile understanding of the Bay Area and Boston markets to create the best IT and digital staffing experience available.

8 Situations Where Companies Most Benefit From Using a Recruiting or Staffing Agency

Mon, 06 May 2024 15:29:58 GMT

8 Situations Where Companies Most Benefit From Using a Recruiting or Staffing Agency

By Emily Calicchio, Managing Director, New England

In today's competitive job market, finding and hiring top-tier finance and accounting talent can be a daunting task for companies. Recognizing when and how to work with a recruiting agency as a hiring partner can save teams valuable time, money, and internal resources.

So, when should you work with a recruiting firm to find finance and accounting talent? As a recruiter with over a decade of experience working with top companies and professionals in the Northeastern market, I've identified eight key situations where leveraging the services of a recruiting and staffing agency is essential for companies looking to attract and retain the best talent.

1. Urgent Hiring Needs

When companies have urgent hiring needs due to unexpected departures, sudden business expansion, or project deadlines, recruiting and staffing agencies can provide immediate assistance. These agencies have access to a vast network of pre-screened candidates and can expedite the hiring process to fill critical positions quickly. At the DeWinter Group, we know how critical it is to get talent where it’s needed which is why we ensure a fast and efficient turnaround on placements.

2. Specialized Skill Requirements

For positions that require specialized skills or expertise, such as financial analysis, forensic accounting, or tax compliance, recruiting and staffing agencies can help companies identify and attract candidates with the right qualifications. These agencies specialize in niche markets and have extensive networks of candidates with niche skill sets.

3. Limited Internal Resources

Companies with limited internal HR resources or expertise may struggle to effectively manage the recruitment process. Recruiting and staffing agencies act as an extension of the company's HR department, handling tasks such as candidate sourcing, screening, and interviewing, freeing up internal resources to focus on core business activities.

4. Confidential Searches

In cases where companies need to conduct confidential searches, such as replacing underperforming employees or filling sensitive leadership positions, recruiting and staffing agencies can maintain discretion and confidentiality throughout the hiring process. These agencies have experience handling confidential searches and can protect the company's reputation and privacy.

5. Access to Passive Candidates

Recruiting and staffing agencies have access to passive candidates who may not be actively seeking new job opportunities but are open to considering new opportunities if presented with the right offer. These candidates are often highly qualified and can bring valuable skills and experience to the company.

6. Temporary or Project-Based Needs

Companies with temporary or project-based staffing needs, such as seasonal peaks, special projects, or maternity leave coverage, can benefit from partnering with recruiting and staffing agencies. These agencies can provide temporary or contract employees on short notice, allowing companies to meet their staffing needs without committing to long-term hires.

7. Geographic Expansion

When companies are expanding into new geographic markets or regions, they may lack the local knowledge and networks needed to attract talent in those areas. Recruiting and staffing agencies with a presence in the target market can provide valuable insights and connections to help companies establish a foothold and attract local talent.

8. Cost-Effective Solutions

Contrary to popular belief, partnering with a recruiting and staffing agency can be a cost-effective solution for companies, especially when considering the hidden costs of unfilled positions, turnover, and hiring mistakes. These agencies operate on a contingency or fee-for-service basis, allowing companies to control costs and only pay for successful hires.

Whether it's filling urgent hiring needs, accessing specialized skills, managing confidential searches, or expanding into new markets, recruiting and staffing agencies offer valuable expertise, resources, and support to help companies achieve their hiring objectives and drive business success. Not sure if your team could benefit from working with a hiring partner or whether or not it's the right time for your team to utilize consultant support? Reach out today to discuss what options would serve your organization’s needs.

About the Author:

"As a Boston native, I'm excited and ready to bring DeWinter Group's highly-regarded reputation and my passion for high-level service and top-tier candidate experience to my own backyard."

About DeWinter Consulting Boston:

10 Strategies to Retain and Hire the Best Finance and Accounting Talent in 2024

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 17:39:49 GMT

10 Strategies to Retain and Hire the Best Finance and Accounting Talent in 2024

By Jacqueline Berman, Manager, Consulting Services

If attracting and retaining top talent is a high priority for your team this year, you’re not alone. A majority of organizations name recruiting and retaining staff as a “primary challenge,” according to a recent survey from Accounting Today.

In today's competitive landscape, attracting and retaining top finance and accounting talent is essential for companies looking to thrive in 2024 and beyond. With over a decade of experience partnering with leading organizations, I've identified ten proven strategies to help businesses retain their top talent and attract the best finance and accounting professionals in the coming year.

Cultivate a Strong Employer Brand

Invest in building a compelling employer brand that showcases your company's values, culture, and commitment to employee development. A strong employer brand will attract top talent and differentiate your organization from competitors. Staying informed about reviews and updating relevant content on popular sites like Glassdoor and Google Reviews can be a great starting point for giving candidates an insider’s view of your team.

Offer Competitive Compensation and Benefits

Ensure that your compensation and benefits packages are competitive within the industry and geographic location. Research compensation benchmarks for your open roles to stay informed about market trends and adjust your offerings accordingly to attract and retain top talent. Check out our 2024 Finance & Accounting Compensation Study & Industry Report for detailed compensation bands for 27 key finance and accounting roles.

Provide Opportunities for Career Growth

Top finance and accounting professionals are eager to advance their careers. With more than half of Americans considering a major job change in 2024 according to a recent survey by GOBankingRates, creating an enriching workplace can help keep top performers committed and motivated. Consider what your team can offer in terms of opportunities for professional development, upskilling, and advancement to help employees grow and progress within the organization.

Foster a Culture of Diversity and Inclusion

Create an inclusive workplace culture where all employees feel valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives. Not only will embracing diversity and inclusion initiatives attract a diverse pool of new talent but data from the Pew Research Center also shows that existing employees “tend to see positive impact from policies and resources associated with DEI where they work.”

Consider Remote and Hybrid Work Options

Recognize the importance of work-life balance and offer flexible work arrangements, remote work options, and support programs to help employees manage their professional and personal commitments effectively. Remote work continues to play a huge role in attracting and retaining top talent. In fact, 66% of respondents in our recent LinkedIn poll said that remote work was an “extremely important” factor in their career decisions.

Invest in Technology and Tools

Helping your team work smarter, not harder can boost morale and productivity. Equip your finance and accounting teams with the latest technology and tools to streamline processes, enhance productivity, and improve job satisfaction. 58% Finance professionals said that AI is important to their company’s future success, according to research from the Thomson Reuters Institute. Invest in training programs to ensure that employees are proficient in using these tools effectively.

Implement Effective Onboarding Programs

Create comprehensive onboarding programs that welcome new hires, introduce them to the company culture, and provide the necessary training and resources to succeed in their roles. A positive onboarding experience sets the tone for long-term success, which is why the DeWinter Group team continues t o support candidates through the onboarding process , setting our clients and candidates up to hit the ground running.

Foster Open Communication

Encourage open communication and feedback between employees and management. Create channels for employees to voice their opinions, ideas, and concerns, and take action to address feedback and improve the employee experience.

Recognize and Reward Excellence

Acknowledge and reward employees for their hard work, achievements, and contributions to the organization. Implement recognition programs, performance bonuses, and other incentives to motivate and retain top talent.

Provide Meaningful Work

Offer opportunities for employees to work on challenging and meaningful projects that align with their interests and career goals. Providing autonomy and ownership over projects can increase engagement and job satisfaction.

In 2024, retaining and hiring the best finance and accounting talent requires a strategic and proactive approach. By prioritizing employee engagement, career growth, work-life balance, and a positive company culture, businesses can attract and retain top talent and position themselves for success in the competitive landscape. Implementing these ten strategies will not only help organizations retain their top talent but also attract the best finance and accounting professionals in the coming year and beyond.

Are you considering additional finance or accounting consulting solutions in 2024? Whether you need immediate, short-term accounting support or have an urgent project that requires specific skills, DeWinter Consulting’s Boston has the finance and accounting network to help New England's top companies thrive. DeWinter Group's Boston Consulting team offers professional on-demand finance and accounting support. Learn more and get in touch today.

About the Author:

Jacqueline Berman has cultivated an extensive understanding of the New England recruiting market over the past 12 years, specializing in Accounting, Finance, Admin, and HR roles. Her expertise spans diverse industries, ranging from biotech and pharma to nonprofit and higher education. Working with companies of varying sizes, from large corporations to small businesses, she possesses a keen awareness of the distinct intricacies associated with each.

Adapting to evolving workplace dynamics, Jacqueline has seamlessly transitioned to remote work and national job placements in recent years. She perceives recruiting as a form of matchmaking, driven by a genuine passion and unwavering commitment to connecting the right talent with the right opportunities. It is evident that for her, recruiting transcends being merely a job; she considers it an integral aspect of her identity.

The DeWinter Difference: Jessica Aguirre, Emmy Award Winning Journalist

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 15:27:55 GMT

The DeWinter Difference: Jessica Aguirre, Emmy Award Winning Journalist

About The Episode

In this episode of the DeWinter Difference, Derek sits down with Jessica Aguirre, Emmy Award-winning Journalist and News Anchor with NBC Bay Area News. Hear Jessica share stories about her career journey, starting as a young journalist in Miami to becoming an Emmy-award-winning journalist and News Anchor with NBC Bay Area News, the changes she’s seen unfolding in the news industry, and the importance of listening.

Learn more about the DeWinter Difference podcast and share your thoughts and comments at DeWinterGroup.com/dewinter-difference

About Jessica Aguirre:

Jessica Aguirre is the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. evening anchor at NBC Bay Area News and an Emmy award-winning journalist. Jessica has been a primetime, evening anchor, in the Bay Area for over 20 years.

In addition to anchoring the evening news, Jessica is the co-host of NBC Bay Area’s Race in America: The Conversation alongside Marcus Washington. The show explores racial equity and social injustice and attempts to bridge the divide between backgrounds and generations.

Jessica began her career at the Spanish Language network, Univision, while attending the University of Miami. Before arriving in the Bay Area in 1998 she anchored and reported in Los Angeles and Miami, earning Emmy awards for her series on the struggles of migrant children and for her investigative work on child molesters as well as an Associated Press award for her series chronicling the struggle of boat people fleeing Cuba. During her tenure at NBC Bay Area Jessica won an Emmy for her poignant series, on the emotional journey of an East Bay transgender teen and her efforts to preserve her fertility before undergoing sex reassignment surgery, another Emmy for her live coverage of the "Ghostship" warehouse fire in Oakland and for field anchoring from the deadly Sonoma and Napa county firestorms.

Most recently Jessica was inducted into the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Silver Circle for twenty-five years of excellence in television journalism.

Follow her on Twitter @JessAguirreNBC

Listen now at the streaming sites listed.

Learn more about the DeWinter Difference podcast here and share your thoughts and comments below.

Where to Stream

Episode Transcript

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

Derek DeWinter: Welcome to our listeners who are tuning into the DeWinner Difference, an audio podcast where I spend a bit of time with incredible people I've known for years and you get to listen in. I hope that our conversations are unique, insightful, and short enough to hold your attention, but long enough so that you get some great takeaways that you can apply in your career, life, and relationships.

Today, I am very, very pleased to speak with my friend, Jessica Aguirre. Many of you will immediately recognize the name, and given what she does for a living, you can pair that visual with this audio. Jessica is an Emmy Award-winning news anchor for NBC Bay Area News. She's a rock star in every sense of expression and has interviewed Olympic athletes, luminaries, presidents, and many more.

As a journalist, she's researched and reported on countless injustices, and as a person, she's witty, funny, genuine, and will pull no punches. Jessica, thanks for taking the time in your very, very busy schedule to chat.

Jessica Aguire: My gosh. What a nice introduction. Thank you, Derek. Of course. I sent out alerts across all platforms yesterday that no matter what happened if you called me, I was supposed to be ripped off the set and come over exactly so that I would take your call at any moment. I told Joe and, you know Mexican president Andres Manuel Obrador today, like. I cannot go to this summit with you people because I am going with Derek instead, super Derek. So I'm sorry. I could have helped with those relations, but no, I'm here with you. Don't worry.

Derek DeWinter: The world suffers because of your decisions.

Jessica Aguire: I'm putting you first. You are my priority. Yes.

Derek DeWinter: Thank you. Well, let's start by doing something fun. We're gonna go back into the time machine. You're 10 years old, walk into the kitchen and tell anyone who can listen or hear you that one day I'm going to be an Emmy award-winning news anchor.

I doubt this happened, but a little tiny part of me thinks that you actually could have done that. In the real world, tell us a little bit about how the journey began for you to get from there to here.

Jessica Aguire: I did do a little newscast when I was a kid. That is true we used to play newscaster all the time, but you know for us we were like my parents are immigrants to this country They learned to speak English watching TV. So the TV I mean, my, you know, if I think back to my earliest memory is with the TV being on, my mother smoking a cigarette.

Those, that's exactly how we lived in our house, right? The TV was always on. And my parents always had the news on, so it was something that kind of was always an undercurrent in the background. In fact, I mean, I know this sounds weird. I actually remember watching the Watergate hearings. I used to sit in front of our black-and-white TV and watch Watergate. My mom was always like, my mom has a very cute, heavy accent. She'd always be like, you're a very strange child. Very strange. You know so we were always watching the news very much into but you know what? I thought I was going to be a dancer. I love dancing. I grew up dancing, taking ballet, and all these kinds of things.

That bubble burst though, you know, I was always a prolific reader, and didn't happen. I went to college, you know, the first person in my family to go to college, I didn't really know what I wanted to do. And again, one night watching TV with my mom, we're watching the news. My mom looks like we're having this whole discussion about what am I going to do with my life?

My mom looks at the TV and sees an anchorwoman on TV. She literally says to me, you should do that. You should be talking like that lady on TV. You're very nosy. You talk a lot and she goes, and you're in everybody's business all the time. She was right. It's like the perfect job for me. Right.

Always asking questions. I'm always having fun. That's kind of what happened. I changed my path at the University of Miami, started working at a television station when I was a junior, and have never left the newsroom ever, ever, ever, ever.

Derek DeWinter: Is that one of those first times where you can see what you can be type of moments?

Jessica Aguire: I think I think it was a little bit of that, but also, the truth is, there weren't any people like me on TV. There was one Latina anchorwoman in Miami. At that point, we lived in Miami where it's, you know, 98 percent Hispanic. She was like this trailblazer, and I was like, really? Do you think I could do that?

That really kind of set the path and then that became for me what I loved about it right off the bat working in a newsroom was I loved the adrenaline of it and I also love I love seeing things for myself I'm a little bit mistrustful and unless I see it myself and I don't understand it myself I can't really wrap my head around it.

So I loved especially in those days I mean we're talking, you know late 80s and early 90s when networks had huge budgets and they didn't really have you know the level of correspondent everywhere. The TV stations that I worked for, I mean, they would put you on a plane for anything that happened any place in the country.

I loved that. Living out of a suitcase in my car.

Derek DeWinter: That's awesome. There, getting to the place that you are, there are challenges too numerous to mention, but can you think of a couple or one that's like boy, this could have derailed me, but it didn't? Like, some big seminal moment that,

Jessica Aguire: I think the big thing was like, first of all, there weren't any women. There weren't a lot of women like me on television, you know and I you know didn't really I wanted to be a reporter, but I didn't look like a reporter I looked a lot like the lady in FlashDance, you know it's true I had like a you know, I was wearing leggings are back, but I wore them back then.

I have super curly hair and I just didn't have the right look. Believe it or not, it was one of the other anchor women at the station who said you need to look like the job you want and right now you look like a stripper. You need to really get your look together. I went and I spent all my money at Ann Taylor.

I remember that I came back with this beautiful suit that cost me my entire salary and that kind of changed how I saw myself, what the possibilities were for myself. That was a big thing then, you know, the constraints of actually living in a very Latino upbringing, you know, I was a reporter, like covering world events, living with my parents.

So, my parents would often call me. I remember this clearly, I was covering one of the Miami riots, and my parents called me on the phone in the middle of a riot to tell me that my dad's coming to get me because it's unsafe where I am. So they were routinely planning to come pick me up places. So it was a lot of that and to be honest, there was also this, there weren't, there weren't a lot of Hispanics on English language TV. I first started off in Spanish-language TV, and I was one of the first reporters in Miami to make the crossover and appear on English-language TV.

I went to the University of Miami, Spanish is my first language, but I went through the education system in English and I got a lot of pushback at the beginning about, do you understand English? Do you speak English? And I was always perplexed because I was like, are we not speaking English at this moment? There was a lot of that kind of undercurrent of whether you are really qualified to do this job based on you being a young woman, because I was young and, you know, pretty and based on the fact that There weren't integrating Hispanics on TV.

I mean, now you go to Miami and like every single television anchor in Miami, regardless of whether you're on English language TV is probably of some sort of Hispanic origin, just because the market is so predominantly Hispanic and that's a lot of what used to happen, especially in the old days.

You would get plugged into markets depending on what the market demographics of the market is. I wanted to go work in Boston. I thought that would be fun and they were like, yeah, they don't have Hispanics in Boston. And I was like, there's not one. There's not one Hispanic in Boston. You've got to be kidding me.

Derek DeWinter: That's funny. Well, let's, let's stay in the time machine, fast forward a few years you're 22, you graduate from the U, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, take on the world how would the present day you talk to her about the strides that will be made in the next 20 to 30 years for women?

Jessica Aguire: Oh, wow.

Derek DeWinter: And kind of like part two is like, do you think she'd be excited, surprised, maybe a little bit disappointed that more didn't happen or a whole mix of those things?

Jessica Aguire: I think when you're in it, you don't even realize that the changes are happening because you know, you're so, especially as a young woman, you know, you're so, I was so focused on the success portion of my journey, right? I had to be a reporter. I had to eventually be an anchorwoman. I had this, I'm one of those bull in the china shop people. I put my head down and just forged forward. I didn't realize in the moment that I was at a place in history where so much rapidly was going to change for women in the workforce, especially women in the newsroom, which is the only work that I really know.

When you first start off in television, they put you in a car, you're a reporter. I'm in a car with probably a man who’s 20 to 30 years older than me, a seasoned photographer. And we spent 14, 15 hours in a car together. It was a different time. I mean, you know, my cameraman would be leering at women. We'd do an interview he'd get off and he'd be like god I really would and you're like, nope.

I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear it. Don't tell me but it was also just a different environment in the way things that would have happened back then the way they talked to you just wouldn't fly right now. It just was a different time. I mean, I remember, I am a main anchorwoman, both of my children when were born I had six weeks off maternity leave for both kids six weeks.

I was back on the set on a whoopee cushion six weeks later and now women get the opportunity to have six months later, you know to be off and, and spend time with their family. There's much more respect for the family. We didn't have that in the newsroom in the old days. I think it's, we've made these great strides and in the old newsrooms, it was primarily men now in my newsroom.

My general manager is a woman. My news director is a woman. My executive producer is a woman, and the woman who heads NBC O division is a woman that I've worked for now for gosh, 25 years. So things have definitely changed. And I also think that we've lost a little bit of that.

When you put people, I think these guardrails are phenomenal, but when you put too many guardrails on people, you lose a little bit of spontaneity, you know?

Derek DeWinter: I hear you.

Jessica Aguire: So I feel like that's a loss.

Derek DeWinter: So you and I, we only met five or six years ago. I remember our very first conversation. In fact, I remember exactly where I was sitting because I was up in San Francisco at our offices and it was cloudy and foggy outside and I was in a corner and I just was so excited to have a conversation with you because we were talking about becoming a board member with a women's organization that I was already on the board of and. We dove into some pretty serious conversations right off the bat about ethnicity and cultural biases, and you were super curious about my upbringing and how it kind of had some unique parallels to yours. I always enjoy talking about that stuff. I think it's, you know, it's fascinating a topic, have conversations about so on that note and I brought this up to you a little bit ago when we tried to do one of these before is like, I'm super curious as to your thoughts on the Latin experience in Florida versus the Latin experience in California.

Jessica Aguire: You know, and I have, it's interesting because I lived in Los Angeles till I was eight years old and this was in the 70s. I remember, as a kid, my mom used to always say to us, my sister and I, before we left the house, you know, we were in a mode that we were trying to really assimilate. So my mom, we spoke Spanish at home and my mom would always say to us, okay, we're going to go outside. She'd say it in her accent. We're going to go outside. So don't speak in Spanish. We don't want them to know that we're not. Americans and my sister and I would always look at her really puzzled like okay well, you don't speak we'll speak because you are obviously not from this country it was such a culture shock when we moved to Miami because in Miami the Latino population had kind of inculcated itself in such a way that it really took over.

I mean, I lived in a neighborhood in Miami. That was 100% Hispanic in fact. There were people in my neighborhood that never learned English. It was very very very Hispanic and being Hispanic was very important. So, it was a culture shock for me. We spoke Spanish everywhere. We did everything it was Spanglish, you know to this day I still speak Spanglish to my sister and my mom, but it was very much a different culture it was very much that you were Hispanic, you know. hen when I moved back to Los Angeles many years later after I was working at KBC in Los Angeles when I came It was a complete culture shock again because I went back to a community, which I think has changed dramatically in the last 15 years, but when this happened, this was in the mid 90’s.

Where people didn't speak Spanish in the middle of a newsroom, or I would start talking to people in Spanish and they'd be like, I don't speak Spanish. Because again, it was that cultural assimilation that needed to happen in California. So it was really interesting to me, but I also see that that's changed dramatically because you actually see a lot of younger kids of a younger generation now that want to speak Spanish again and want to have kind of a connection with their heritage, which before you didn't have it. Now you go to Miami and you go to what my mother calls while greens, which is really Walgreens, and when you go to while greens, it always stuns me when I go visit my family, because I'll go in and I'll say, Oh, do you guys have toothpaste?

And people will look at me like I'm speaking a completely different language. Because they don't speak. No one speaks to you in English there. It's weird.

Derek DeWinter: Yeah. Is there a, is there a logical why between the two places? Is it because most. Immigrants to California that are Latin or Mexican versus a larger Cuban immigrant population to Florida or?

Jessica Aguire: Yeah, I think it's the numbers of it have something to do with it, but I also think that when you had this mass influx of Cubans all at the same time and when those Cubans came over in the early 1960s you know when Castro took over Cuba the first wave of Cubans that left Miami were usually the affluent Cubans that were able to get out and I think there was just such a sense of you know this whole diaspora, right?

Like so we're coming here and we're gonna all bond together and we are going we have to remake our lives and if we're going to recreate a little bit of where we used to live and that first wave of Cubans that came over highly educated and they just kind of decided it was kind of I feel like they're the 49ers like they put their stake in the ground and they were like this is ours and this is what we're doing and that just kind of, continued where you have more waves of Cuban and then it just became, you know, over the years you've had different, you know, migrations come over from Cuba and they really just kind of set up shop. It was a fascinating, you know, way to grow up. My high school was literally 98% Cuban, not just now. Yeah, you have such a range of Hispanics in Miami, Venezuelans, Colombians, Nicaragua's. But when I was growing up there, it was 98% Cuban. My, my, my high school.

Derek DeWinter: Interesting. So as you've grown and developed in your career, have you adjusted your interviewing style in any particular meaningful way? It naturally would depend on who you're interviewing, and for what purpose, but on the whole, do you think you've made some significant changes in your approach to conversations with people?

Jessica Aguire: I think that's one, I think it's experience, but two, I also think you kind of develop your own. way of being present in an interview, right? So I, I always do research, I love doing research, I love knowing, depending on who it is, you know, there's just so many different kinds. Are you doing a profile on someone?

Like with Kerri, when I was doing that profile that you helped facilitate. So I'll read everything that I can find about her, right? But then in an interview like that, I don't bring questions. I like to have a conversation with a person. So for me, those interviews are really about listening because you want it to be like, you're just having a conversation with a friend and when you have a conversation with a friend, you're all over the place, right? You'll talk about this and you'll talk about this, but really listening for me. I love listening to those moments when you get those really good starlight moments when you just listen to something someone says.

The other thing I was going to say, if I'm doing a super technical interview, though, where I'm doing an official or something where we're really talking about issues I will bring notes, but again, I feel like the biggest thing I've learned as an interviewer is really to hear people's words, not to be thinking about what my next question is going to be, but to just completely be focused on what they're saying then I may not even ask the next six questions I had. I may go down another avenue with them because people always reveal important things about themselves if you're actually listening.

Derek DeWinter: Wholeheartedly agree. So you have done thousands of interviews. Here are a few questions for you. The interview that you had that you were most scared about doing before it happened. Like you're set up to meet with XYZ person. You were like, Oh, my God, I am going to absolutely lose myself here.

Jessica Aguire: That's really hard. You know, I always say I have like newsheimers. There isn't enough data space in the brain. I will often say, you know something to someone like oh, yeah, I remember that and and other people will be like yeah, because you interviewed that person I'd be like I did I have no idea.

I think the interviews I get most nervous about are actually have been interviews not even with like someone who's important like a president or anything like that I think the interviews that have made me the most nervous have been when I've been doing breaking news live coverage where people are dependent on me giving them the right information for safety purposes.

So I will say if I'm giving information like when the Napa fires are raging and I'm trying to tell people which direction they're supposed to go or what's going to happen next or during the Asiana plane crash when we really didn't know when something was happening. Those are the things that really jar my memory in terms of me being not nervous on TV, but very cognizant that I have a responsibility not to endanger someone and those are the things that make me nervous. Yeah.

Derek DeWinter: What about the most fascinating person you've ever met? Good or bad, by the way?

Jessica Aguire: Fascinating. I feel like the most fascinating people I've ever met, and this is going to sound weird. I really love interviewing people who have done something really, really heinous because I really love trying to understand “What is it?” What is the trait? Where do you lose yourself in that sense?

I love stories of redemption, where somebody like and I can't even remember some of them, but like, just, I just did this Race in America episode. Again, because I don't have any, I have no long-term memory. I just did this Race in America interview the other day, where I profiled three prisoners that spent time in San Quentin for life, that they were there for life, and they, they, they did manage to get out after 40-something years and to hear them discuss who they were as gang members that shot people and killed people, to who they are now, and the path of how they got to that place and to talk to them to see if they and to make, you know, I am the Barbara Walters of my newsroom.

My producer is like, you made a guy doing life cry and I was like, yeah, because you’re just really interested in figuring out what is your culpability. Do you still carry that with you? You know, it's just that I love hearing about ordinary people. Tell me something either really heinous about themselves that they've made peace with or something really ordinary that turns out to be extraordinary.

Derek DeWinter: That's awesome. All right, so let's see. The Mary Tyler Moore show.

Jessica Aguire: I love Mary Tyler Moore. Love it. Oh god.

Derek DeWinter: Or, the Morning Show. What do you think most resembles your newsroom today?

Jessica Aguire: Well, definitely not anchorman you know, I really liked Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom do you remember that one I thought that one was a, a very verbose version of the newsroom because I think that really depicted the ethical questions that we have all the time the level of kind of discourse that were involved in all the time, the over the top personalities it does tend to attract a bunch of weirdos myself included. I have to say I've been, I didn't, I resisted watching the newsroom for a really long time because I was like, I never liked television shows that are about television people. They never really resemble who we are. Then finally, one of my producers who’s worked with me for over 20 years because people kept asking me, have you watched The Newsroom? And I kept saying, no, I'm not going to watch it. And then she came up and said, I think you need to watch it because they're trying to tell you that you're just like Jennifer Aniston and she may have followed you around. What I loved about her character is that kind, There is this undercurrent of tenacity that we all have, and that tenacity kind of butts you up against a bunch of other people all the time, you know I think that one in the Newsroom from the one that I think was on HBO, those are the two that most really captured if it wasn't the details of the news, it was the fact that journalists, I mean, We're not like this, we're not this, you know, there's not this, you know, worldwide club where we get on every morning, you know, and in this mass call to kind of move the needle in one direction.

I mean, it's all individuals that, maybe we make mistakes and there are mistakes that are made, but you get into this business because you really love the business of news. You love. You love telling a story. You love finding out information. I mean, are there going to be outliers? Of course, in every business.

There's this, especially those of us that stay in for a really long time, like me, I've been doing this for, gosh, 40 years now. You know, I don't have to do all these extra things that I do all this time, all these extra specials, but I'll have a producer, my, Christine will call me, and the other, this is how we ended up doing this you know, San Quentin special on the rehabilitation of San Quentin.

All she said to me was are you interested in San Quentin? I'm like, I'm in when are we doing it? What are we doing? You know, we have a shorthand that if you ask me a question, do you want they don't even have to get through the sentence I'm like, yep, and I still have that drive and there's a lot of people in my newsroom that are like that you know And then there are young people that get in the newsroom that can't they can't take the intensity or the pace. Which is hard on the people in your family though, right? I've missed birthday parties. I've missed everything But I always tell my girls I hope one day you'll find something that you really would be happy about, you know, you're always sad when you disappoint people, but I've as I said to my kids before I’m upset that I left you on your birthday but the minute I get in that car and I'm driving toward that shooting or whatever. The truth is I forget it and I am a hundred percent into what I'm doing and I want my kids to have that too.

Derek DeWinter: All right, so we get to turn the tables. I'm all done with you. You get to ask me a question. I don't know what it is. This is unscripted, as is most of what just happened anyway. You can ask me something that I will try to answer without embarrassing myself.

Jessica Aguire: Oh God. Then that's really going to be hard for you. Okay. So you and I have talked a lot about your upbringing. Like it's a little, you were in Hawaii. I mean, I think what people don't really know about you, I mean, you're just a super successful businessman, but you know, you're really quirky. I mean, quirky is the word I would use. Not quirky in a fantastic way. And you have a spontaneity about you and a quick wit and humor that, I mean, people that do money type things, usually, I call them money type things because I don't understand them, don't have. You know, I could have seen you as a, doing all these super, like a surfer or, you know, all these, you're very artistic, you have all this creative stuff with you. I also think you are, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie remember the book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie? When you give a mouse a topic, the little mouse starts doing something. And then before you know what the mouse is, deeper, deeper, deeper into it. And then the mouse is doing something else and then the mouse has gone another direction because the mouse has such curiosity.

So I always think of you that way. And I guess my question to you is twofold. One, where, how is it that you were in business and didn't lose that because I feel to me like business is very constricted, you know, it's kind of boxy, and yet you're always outside the lines how is it that you've managed to keep yourself outside the lines in a world with what you do? That constantly would like you to be more boxed in.

Derek DeWinter: Boy well, I don't do exactly what you do, but we also have some unique parallels where my job is about connecting with people, you know whether it's internally or externally, like every day is a little bit different. Every person that I meet is a little bit different and if you take the time and energy to really listen, to give people the opportunity to share themselves with you.I think part of doing a great interview is making sure that they're the highlight, that they get to share something of themselves, which makes them feel really good or important, meaningful, whatever it might be. Sso I have been doing this for 30 years and every day is a new opportunity to kind of connect and maybe scratch that artistic itch or that quirky itch or that, you know, spontaneous itch because every conversation is different and I tend, and I tend to walk into these things relatively unscripted as well because it's kind of more fun like it's more interesting to be surprised when someone shares something as opposed to you thinking I better make sure that I ask question number six and you miss entirely the gem that was just given to you.

Jessica Aguire: Do you see yourself as kind of like a matchmaker almost?

Derek DeWinter: I think there's a big component of that. You know, you can compare recruiting to lots of different things, whether it's being like real estate, which is also matchmaking a little bit, a house and a home and without it and a person. I do think of it like that because ultimately, I mean, you match people into the job, but it's the match of people that makes things great.

So I think I'm relatively intuitive as it relates to that because of all the different places and people and languages and, you know, houses and schools that I've been to, like, I've had to, you know, develop an intuitiveness, or I probably would have, um, not been successful. And I don't mean from a business perspective, but from a life perspective, like I lived in a lot of different places, moved around a lot, went to a lot of schools, spoke different languages and ended up here and I think that's all been very developmental and applicable to what I do today.

Jessica Aguire: Sure, that's probably the key for you being able to cross so many different across so many different areas and talk to people and be able to see different vantage points. I also think something you said is really important is, you know, matching a person to a job or a career is almost, it's your career where you work for many people that you stay there for 10, 15 years.

Listen, it lasts more than some marriages, right? So you want to make sure that you're in a situation where you can really develop and yet have this bond.

I have one more question for you, Derek. If you were, would you prefer the fur coat in Ken in the Barbie movie, you know how Ken has the fur coat and he's wearing the leather pants, or do you think you would sport the Macklemore fur coat better?

Derek DeWinter: Well I dressed up as Ken in the fur coat for Halloween so there, there's your answer. In fact, I've threatened to. I wore that to go see my kids.

Jessica Aguire: Are you wearing it now?

Derek DeWinter: No. My wife is 5 foot 8 inch blonde, so she played the Barbie part pretty well.

Jessica Aguire: My god, that is perfect you guys are Barbie and Ken.

Derek DeWinter: I know exactly. Well, look, you have been overly generous with your time. I know how busy you are. In fact, actually, I don't know how busy you are because you're insanely busy and I couldn't comprehend it. So I really appreciate this and I love seeing you on the news. I love the role model that you are for the people that you serve.

Both men and women. I think you are an incredible role model to your daughters. They're lucky to have you and we are, I am, we are very lucky to have had this conversation today.

Jessica Aguire: Thank you so much for inviting me. This is so fun. Thank you.

Derek DeWinter: Means a lot to me. So look you go do your news thing And I hope to see you real soon.

Jessica Aguire: Yeah, I would like to see the photo of you as Ken.

Derek DeWinter: I'll send you one for sure.

Jessica Aguire: Thank you so much. Thank you. All right. Bye. Bye.

The DeWinter Difference: Noland Granberry, CFO at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 09:00:01 GMT

The DeWinter Difference: Noland Granberry, CFO at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley

About The Episode

In this episode of the DeWinter Difference, Derek chats with Noland Granberry, Chief Financial Officer at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley. Hear from Noland about his journey from a successful career in the tech industry to shifting into the non-profit world with Second Harvest, surprising facts about food insecurity in Silicon Valley, and more.

Interested in getting involved with Second Harvest? Learn more and get connected with volunteering or donation opportunities at the links below.

Volunteer Information:

Donation information

Home | Second Harvest of Silicon Valley (shfb.org)

donor.relations@shfb.org
.

Listen now at the streaming sites listed.

Learn more about the DeWinter Difference podcast here and share your thoughts and comments below.

Where to Stream

Episode Transcript

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

Derek DeWinter: Welcome to our listeners who are tuning into the DeWinter Difference, an audio podcast where I spend some time with incredible executives I've worked with and you get to listen in. My hope is that our conversations are unique and insightful, short enough so you won't prefer to respond to texts and emails while listening, but long enough so that you get some great takeaways that you can apply in your own career, life, and relationships. Today I have the opportunity to speak with Noland Granberry, Chief Financial Officer at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley. Noland's career, prior to a pivot into nonprofit with Second Harvest was spent in public and private tech companies up and down Silicon Valley. Conversations like this are very easy to have when you go back 20 or more years with someone, especially someone like Noland.

I hope you enjoy a very casual and fun conversation between friends and Noland, thanks for spending some time with us.

Noland Granberry: Thanks, Derek very excited to be here and appreciate you giving me the opportunity to join you.

Derek DeWinter: Well, we're getting the better end of the deal. There's no doubt about that. Most of the people who are listening to us who live in the Bay Area will have some familiarity with Second Harvest. In fact, Second Harvest is an organization that our firm focuses on donating time and resources to, which we talked a little bit about last year.

I'm guessing not a lot of us know truly how large the organization is, your scope of services, and the mission of Second Harvest. So maybe if we can start the conversation by getting to know a little bit more about, and you know, the great place that you work that would be awesome.

Noland Granberry: Sure, I'll start with our mission.

Our mission is that we're looking to end hunger in our communities, so that's, that's the mission. We believe that this is a solvable problem, particularly here in the Bay area, Silicon Valley, where there is a lot of wealth. I think many people are surprised that there is food insecurity that exists in the Valley.

Second Harvest was established in 1974. This is our 50th year anniversary and believe it or not, it was started in a garage back in the day there were several resourceful and innovative community members that realized that there were thousands of neighbors going hungry. We're throwing away millions of pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables and you know, with the Silicon Valley's innovative nature, these community meeting members founded Second Harvest, 50 years later, we're actually still going strong.

We actually have 300 employees and are very fortunate to have an awesome volunteer base and volunteers in general. We deliver about 125 million pounds of food every year to over 300 agencies and we serve over 900 distributions through those agencies.

I think one thing to point out for us is that our focus is delivering healthy food. You won't find a lot of the snacks and sugary-type things as a part of our offering. It's important that we deliver a healthy supply and today we're serving one in six or about 500,000 folks a month.

Derek DeWinter: Wow, that's incredible, I had no idea it was quite that expansive and you partner with a variety of different organizations. How many did you say?

Noland Granberry: Over 300 agencies and that can be churches, community centers, schools, and all the like.

Derek DeWinter: Well, I mean, you had a very successful career in mainstream tech as a CFO and financial executive. So what was the thing that drew you away from that or to Second Harvest?

Noland Granberry: I'm originally from Ohio, and that's as far away from tech as you can get. Back 30 years plus I had an opportunity to come out to San Jose as the tech boom was starting. I was working in public accounting with Ernst and Young, Arthur Young at the time, but that later emerged with Ernst and Winnie and became Ernst and Young. I spent about 11 years in public accounting before moving into the real tech world. I worked with a number of very good tech companies over the years, including ICO systems, Silicon Image, and SanDisk.

My last job was Nanasys, which was a privately held entity with hopes of going public. We were unable to do so and there came a time when I felt like I needed to think of doing something differently and being a part of an organization like this was something that I thought of but didn't know how or where or when I could actually do it, being so busy, tied up in the tech world, but as fate may have it when I was leaving Nanasys I got a call from a recruiter who talked about Second Harvest and I came in and met with the CEO and we hit it off real well, and I learned a lot about Second Harvest as a food bank and realized that what I thought was the case. Where main clients would be those who were destitute, unhoused, and down on their luck sort of things and came to realize that the majority of our clients are actually hardworking Silicon Valley players who, for whatever reason in this expensive environment just can't always seem to make their ends meet.

We're here to serve as a supplement to that, my ability to move from the craziness of the tech world into into a space where I was able to feel like I was given back to the community was a big deal in my making that change.

Derek DeWinter: Well, that transition is not easy to make in the Bay Area because it is so expensive in terms of the transition into a nonprofit, and I've talked to a lot of people over the years of my career who were worried about wanting to make that transition into something more philanthropic or nonprofit, and the draw is never monetary, unfortunately, but is rather something that kind of fills a bucket on a more personal level.

This may be an unfair question, but do you feel more professionally fulfilled or personally fulfilled going to work every day of Second Harvest than you did before?

Noland Granberry: You know I do. I can remember conversations that I used to have with some of my peers in the tech world. We always felt like it was great and exciting. The things we were doing in our roles and the companies we were working for, but there did still seem to be that missing thing because we always ask ourselves, how are we actually making a difference?

We might be making a difference in the world of folks making money and what have you, but are we really making a difference? My opportunity to join Second Harvest was really that true opportunity for me to make a difference.

I actually operate sort of in my role in sort of the back office, so to speak.So I'm not on the front lines all the time, but when I get a chance to go out and actually join the distribution as a volunteer and get to see the appreciation of the folks coming through and receiving food you know, it's a blessing. I definitely feel very, very good about that.

Derek DeWinter: I bet a lot of people might think that a move into nonprofit might mean fewer hours, maybe a little bit less, you know, crazy work at the end of peak cycles. But, then that may or may not be true, and certainly it will be different for different people. Do you think there are a fair number of similarities that Second Harvest has compared to Silicon Valley? And what might surprise somebody who's listening to this is what the busiest time of the year is for you and your team.

Noland Granberry: So We're pretty busy pretty much all year round, but it's, it's a different type of busy. I think unlike in the tech world or for-profit world quarterly results, quarterly performance. It's actually, you know, not so much a requirement from a quarterly reporting standpoint, but from a delivery of food to the community and making sure we're able to do that.

That was most evident when we hit the pandemic in 2020, where we had to real-time shift total gears on how we were operating completely to go from delivering food to about 250,000 individuals to delivering food to 500,000 individuals. That was in a matter of months, the logistics behind that, the ability to put systems in place behind that was an amazing effort by the organization and the team. But I think it would rival almost any for-profit business relative to some of the complexities and dynamics that you need to face, to make something like that happen.

Derek DeWinter: We're now going back four or five years, I suppose. And you talked about serving 250,000. Now you are routinely servicing 500,000. There has not been a drop off in need at all since the pandemic.

Noland Granberry: That is the one, if there's a message that I can deliver today is that yes, we have been the beneficiary of a very, very generous community, particularly during the pandemic years where there was a lot of money raised in support of the pandemic effort and, and that is sort of, you know, dwindled off to some degree.

But we have not seen the need decrease. There was a small ebb, you know, in early 2022 or late 23, but then as the government support ended and the dynamics of, the interest rate economic changes in the economy impacted folks. We are back at our peak pandemic levels and we are, we're in need of folks to, you know, continue to understand that that's where we are at and provide enough support, whether it's through volunteering efforts or through donations in support of the fact that we are actually still see the same number of folks that we were seeing back at the peak pandemic.

Derek DeWinter: Would it be fair to say that if you have limitations in terms of your ability to serve, it is monetary donations or donations of any sort? Well, I guess monetary donations. Or resources to be able to deliver, or is it people and volunteer resources or a variety of different levers?

Noland Granberry: Truth is both are important. If you think about the amount of volunteers that we utilize in any year, I believe last year we had over 40,000 volunteers provide over 200, I want to say 50 or 60,000 hours of volunteer services. It's almost doubling our entire team of the 300 I mentioned earlier that we have in support of our organization.

But having the donations, and the funding is actually very critical to us. We feel that through our buying power and the relationships we have, we're actually able to make the most of every dollar that we receive. Probably much more than I wouldn't say probably for sure, much more than any individual who could go to a Safeway or Albertsons or wherever and buy it and actually bring that food to the organization.

We, as I said, we're serving 1 and 6, and we actually say a dollar will allow for us to serve I think it's 1 or 2 meals we can create it where it can serve at least 1 or 2 meals for anyone.

Derek DeWinter: With regard to donations and corporations leaning in, and that, topic of conversation. I have read a lot of articles lately about corporate ESG initiatives. And many really very frustrating to me at a personal level, because there appears to be an increasing amount of backlash for, you know, ESG initiatives and sponsorship, which include monetary donations and community programs that would benefit, you know, nonprofits like Second Harvest, it should be noted, two, that most of the things that I've read that take a negative take on the SG have come from policymakers and political candidates versus employees.

Now you've spent time as an executive in for-profit companies and now a nonprofit. Do you think there is, or should be an implicit obligation for companies to give back to organizations like Second Harvest?

Noland Granberry: You know, Derek. No, this is, this is an area that I think that when I look at folks that step up with us for us and do things, and we have a lot of companies that do a lot of good with us and donating money. We have so many companies that put together, teams to volunteer that come out to volunteer with us and that is very, very, very, very helpful for us.

So when I, when I look at that the focus on how folks are I tend to focus on that being that there are a number of good players and we continue to try to reach people and see how much more we can expand that. So that's how I sort of view it.

Derek DeWinter: More of a glass-half-full perspective instead of my negative perspective, like, why can't there be more? And so, like, we're happy with what we can get.

Noland Granberry: We are always striving to push for more for sure. It actually is you know, critical continuing, like I said, 500 000 folks a month shouldn't be the case in the Bay Area if you think about it, right? So for everyone that actually is helping out big kudos and, and we want to try to give kudos to even more.

Derek DeWinter: For those who you and the organizations that you work with touch there are many more thousands that may not even have access to those organizations or you to be able to get access to food as well. So, you know, in terms of a total addressable market, it's, I'm sure, significantly larger than that, unfortunately. So I mean, obviously successful career over the past 20-plus years. What would you be doing if you weren't a CFO?

Noland Granberry: Derek, I'm a sports nut. I played basketball in college, division three though. Can't say I was a D1 player, but division three, but that was a great experience for me. I think the idea of sports for youth is a, very important dynamic that I think all should share in because it builds so many life lessons.

So if I had my driver of having something else other than being a CFO, it would be coaching probably basketball in, some form or fashion, whether it's youth basketball or High school, or I would even love to get to a college level. But that would have been where I think I would have been focused.

Derek DeWinter: CFO? Those are long roads to travel, unfortunately. Yeah. Well, you know, you got time. You got time. That's for sure. Well, instead of being on the receiving end of so many of these questions We get to turn the tables and you get to ask me an unscripted question that I don't know anything about.

So you shoot and I will try to respond as best I can.

Noland Granberry: That’s okay. Both of them are pretty easy or pretty straightforward. I think you've been quite successful and I have enjoyed the many, many years that we've had in our relationship. So I would be curious as to you, what would you be doing if you hadn't brought up the great recruiting firm that you did and the things that you're doing now, what would you be doing differently?

Derek DeWinter: You know, I have a real passion for cooking.

Noland Granberry: Ah.

Derek DeWinter: It's probably not something people would have thought that I would say, but I love cooking, I love the kitchen, I love the intricacies of meal preparing. I also like the fact that you know, preparing a meal is that you can share with others as a way of kind of bringing people together.

My wife calls it my love language, I love cooking for people and making things and it just, I mean, from the moment I think up, I got to go to the store and like the things I'm going to get, like, it gets me excited so I could see myself doing that, although fully recognizing that that is a very difficult lifestyle. But the practical side of me would have said, no, maybe you should do something easier, 'cause that is a tough job but something that I think I would have loved doing.

Noland Granberry: Ah, awesome. Awesome. Maybe I can get to taste one of your meals one day.

Derek DeWinter: One of these days, buddy.

Noland Granberry: One of these days. The other quick question, there's a big game coming up in a week and I was just curious. Do you think the Niners can get to their sixth Super Bowl?

Derek DeWinter: So by the time this is published, I will have known what the answer is. I cannot help but, you know uh, be a homer on this one. I know that the whole world's talking about Mahomes is unbeatable, by all accounts, it certainly seems to be, but I don't know. I just can't help but think that Niner's going to pull this one out.

Not without great difficulty which is like really putting my neck out there. I really think they've got this one. So fingers crossed and if it could be wrapped up with an MVP for Purdy, I think that would just drive people crazy, I think that'd be pretty fun. You?

Noland Granberry: I just really like a good game. I'm a big Steelers fan. My oldest son is a Niner fan, so I have my heart leading to him so he can get a victory and I love Mahomes, it's a tough one for me with all those three considerations. I'd love to see a great game, but it'd be great if the Niners could pull it out and get number six.

Derek DeWinter: Well, if you end up at a party and someone's putting squares up, hopefully, you land on, you know, the seven on the four, whatever you have picked for the quarter, and you can have a great game and maybe walk away with a couple of bucks. Well, Noland, you have a great team of executives, leaders, and team.

You all are doing awesome things at Second Harvest. What can listeners do if they want to get involved or have their organizations involved?

I will say to folks who are listening, we will have contact information for you to be able to get your groups together to be able to volunteer. I have volunteered numerous times. It is work that seems like it could go on forever when your shift is done, the work is not done ever. I've never done a shift where I've thought, oh, and we're good like there's always more to do.

So I cannot, you know, I cannot say more strongly than this. Please, please, if you can find time to donate, it is an incredibly great experience. Who should folks contact to donate?

Noland Granberry: Going to www.shfb.org and on there, it's very simple. There are two buttons to push one that says donate and one that says volunteer. You click on those and it's just very straightforward to accept the donation and deliver the donation.

If you click on the volunteer side, it is very easy to pick a spot, pick a time, whether you're going out to a distribution, or whether you're actually participating in a sort. Again, that's www.shfb.org and I just like to say, you know, we're back at peak levels and really should not have food insecurities in the Valley.

It's a solvable problem and everyone can make a difference. So donating time and money is very, very much appreciated.

Derek DeWinter: On that note, I'll make a transition and say thank you for donating your time to me, my friend. I hope that we run into one another again real soon. I'll be intentional about that after this conversation.

To everybody out there, you know, take it upon yourself lean in, and help if you can, please. Thanks, Noland. Appreciate it. Take care. Bye.

The DeWinter Difference: Adriel Lares, Chief Financial Officer of Stash

Mon, 01 Apr 2024 19:08:39 GMT

The DeWinter Difference: Adriel Lares, Chief Financial Officer of Stash

About The Episode

In this episode of the DeWinter Difference, Derek sits down with Adriel Lares, Chief Financial Officer of Stash. Adriel and Derek discuss the evolving role of today's CFOs, the impact of AI, finding the balance between in-person and remote interactions, and their shared love of making wine with friends.

Check out Memento Mori, Adriel's California-based winery at www.mmwine.com .

Listen now at the streaming sites listed.

Learn more about the DeWinter Difference podcast here and share your thoughts and comments below.

Where to Stream

Episode Transcript

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

Today, I have the very good fortune of speaking with Adriel Laris, the CFO of Stash. His distinguished career includes a long list of M&A activity financing. public offerings and he hung his hat at noteworthy tech companies like Fastly, Three Par, and Lookout. We actually have a fairly unique connection in that we're both parents of twins and then we're either crazy or lucky enough to have a third and are also winemakers some more than others.

I'm not entirely sure if wine-making was a result of a third child, but it certainly is the byproduct of having a third child, at least, the wine-drinking. Adriel, Thanks for joining us today.

Adriel Lares: Thanks for having me.

Derek DeWinter: You've had an awesome career so far, but, you know, things start from something and why don't you take us back to the early decisions you made in your career from school to the first couple of jobs and, maybe kind of walk us through whether or not they were very intentional, opportunistic, or maybe a mix of both to help you kind of get your career moving in the right direction.

Adriel Lares: Thank you. I think you're leading the witness there a little bit. It is a mix of both. It's interesting because I was just speaking with a mentee about this very conversation because the question he had of me was, well, how should I think about the world? You know, I'm interested in, you know, AI and coding and dah, dah, dah, dah.

Where should I go if I, you know, choose one career? Will it lock me in for the rest of my life? I warned him that it's neither, you'll neither get locked in but it also could be something you have a true passion for over the long run.

For me personally, when I graduated from college I happened to have gone and studied abroad the fall semester.

As you may recall, and I think this still exists today, a lot of the recruiting happens in the fall so I missed out on all of that. Dating myself, going back to the early nineties there was a bit of a recession, a bit of a challenge from a macroeconomic hiring standpoint, at least for the sort of positions I was sort of looking for. When I got back from that sort of study abroad I was looking in the handy dandy local newspaper and there was a position with some big mouse ears and that was the Walt Disney Company. Anyone who didn't get a job in the fall was basically applying for this position. I was fortunate enough to get it and I guess the sort of the opportunistic part of this was, it was in finance. I was working down in Southern California and I was about a year and a half into it and I was really learning some great skills, great boss, who I'm still in touch with today, and a friend of mine who is in parallel had gone to university with me as well, had been in investment banking and talked about all of the challenges and the long hours, et cetera, et cetera. I'd only seen the, you know, the glamor of an investment banking career, all this great stuff. I sort of chose maybe not quite on the outside, the smartest thing to do but I basically restarted my analyst career. I had to sort of join in off-cycle so I was about a year and a half into working and I sort of restarted my career in investment banking that happened to be into the Morgan Stanley Tech group which is, it was intentional because I wanted to learn about technology.

I wasn't technical by background, but I just wanted to be near what I thought was the action, technology. What that did for me is it gave me a great bird's eye view of all of these different companies, all these different management teams, all these different industries. After three and a half years there, it really gave me the grounding and most importantly, the experience and the learnings that I didn't wanna be, not that I didn't wanna be, I really wanted to be part of one of these companies.

I wanted to sort of stay in it for a sort of longer run than necessarily advising or pitching in from time to time. You know I have many great friends and great careers in investment banking. I just wanted to sort of do the little bit more, the longer run, which sort of led to my career today. Which is sort of these longer stints as a CFO for these really great companies. You sort of get them at a certain stage and you hopefully can add something along the way.

Derek DeWinter: Was it an advantage or disadvantage to have a couple of years under your belt to Walt Disney going into Banking?

Adriel Lares: You know, it was a bit, I mean, I, I guess I would take it as a bit of an advantage. I remember some of the folks who were joining me at the time were just out of college, and so I was able to lend a little bit of like, well, here are sort of the mannerisms. Here's sort of the maybe expectations I think for all of us: the sheer expected work effort, we were all under. You know if you think about sort of the early nineties, I don't think anybody was ready from a staffing perspective to sort of deal with the on-rush. I think Netscape had just gone public. I, you know, again, dating myself, I did the PitchBook for amazon.com, like this was sort of the beginning of that era of sort of those growth leading up to the bubble burst.

There were just a lot of things to be done with you know, a short amount of time with very few people it was really about just getting the work done and putting all the effort in.

Derek DeWinter: Funny Netscape you're dating yourself.

Adriel Lares: Oh yes.

Derek DeWinter: You’re definitely dating me because that was a client of mine when I first started recruiting

Adriel Lares: Oh my goodness.

Derek DeWinter: We could spin tails.

I've been in search again, speaking of dating myself for almost 30 years, and there's no profile that guarantees success for anything, let alone for a CFO.

That said if I were to give you a hundred dollars to spend on identifying attributes that may help you get to this point, where would you spend that money? How would you allocate that money in terms of the attributes that you think have made you successful?

Adriel Lares: For me, and I was listening to, A podcast similar to what we are in today. And one of the, the sort of the pearls of wisdom that resonated with me when I think about my own career, which is always, you know, uncertain trials and tribulations down different branches that sometimes worked the way you expect and oftentimes go in different directions than you otherwise expected. The thing that I think consistently worked for me was showing a willingness to finish something that you've been asked to do and being known for the reliability of delivering. Whatever it is you signed up for or you asked to do, and the more that you get known for whatever that is I think it puts you in positions of opportunity and it isn't always going to be where, you know, you complete a task and then you know the next task is suddenly gonna be bigger and better and compensated more. I think it's really sort of keeping your eyes to, you know, sort of being ready for the opportunity, but always sort of keeping your eyes on sort of what it is you're delivering today and be you know, highly focused on that. I think for me, that's probably where I'd allocate most of my dollars. You know, the other aspect is, you know, being willing to be curious and learn, from others. I try to do that, especially within investment banking where I remember one of the first things was being taught is, do not use the mouse only use the keyboard. Be as fast as you can, and just be willing to humble yourself to say like, how can I learn from someone else who you know, forget about whether they may or may not be smarter than you are. At the very least, they probably have had different experiences than you've had. So I tried to keep myself open to that and I think that really helped me be ready to take advantage of opportunities because I was willing to learn and listen to others.

Derek DeWinter: It's an interesting thing, thinking about kind of willingness to finish something that you started, and as I think about that in terms of the Bay Area, one of the great benefits of being in the Bay Area and the tech universe that we're in is there are so many opportunities, generally speaking, and if one doesn't work out, there's usually one around the corner, which leads to great opportunities, but can also lead to a pretty choppy resume, you know, if you aren't making the right decisions. That's one of the things that I think about when I do look at folks who are, you know, progressing through their career, is this a person who finishes what they start?

And I think about that all the time. So it's interesting that you bring that up. You mentioned AI earlier at least really briefly and as it relates to the functional role of a CFO, do you find yourself more concerned or excited about the impact on the way, on its impact on the way that you do your job?

Adriel Lares: So we've clearly seen a lot of different changes and impacts to the CFO role and sets of responsibilities and whether or not it's cloud computing, workflows that impact our jobs and allow us to do things in more efficient ways. I look at this the same way, and I guess. The breadth of the pace of change is certainly interesting. However, I always look at, you know, what are the actual things that we can improve upon? More importantly, there are other things that we can be doing even before you get to AI. At a super high level, I am intrigued dare I say, excited about it, mostly from the standpoint that There are a lot of day-to-day tasks that are done within the purview of the CFO umbrella that I know can be improved upon, done more efficiently, and most importantly, you know how can a human, for lack of a better way to describe it, become more of an editor than necessarily the first draft writer. I think there are a lot of ways one of the first ones is, think about writing the first draft of the S1 one or your Q or your K. Think about all the humans that would go look at used to be paper and look at other K’s and other Q’s and try to figure out, okay, well this is how these other companies wrote this or wrote about their industry or wrote about what they did. We'd rely upon a human to go through all of that effort to produce a first draft. If you could sort of rely upon something else to sort of get you there and then you can sort of edit and go through those, I really do think that can really put us in a better position to be more nimble and react more quickly to what's sort of happening. Especially you know what is to come. I really do think about my role and my job is what just happened. How do I report those results of what happened, what's happening today? How do I make it more efficient with my role with the rest of my constituents? Then, you know, almost maybe most critically is what do I think is gonna happen and how do I use, you know, plans and most recent results to predict what's gonna happen, and I think AI can really help us, you know, in the future, help us be better at that job.

Derek DeWinter: I imagine this is a topic of conversation in the boardroom, but in particular probably in your audit committee meetings.

Adriel Lares: Yeah certainly. I've been in situations where I've tried to recruit board members and or audit committee members. I myself am on an audit committee today, I have a public board. The question is, is, is certainly being asked. I think sometimes people forget that AI has been discussed for a bit of time. I think with the release of, open AI product, it just became much more tangible about the what if and what this could be. I think it's just on topical in people's mind they're trying to figure out what are the sort of practical applicability of it on the day-to-day basis. I think it's gonna come to the more simple things first let's learn to, you know, to walk from crawling. And then we'll figure out what other places we can sort of find situations where it can be more useful, it can be more applicable again productivity enhancer.

Derek DeWinter: Let's say that I'm interviewing for you which would not be a good thing you would never be hiring me to work within your finance organization. But let's say I'm interviewing with you today. What are the types of things that you are asking or looking for that are perhaps different than you may have been looking for four years ago, three years ago, whatever, before COVID?

Adriel Lares: I think it depends a lot, at least for me in particular, it depends on the scale of the company and where it's at. Let me give you my shorthand version of companies that may or may not resonate with you. It's the way that I've used to describe these tech companies in general, which is from seed to series C. It's, what I describe as complete chaos from series C to IPO. It's like controlled chaos. Then from sort of IPO into future scale, whatever that scale may be it's now sort of struggling to keep growing while remaining agile. For me, when I'm thinking about, you know, where I have been in those different stages of companies I think that really I imbues the kinds of questions I would ask because of the complete chaos you're really looking for a very flexible can do one thing one week, do something else the next week, be willing to sort of change roles and responsibilities and if you take sort of the other extreme of what I just described now, I think you're looking for learned in sort of intuition from learned experience over, you've seen this particular movie before we're willing to apply those experience and skills to improve something that needs to be done more quickly and, and have the benefit of someone who's seen it before in the middle. And that sort of like, you know, series, you know, sort of series c to IPO, you're getting a little bit of mix of both and I think one of the challenges as companies reach that, it's different for, for different size companies in terms of the businesses, whether it's a hundred million sort of scale mark or 200 million or 500 million, you're sort of mixing between those different types of, of peoples and experiences, and it's a little bit of like what it took you to get from seed to series C. May most likely require different people and different skills to get you from Series C to IPO and then from IPO to scale also require likely different sets of skills and experiences. So it's a long-winded answer to add to sort of, you know, sort of address that question. 'cause I think it, I think it does depend a little bit in sort of the stage that you're in.

Derek DeWinter: Not necessarily at all dependent upon, working from home, covid a distributed work environment. You kind of view it the same as before and after COVID.

Adriel Lares: Yeah, I think so. The one thing I've sort of taken away a little bit more now that we're, you can define for yourself what is sort of post covid is the real value of in-person and how much in-person interaction does this situation require because there's so much that can be short-circuited in terms of better understanding you know, quickly brainstorm idea as opposed to in a sort of more zoom like, or, remote like format. It's gotta be a much more premeditated and the premeditated stuff takes out all of that idiosyncratic connection. I don't know the right mix yet. I think I'm still trying to figure that out.

I think we as an industry and or society are still trying to figure that out, but I think there is a realization that we do need some of it. Some organizations need it more than others.

Derek DeWinter: So you are a very accomplished CFO and more if you were not in the role that you're in now, not necessarily with Stash, but as a CFO, what would you be doing? What else would you be doing?

Adriel Lares: I presume I'm gonna put out, we're gonna put aside winemaking. So aside from winemaking that's a great question. I've always had an interest just learning and sort of being in and around history. It was a big interest of mine immediately after graduating from college. I would sort of take college courses when I didn't have children and had some minutes of time. So that would be something I'd like to do. I'd take inspiration from my, hopefully I can say now, good friend and former audit chair twice over Chris Paisley, who is a professor at business at Santa Clara University. I have another colleague who is a professor which is not something I have any expertise in an astrophysics. Just that idea of being able to sort of pass on some knowledge. I don't know that I could do it with clearly, the level of professionalism and rigor, but I think I'd have some pretty good stories that I could share.

Derek DeWinter: I am sure, especially astrophysics. Alright, so this is an unscripted piece of our conversation because I don't know what you're gonna say to me, but you get a final question from me. So, gloves off. I don't know what you're gonna ask me. I'm not sure if my response is gonna be good, but you get to ask me a question.

Adriel Lares: Sure if you. Were going to be a CFO. What style of CFO would you be? I'm leaving that question open-ended on purpose for you to describe.

Derek DeWinter: Well, boy, that's a far, that's a long trip from starting my career in public accounting to now 30 years later, not doing anything in accounting or finance and being, and recruiting for so many years. If I imagine being a CFO, it's, it's probably not that different than being an executive or leader in any other function.

I think more the roles of someone who has a large organization, small organization, moving parts, has to connect with other groups. I think you really just need to have a very collaborative mindset. My wife has forever told me one of my better attributes is listening. Maybe because she tries to keep me from talking, I'm not sure.

But I think as a leader, if you can do more listening than talking, I think you're gonna get a far better perspective of how to actually then lead your organization the right way. People have a tendency, I think, to fill blank spaces and no noise with noise without really taking a step back, I think, and doing just a little bit more analysis on things before the words come out.

So I'd like to think of myself as a very collaborative and empathetic figure, and I hope that I would bring that to the table as a CFO and I hope I bring that to the table now in the role that I'm in.

Adriel Lares: Well, I think I would sort of echo the sentiment of, I think you are of your wife's sentiment is, I think you are good at that. The only other thing I would add to that in terms of where I think it really works well is one of the key responsibilities or maybe aspects of the CFO position is ultimately an allocator of capital. I would sort of posit that, you can't allocate that capital with only what's ever in our brains. You need other people's perspectives, and the only way to get to those perspectives is to ask good questions and hopefully have the trust that you will listen and hopefully with more questions, get a better perspective so that when you do allocate that capital, whether it's to make more money, to spend less money, to do whatever you can be better at it. So I think that'd actually be a pretty good skillset of yours in my role.

Derek DeWinter: No, I appreciate that and certainly I think if you're very good at what you do, one of the hardest things to do is actually letting go of doing it and letting someone else do the thing. So, you know, the allocation of what you do to other people is a learned thing.

Adriel Lares: Well said.

Derek DeWinter: It doesn't happen overnight. Well, let's spend just a minute talking about your wine 'cause it's delicious and it's amazing. You're on a board of Duckhorn, is that right? Still?

Adriel Lares: correct.

Derek DeWinter: And then the winemaking. How do you, how did this whole Memento thing pop up?

Adriel Lares: It actually all started one as a collector and as a sort of purveyor of wines back in the early 2000’s, this was when I was at Three Par and I'd have a weekend freer here or there, I just got really into it. Later on my best friend and another good friend of his we would, go up and wine taste together and sort of follow me around up in Napa Valley. They said why don't we start a winery? We can sort of get together every year and this would be a great excuse to do so. My finance mind immediately was like, that's a terrible idea. Do you realize the cashflow implications of this wide business? It's actually not very good. I'm like there are other ways to get together every year we can do March Madness, we can do Mardi Gras. There's many other excuses that have limited cashflow impacts, maybe not Vegas, but nevertheless against all my protests they convinced me because I was the one who had most, if not all, the contacts within Napa Valley. They knew that if they got me tinkering with it, I wouldn't maybe be able to help myself, but want to be more involved. We launched in 2010 with about 150 cases and we just released our 2021 vintage last week. We now have an estate up in Calistoga, I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to have this, and to your point, this is maybe the other challenge of being able to sort of let go and have responsibilities done. I am no longer the day-to-day CFO I let sort of other folks do that, and I get to now enjoy. You know, over a decade into this business, and I love it. As I think similar to you the thing I love most about wine is it's similar to life. It changes, and it ultimately transforms. If you leave it, it'll turn into vinegar. Hopefully not like our personalities, but, it changes and that's the thing I love most about it.

Derek DeWinter: Can someone buy your 2021?

Adriel Lares: They can it's decently allocated. But yes, if you go to mmwine.com or marymarywine.com, you can certainly jump onto our mailing list and you can see my highly photoshopped profile picture while you're at it.

Derek DeWinter: Awesome. I will do everyone a favor and not share the website of the wine that we make, my friends and I. You would not want to buy it. You barely would want to drink it. We have many capital calls and have for the past 10 years on this thing. It seems like one out of every third vintage is lauded by our family and wives and then the other we try to turn into something else.

Adriel Lares: I guarantee always fun making it.

Derek DeWinter: Always fun, it is always a great time.

Well, Adriel, I appreciate you taking the time out of your very busy schedule. I know you're just back from a trip and I think this is just your first day back, so even more kudos thrown your way. You've been great to me and awesome to work with over the years.One of our better clients that we've ever had, to be honest, and you're a great guy on top of it. Thank you so much for your insights and your time, and I'll look forward to cross some paths with you in the very near future.

Adriel Lares: Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.

Derek DeWinter: All my best. Take care.

Is Working With a Recruiter Worth It For Finance and Accounting Talent?

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 15:48:12 GMT

Is Working With a Recruiter Worth It For Finance and Accounting Talent?

By Tonya Salerno, Recruiting Manager, Consulting Services

Is 2024 the year you’re ready to make your next career move? This year could hold big promise for finance and accounting professionals looking for the next step in their career journey. According to a survey by Accounting Today, a majority of firms said that recruiting and retaining good employees is one of their top three issues and 54% of respondents said they plan on hiring in 2024. The outlook for finance professionals in 2024 is also positive, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicting finance-related jobs to grow 7% from 2021 to 2031.

Still, even with market conditions in their favor , in the competitive landscape of finance and accounting careers, navigating the job market can be daunting for candidates. Keeping up-to-date with an ever-changing hiring landscape, knowing which jobs are actually a good fit with your personal and professional goals, and getting a step ahead of other well-qualified candidates can be overwhelming.

However, partnering with an expert recruiter can provide invaluable support, guidance, and opportunities for strategic advancement. With over a decade of experience in placing top-tier talent, I've witnessed firsthand how working with a recruiter can be a game-changer for job seekers. In this article, I'll share ten compelling reasons why collaborating with a recruiter can help you get ahead, offer expert career guidance, and pave the way for long-term success in the finance and accounting industries.

Access to Exclusive Opportunities

Recruiters often have access to a wide range of job openings, including exclusive opportunities that may not be advertised publicly. By partnering with a recruiter, you gain access to these hidden gems, increasing your chances of landing your dream job.

A Tailored Job Search

A skilled recruiter will take the time to understand your career goals, skills, and personal preferences. They'll then tailor their search to match you with positions that align with your aspirations, ensuring that you're presented with opportunities that are the right fit for you.

Insider Knowledge of the Industry

Recruiters possess insider knowledge of the finance and accounting industry, including current trends, market demand, and hiring practices. Especially at the DeWinter Group, where our specialization and proven success over the last two decades has enabled our team to be an industry leader in placing finance and accounting talent at top companies . Leveraging this expertise, recruiters can provide valuable insights and guidance to help you navigate the job market more effectively.

Resume Optimization

Recruiters are experts at crafting resumes that stand out to employers. They know what hiring managers are looking for and can help optimize your resume to highlight your strengths, accomplishments, and skills, increasing your chances of landing interviews.

Interview Preparation

Preparing for interviews can be nerve-wracking, but recruiters are here to help. They'll provide you with valuable insights, interview tips, and practice sessions to help you feel confident and prepared when meeting with potential employers.

Negotiation Support

When it comes to negotiating salary and benefits, having an experienced recruiter in your corner can make all the difference. They'll advocate on your behalf, ensuring that you receive competitive compensation and perks that reflect your value and expertise. At DeWinter Group, we publish our yearly Finance and Accounting Compensation Guide and Industry Report so our candidates can have the salary data and market trends that they need at their fingertips.

Continued Onboarding Support

A recruiter's job doesn't end once you've accepted an offer. They'll continue to provide support and guidance throughout the onboarding process and beyond, ensuring a smooth transition into your new role.

Networking Opportunities

Recruiters often have extensive networks within the finance and accounting industry. By partnering with a recruiter, you gain access to their network, opening doors to valuable connections and networking opportunities that can benefit your career in the long term.

Career Advancement

Whether you're looking for a new job or seeking opportunities for career advancement, recruiters can help you achieve your goals. They'll keep you informed about relevant job openings, promotions, and career development opportunities that align with your aspirations.

Long-Term Relationship

Building a long-term relationship with a recruiter can be immensely beneficial for your career. As your trusted advisor, they'll be there to support you at every stage of your career journey, providing guidance, opportunities, and insights that help you thrive. One of our team’s core values is building long-term relationships–it helps us maintain our network of the best finance and accounting professionals on the market and helps our candidates advance in their career journey with someone whom they know and trust to get them the best job opportunities.

In the competitive world of finance and accounting, working with a recruiter can be the key to unlocking new opportunities, advancing your career, and achieving long-term success. From access to exclusive job openings to expert career guidance and ongoing support, recruiters offer invaluable resources and insights that can help you get ahead of the competition and reach your full potential. Partnering with a recruiter isn't just about finding a job—it's about investing in your future and building a lasting relationship that empowers you to succeed.

Thinking about making a career move? As someone deeply immersed in this field as a connector in the New England area, I'm always on the lookout for talented individuals. Whether you're actively looking or just curious about what's out there, I'm here to lend an ear and share any insights or connections that might be helpful. Learn more about how partnering with DeWinter Consulting’s Boston team can help you advance your career by connecting with me today.

About the Author:

Tonya Salerno has been in staffing since 2011, specializing in linking accounting and finance professionals to sought-after consulting and direct-hire roles. Her extensive network spans Tri-State New York and Greater Boston, encompassing connections across diverse industry spectrums—from startups to Fortune 500 entities. Based on her deep understanding of these markets, Tonya excels in matching top-tier talent with positions that align with their career goals. Her passion for fostering meaningful connections has empowered countless professionals to thrive in this competitive landscape. With a finger on the pulse of industry trends, Tonya remains a trusted advisor, dedicated to driving both individual and organizational success.

The DeWinter Difference: Kerri Walsh Jennings, Five-Time Olympian and Co-Founder of Platform 1440

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 10:45:00 GMT

The DeWinter Difference: Kerri Walsh Jennings, Five-Time Olympian and Co-Founder of Platform 1440

About The Episode

In this episode of the DeWinter Difference podcast, Derek DeWinter sits down with the five-time Olympian, three-time gold medalist, and all-around inspiring

Kerri Walsh Jennings. Kerri and Derek discuss her journey to success, the value of loving what you do, and her endeavor to inspire change and community as co-founder of the non-profit Platform 1440.

Learn more about Platform 1440 and its mission to unite, empower, and inspire through the transformative sport of beach volleyball at https://p1440.org/

Listen now at the streaming sites listed.

Learn more about the DeWinter Difference podcast here and share your thoughts and comments below.

Where to Stream

Episode Transcript

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

Derek DeWinter: Welcome to our listeners who are tuning into the DeWinter Difference audio podcast, where I spend a bit of time with incredible executives, leaders, and today an American sporting icon. I hope our conversations are unique, insightful, short enough to keep your attention, but long enough so that you get some great takeaways that you can apply in your lives, relationships, or career. Today I am thrilled to be speaking with three-time Olympic gold medalist, Kerri Walsh Jennings. Her professional volleyball career is most notably connected with Misty May Treanor as the duo dominated beach volleyball for almost a decade between 2004 and 2012. Not only tallying three consecutive gold medals, but also play of the year honors and a 112-match winning streak in 2008.

For good measure, Kerri is also a graduate of Stanford with an American Studies major, and is currently an inspirational keynote speaker and the proud mother of three children. As for me, I finished runner-up basketball player of the year in 1989 at Baldwin High School on Maui.

I have rarely been so excited and humbled with the chance to speak with someone. So thanks for taking the time to talk.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Ah, thank you for having me. Thank you for that fun intro.

Derek DeWinter: That literally was my highlight.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: That's really cute and runner-up that means you're, you're in contention. That's all you can ask. Be in the running.

Derek DeWinter: Truth be told, I got the only vote that wasn't for the player of the year. It's because that coach couldn't vote for his own player.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Don't tell us those details.

Derek DeWinter: We'll edit that one out. Alright. Hey Kerri, you are widely known as the best beach volleyball player of all time, but there was a lot of life before beach volleyball. Can you take us through a bit of the decision-making process that led you ultimately to compete in beach volleyball?

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Yes, absolutely. You know, it came out of nowhere. And yet all of a sudden in retrospect it all makes sense. You know, I grew up in the Bay Area playing every single sport in the fifth grade. I continue to play everything that's a single sport, but I fell in love with indoor volleyball. It was my first true love outside of my father and my brother, who are still my heroes.

And I just fell in love with the game. And so I played at Archbishop Mid in San Jose. Great, great high school. They, you know, gave me such a solid foundation as a human, you know, like building my character, supporting me in many ways. And then with my skill set, and then I got a scholarship to Stanford, played four years there, was surrounded by greatness.

Very inspired. Never ever had one inkling in all this time that I would play beach volleyball. I played my first Olympics when I was 22. Indoor. We finished fourth, which will really piss you off and, and make you want more or will make you so sad you give up. At the games, I experienced heartbreak and kind of a betrayal that made me rethink my path, you know, so I kind of had All these disillusions about my federation, about the indoor scene, how political it was, how, how, you know, you're supposedly supported, but you're really not. And so that made me rethink things. And then also at the games, my parents met Misty May's parents, who at the time was in her first Olympics, but playing beach volleyball. Misty growing up was my childhood idol. She's a year ahead of me. Got her autograph when I was 14. Every time I got a chance to watch her play, I would watch her and learn and just be so in awe of her and our parents got to talking in Sydney and said, Hey, we should get the girls together. You know, they're, they're roughly the same age.

Let's see if there's magic. And so after the games, I went back to Stanford. I was finishing my degree there and I would travel down to Huntington Beach and I would train with Misty. And you know, when the best in the world comes calling and opens the door for you, you kind of suck it up and do something you've never done before and you go for it.

And I went for it with all my heart. It was very humbling. I literally cried every single day because I felt. I, you know, I came from a pretty confident place. Indoor. I thought it'd be pretty similar, but the nuances and the slight differences in the beach game crushed me. Mostly, they crushed my ego, you know? So that was it.

Derek DeWinter: And was that your first professional beach volleyball?

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Yeah.

Derek DeWinter: Yeah, that was it the first time.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Yeah. Absolutely. You know, I, I got, I probably had like five practices up at West Valley College in the Bay Area. Before I got to practice with the best in the world but you know, it's just, and it was, it was so scary. Like, I remember having a panic attack day of, you know, like training with Misty, and the day was so casual, like her parents set up just a casual training session. We actually, they just wanted to see me play and so they set up me and Misty, Misty and I, versus two guys. One of the guys happened to be my future husband, so that was the first time we ever met.

Derek DeWinter: Well done.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Well, exactly. God has, you know, lots of plans in store. And so that day changed my life in so many ways.

But yeah, it was the first, the first, my whole life I avoided playing beach volleyball. I grew up near Santa Cruz on the beach all the time. People ask me to play all the time. And I said no, mostly because I didn't wanna look like a fool, you know,

Derek DeWinter: That's so funny. It's like, Hey, LeBron, come play pickleball. Like what?

Kerri Walsh Jennings: He'd say, hell yeah, you're going down, you know, there's something interesting about the sand, you know, it's just really intimidating and, and I, you know, Definitely admit that even now, you know, it takes you a month to get your sand legs and it makes you feel like an idiot. So if you can, you know, if, if you can check yourself to feel like an idiot for a good amount of time, then you will get there. And I cried a lot, but I got there and I was grateful.

Derek DeWinter: Well, I'll ask a dumb question. Were you outside at Stanford?

[00:05:29] Kerri Walsh Jennings: I was right side.

Derek DeWinter: Okay, so like you were used to jumping very high and the sand is not a friend for that at all. So that's even of itself. It's like, oh my gosh, really? I can't even get up like I used to. That's to stand. Yeah. Crazy.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Well you have the sand, which takes away your vertical. Which mine was never that great. You know? And mostly it's the timing, you know? And even with the setting and the wind, like the, the wind, if, you know, if it takes the ball an inch, you know, away where you thought it was like you're gonna whiff it, you know?

So those little things crushed me. And you know, I was urgent. Like I was playing with the best in the world. I wanted to be great. And every time we lost for the first year and a half was literally because of me. You know, and so it was really hard and because Misty is so steady, she just, you know, she's a Jedi and she stuck with me, which is a testament to her and her fortitude and her ability to imagine better.

And I, what I've learned in life is that your ability to imagine, you know, better of yourself, better of a situation, it'll allow you to get there, but you just have to stick with it.

Derek DeWinter: Awesome. All right. We're gonna play a little game called How to Spend My Allowance. Okay. So you, I'm going to, I'm giving you a hundred dollars that you get to spend on the attributes that you think made you most successful. And so if you felt like, boy, you know, I, I'm gonna put $90 on athleticism and $10 on, you know,

Fortitude, then you've got nothing left to spend on anything else. So are there a couple of different characteristics that you would weigh very highly with your $100 spend?

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Love. Love of the game is a premium. Premium. Premium because, I wanna quantify it because if I love something, I will suffer for it. I will stick with it. I will be willing to be a fool for it, you know? And to be a beginner over, and over and over. So love to me is, is everything but not a hundred per, obviously, I can't spend my whole hundred bucks there. But I mean, I, I'm tempted to say that's 80 bucks of it, but I, I don't I don't know. And I'm talking at the highest level, right?

Like, because at the highest level, everyone, everyone's really physical and good and they can do their craft, right? So for me it's like the intangibles. And I think what makes me special, it's not because I'm tall, it's not because I jump high or hit hardest. Like it's because I love it and I'm willing to show up every single day. So love, consistency and it's not just consistently showing up, like it matters how you show up. So me phrase it like showing up with all my heart, showing up to win a gold medal every day.

Derek DeWinter: That is perfect. That is perfect. Well, you've obviously been very successful over the course of your beach volleyball career and your volleyball career in general. Successful women in any line of work face very unique challenges in sports. There's added dimensions of a compressed time period where you're at your physical and earnings peak, and that can conflict with starting a family, you know, and living life outside of sports if it's not too much to ask. How did you navigate that?

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Well, my whole life I just couldn't wait to be a mom. My mom has carried eight children, three for her sister. Like I just wanna be a mom. And my mom was an athlete. She's very present, still is. Just kicks ass. And so I had this amazing role model. And so I married my husband in 2005. We right away, like my, my, we won. I had just won my first, first gold medal and I was like, okay, I'm married. Let's start a family. I can have a baby and get back really, you know, to the sand really quickly. Because you have to time it, like you just said, you know, no time to waste. We got pregnant right away.

I had a miscarriage and the way it happened was like either Carrie, you have to wait. You have to wait to get pregnant, otherwise, you can risk this turning into cancer or go play in the Olympics, you know, try per baby right After 2008 and we decided to wait and it was so devastating. My job started to feel trivial.

I just felt so selfish and self-centered. Like I was ready for more, right. But I was committed. So we won in 2008, got pregnant right away, got pregnant right away again. My baby was three months old when we got pregnant with number two. and so, and that was. The plan and the hope, and we, you know, we were blessed with great timing, you know, but we really, like, I'm an Irish twin.

My brother's 11 years older than me. My husband Casey has, you know, four older brothers and they're all very close. And we wanted that. And as an athlete, it's like, okay, I'm about efficiency and I know my body is gonna respond. I know I want this, so I'm willing to put up with the changes in my body, the changes in my lifestyle. And we went for it. And it was amazing. And the first, you know, our first official try, if this is not too much information, I cried. I bawled my eyes out. I said, what the hell did I just do? Everyone in my world was like, don't get pregnant. It's gonna change your hips. You, it's gonna hurt your shoulder because you have to carry the baby.

You know, like you're at your major, you know, earning potential right now. Don't even take your husband's last name. That's gonna affect things. And all these things that were so fear-based and. You know what, for a long time I didn't add Jennings to my last name. And right now, every time I talk to a girl, I'm like, if you get married, change your name right away.

I have an identity crisis, you know, like I'm my fuck “Am I Walsh?” “Am I Jennings?” Like my husband gets called Mr. Walsh and that's not what I want. I wanna be my, my husband's girl and my kid's mom. I wanna be Jennings, you know?

But the baby stuff was so easy. I was so ready to be a mom and I was so sick of putting my life on hold, like you said. because you can have both. And I wanted both and I wanted it all. And I still do.

Derek DeWinter: Good for you. Pay equity in sports. Huge topic and probably the most highlighted by our US women's soccer team. It's a topic that crosses over from the field of the court to corporate America. But one of the unique sports that seemed to get it right early on, at least as much as I've done research on, is volleyball, where since 2004, prize money going to winning men's and women's volleyball is equal.

Can you comment on how this actually came to be? And maybe also then why there's such a gigantic disparity in other sports.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Well, you know, so I think actually the equity and prize money started when Leonard Armato rebought the AVP in like 2001 or two. Because he merged the men and the women together and there was equal prize money from the start, which is incredible. And, even internationally, it was always equal prize money.

And I'm not quite sure, I don't know if it's because the women are so appreciated in beach volleyball that it just made sense. ever since I've been playing, it's been equal prize money, so we never had to do that battle. The dirty little secret though is that we're all broke. You know, no one's making money on prize money.

Like, thank goodness for sponsors, for corporate partners [00:12:00] who really get behind us because that funds our dreams. If we were to rely on prize money for a living, no, it literally does not work. You know, maybe, maybe for four athletes around the whole world, but we need that outside support, you know? And then, and the broader landscape of sports, you know, it's kind of. It's not as black and white. I think the conversation, you know, you know, is out there. Like, I don't think it's like the women are paid less because they're women. It's like, well, you know, the federation and the men's side of the game, they receive billions of dollars when they participate and when they win, you know, an event, the female side, you know, is pennies on the dollar?

Do they get hundreds of millions of dollars? You know? Or you know, a certain amount of money, millions to their federation, and then it's dispersed. You know what I'm saying?

And so the women are way more prominent in the media, but like the bottom line in the whole, you know, the way the system is run is that they don't make as much money.

And so the split is different. But I think corporate America is kind of upping the ante when it comes to the women and the personalities and the leaders. They are. And they're really highlighting, you know, not enough of them do.

Derek DeWinter: Not enough.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: But you know, it's that it kind of makes up for the gap, but I don't think it's a black-and-white conversation.

This is like about keeping women down. It's like, no, the market is still adjusting to the greatness of women. Opportunities continue to, to get more and more, which, you know, it's gonna, you know, a rising tide lifts all boats.

Derek DeWinter: Absolutely. Do your kids have an early interest in volleyball?

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Yep.

Derek DeWinter: Oh.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: They don't, they don't play it, but they, you know, it's the one sport actually they don't play because the boys, there's not a lot going on here in Lake Tahoe, but my husband just started a club. But yeah, they're athletes. They love it. It's great.

Derek DeWinter: Are you, are you ready to be a volleyball mom? If that were to be the case?

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Yeah, absolutely. I would never coach because I'm a terrible coach, but you know, I'm a good spark plug and I can go and inspire them. Yeah, I can't wait. Like, I love being a, a sports mom, a soccer mom, a baseball mom. It's my favorite thing in the world.

Derek DeWinter: I am a late adopter to volleyball. I think if I would've, it wasn't a big deal, particularly men's high school volleyball on Maui was not a big deal. It's actually probably a bigger deal than it was in the us. I view it. Did I just say that on the mainland? I think if I would've been introduced to it, I would've played it.

But my son played and my daughter played. And one of the more challenging things I found about the sport, other than it's awesome and positive. And after every point it's like you're reset and you're ready to go again when you high fives, when things go wrong or right. But the travel ball, the was, was challenging as a family.

I think, you know, it's very difficult for some groups to be able to participate in because it's financially challenging too.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: It's, yeah, it's such a bummer. You know, I, I mean, I, I don't, I'm, I'm gonna botch the numbers, but it's, it's eight to 15 grand to play in a club. You know, indoor volleyball, beach volleyball. It's so expensive. And, and that's why, you know, our company, P 1440, we give out over a hundred grand and, and scholarship money to help subsidize these girls' dreams. Because we don't want, you know, anything to price out these athletes like volleyball, like you just said, it's one of the, it might be the only, but I'm not quite sure. It's like one of the most amazing sports to build your character, to build community, but you can have a life along with volleyball.

Whereas I feel like, you know, in some other sports, not that these are bad, but soccer, basketball, it's so all consuming that it's like there's no outside life and volleyball is still, there's so much opportunities, there's scholarship opportunities and it's so intense. But for some reason, you could have that lifestyle and that's why I love it so much for boys and girls, men and women.

Derek DeWinter: We recently connected on this was probably just a month ago when you were in Nebraska at that event, if you have not seen this, you need to go YouTube it and see a hundred thousand people in the stands for an outdoor women's volleyball game Nebraska. I don't know who Nebraska played actually, but,

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Omaha, I believe.

Derek DeWinter: Yeah, it was something local-ish and it was unbelievable. So, can you describe the scene there?

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Man. So over 92,000 people in Memorial Stadium in Nebraska, which is where their football team plays, which apparently they have over 300 straight sellouts in that stadium for football. So Nebraskans show up for their people and they, the goal is to break a world record for women's sports, you know, live sporting events. And they committed and they did it. And it was so well produced. It was such a, it, it was just so programmed, so well, there's two volleyball matches, you know, a match prior to the main event there was a sand zone. It was super engaging. It felt like a carnival walking around the grounds. And then the match was awesome. You know, it felt important. It felt like it carried weight and gravity and the crowd was so engaged and so kind. I was so, like, I had to be there. I'm so grateful I was there. DirecTV flew me out, which I was so grateful for. Got some behind the scenes, I got to engage with the girls a little bit.

And it just, it shows you what's possible, you know, like I, I don't want that to be a fluke. And since then there's been some major, you know, not world record breaking, but you know, like in, in Florida they had their, you know, their highest intended crowd, you know, breaking record, breaking crowd in Florida. And these matches continue to grow and build momentum. And our sport is just nuts right now. And it's because they're creating the opportunity and then people show up, you know? But Nebraskans show up like no other, and I'm gonna do a post soon just to recognize that. Because like we all talk about, we want, we, you know, we want the sport to grow.

Why isn't it growing? It's like you have to show up. And not just once, but all the time it's like becoming great. It's not about being great, you know, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, it's about being great and giving everything every single time you have a chance to. And Nebraskans do that with all their hearts.

Derek DeWinter: I'm now longer a closet Wisconsin fan. I've got two kids to go to Wisconsin. They're number one in the nation. Plug, plug, plug.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: So rad.

Derek DeWinter: I just pulled up the schedule and I'm looking at it while we're doing this. Nebraska plays Wisconsin, October 21st.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Ooh, are you gonna go?

Derek DeWinter: Well, I've got boy, girl twins, so they're both there. Yeah. I know.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: You’re allowed to like Wisconsin.

Derek DeWinter: I'm allowed to love Wisconsin. I better, they love me. I'm writing some pretty decent checks out there. Alright, so I've asked you a bunch of questions. We get to flip the script. You get to ask me a question. I don't know what you're gonna ask me.

And in fact, you didn't know at all what I was gonna ask you because you took the chance to not look at any of our little, my notes that I sent you. So you've done unbelievably well, but you get to ask me a question. Whatever it is, I'll do my best to answer it. We'll flip the script here a little bit.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Okay. So considering your podcast and the theme and your past guests and your personal experience, because I believe like attracts like, and everyone on your podcast resonates with you. My question, I'm not quite sure how to phrase it, but it would be around I mean, I guess, actually I wanna flip it on you.

If you had a hundred bucks to spend like, but not just for you, I would say for all the greats that you've interviewed, like if you were to say maybe you had a hundred bucks to spend, what are the top three I you need to have at least three, you know, tangible, intangible qualities that are consistent around high performers.

Derek DeWinter: I did one not recently or just recently ago. And something that I think about a lot might be redundant if we do these back to back or something, is authenticity. Like, I like really authentic people. I. And maybe because of that, I'm getting older and I don't have time for the bullshit of people trying to like, say the perfect answer at the perfect place to please everyone, but not really being their authentic selves.

I love that. It's just more interesting, even if, even if we don't agree, even if there are things that we don't see eye to eye on, if you're authentic about it, and it comes from a place of goodness, I mean authenticity from a place of badness. It's not something that I, you know, I'm endorsing, but authenticity from a place of goodness where you're really trying to connect with people I love.

And so most of the people we're talking to, I believe, embody that. And it's, it's, I think it's bearing out to be relatively true. So I look at that all the time as something that I, that I place my, my interests and time and effort into.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Okay. I'm raising my hand. How can you tell, does this resonate with you differently or,

Derek DeWinter: Well, you know, so I'm a headhunter. I've been doing this for almost 30 years. I have interviewed, I don't know, maybe not well, but I've interviewed 20, 30,000 people over the course of my career. I don't even know what the number is, so I. There's something in, I think I've picked up an intuition around, you know, people, I can tell relatively quickly, my, my wife sets us, one of my superhero traits was like, you kind of, you, you get people before any of us get them.

And you always seem to be right about them years later. Even if you kind of thought, you know, that person is X, Y, or Z and everyone else loved him. I'm like, Hmm, I don't know. There's just something about . That. So I don't know, maybe I'm getting a little bit lucky or maybe I'm just aligning myself with people that are like you. Which is a nice way to give myself a compliment, I guess. But I didn't mean it like that.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: No, of course. Well, it's true.

Derek DeWinter: Yeah.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Question, actually. Sorry. I'm sorry to interrupt because I wanna hear the rest of your, your. Categories. But my husband has the same radar, it sounds like that you do. And he, like, he grew up in Vegas, so it makes sense to me. You know, when you grow up on the streets of Vegas, you have this sense about people. For me, I grew up in a bubble. In a bubble, right? Very sacred. I trust everybody, you know, to a fault. And I give people a lot of chances. And that's just kind of the way I'm wired, the way I was raised. But I don't, he thinks I don't trust, I need to experience someone for myself. You know, rather than take someone's red flag. Not that I don't listen to it and hear it, but I need to experience it. And I don't know, I mean, maybe, maybe this is marriage counseling help, but I don't know how to marry the two, you know? Because it turns out inevitably, five years later, cases, like I told you, I'm like, damn it.

Derek DeWinter: Boy, I don't know how to put those two together. You know, it's funny you grew up in a relative bubble here and my kids are now because we're in Los Gatos I grew up on Maui.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Yeah.

Derek DeWinter: So I grew up as a, you know, six-foot tall, blonde, blue-eyed, you know, guy on Maui, which gives you a very different perspective on people.

And, you know, I found myself, my safety valve was I want to try to trust those around me as much as I possibly can. So they gave it back to me. And I don't know,

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Because people were suspicious of you, because you weren't local.

Derek DeWinter: Well, I don't, yeah, definitely not local looking. And you know, it's, this was 30, 40 years ago. Things were even more different back then.

And yeah, I mean, I was the only one in my schools, my classes, my class pictures that looked like me for 15 years. This was all public high schools. So, I don't know, I find myself, like the more I reach out across the aisle to try to connect, try to get, try to understand the, the better it worked out for me, I think in the long run.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: And were you, did you have, did you feel like you had to edit yourself? I mean, all kids do, right? They [00:23:00] wanna fit in.

Derek DeWinter: Oh yeah.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Did you lead with being authentic?

Derek DeWinter: No, I did not, because that probably wasn't gonna play out well in part because my dad was a doctor, you know, and that wasn't the thing to lead with. I mean, we weren't wealthy, but we were well off enough. And so that was another, it wasn't a strike against me, but I never told anybody. My dad was a doctor for instance.

It's just like, I don't know. And maybe that's why I appreciate authenticity so much. Now it's like because I had to live in a way to try to get by, to try to, you know, fit in, to try to get people to accept me in a way that they weren't expecting to accept me. Hopefully. So, I don't know.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: I love that. Well, I know it gave you a superpower, and that's probably the superpower, so that's right.

Derek DeWinter: There you go. Well, why don't you tell us what you're doing these days and how people can get in touch with you. You are an amazing conversationalist speaker. So share with us how we can get in touch with you, how, how we can make your life a little bit better.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Well, hell, you know, I wish I was, you know, gonna say I'm, you know, I'm, I'm preparing to compete my six Olympics, but I'm not. And this kind of came outta the blue about a month and a half ago. I saw the writing on the wall. I had surgery five months ago on my ankle. It was really extensive, and I'm not coming back as fast as I want.

So the Olympics are off the table for me, which virtually means I'm retired. And so I'm transitioning, but I'm not saying I'm retired. because you never know. And I wanna be an athlete my whole life, period. Like, let me just get that statement. My physicality is very important to me. It makes my spirit stronger, my mental capacity stronger, you know, my ability to connect with humans and the world stronger.

So that's huge to me. But I'm in this transitional phase where I literally, I. I, I'm like praying to God for like, God, please help me find my North star. Because I'm very, very good when I have a pursuit. You know, like when I'm reaching for that gold medal, then my whole life gets structured. And right now what I have is no North star, no gold medal.

But I have, I wanna feel abundant in my life. I wanna feel, you know, on purpose and on point, I want to feel empowered and it connected my family and, you know, abundant and free. That's like what I'm working toward, but I don't have any, any mechanism to structure my life around. So that being said, you know, I'm running my company p1440. We're a nonprofit now, so I'm really, you know, working on spreading awareness and raising money so that we can keep servicing the youth's mind, and spirit, and prepare them for the challenges of life. Through the mechanism of beach volleyball. Like you said, like I just got home I did an event last night with Ridgeline, which is a company here in Tahoe.

I had a, you know, a fireside chat and it was so fun and so inspiring, hopefully for both sides of it. But, you know, I'm talking to these people who work in the cloud-based, you know, services. Like we don't speak the same language, but we spoke the same language because we're competitors, we wanna lead with excellence.

We understand the power of innovation and, you know, having the balls to innovate and constantly, you know, Reframe who you are and what you wanna give to the world. And so outside of speaking and running my company I'm working with the Pro Volleyball Federation to help launch that new league where the best of America is gonna be able to play at home starting in 2024. I'm a co-owner in a San Diego franchise.

So there's a lot going on, you know, but I don't know. I know I wanna leave a legacy in the game. I wanna, I wanna bring the pro beach volleyball side of life up to where we can have events like they just had in Nebraska, where over a three day weekend we have a hundred thousand people that come, enjoy the game, enjoy music, enjoy the lifestyle.

That is beach volleyball, and we can give, you know, we can create the AVP tour for beach volleyball. The athletes are suffering. They need that. And I'm on a mission to do that. But you can find me on social, you know, I don't know. You can just, I'm just here

Derek DeWinter: All right. Well everyone, if you want more out of this conversation, which I'm sure everyone does, you guys can reach out to her organization. Kerri, it was awesome talking with you today. It was an absolute honor and I will look forward to seeing you again on the hiking trails in Tahoe or if you happen to be down here in Los Gatos one of these days.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Los Gatos is my favorite town in the whole wide world.

Derek DeWinter: Then I will look forward to that something that happens. I'll get you down here. Thank you again, Kerri. You are amazing. Thank you. Thank you.

Kerri Walsh Jennings: Thank you. Have a beautiful day. I appreciate this so much.

The DeWinter Difference: Carin Taylor, Chief Diversity Officer at Workday

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 20:16:25 GMT

The DeWinter Difference: Carin Taylor, Chief Diversity Officer at Workday

About The Episode

In this episode of the DeWinter Difference, Derek sits down with Adriel Lares, Chief Financial Officer of Stash. Adriel and Derek discuss the evolving role of today's CFOs, the impact of AI, finding the balance between in-person and remote interactions, and their shared love of making wine with friends.

Check out Memento Mori, Adriel's California-based winery at www.mmwine.com .

Listen now at the streaming sites listed.

Learn more about the DeWinter Difference podcast here and share your thoughts and comments below.

Where to Stream

Episode Transcript

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

Today I'm very pleased to speak with my friend Carin Taylor, Chief Diversity Officer at Workday. Prior to Workday, Carin led global diversity, equity, and inclusion teams at Genentech and Cisco and as she has done throughout her distinguished career, she gives even more of herself supporting organizations that further the advancement of women leaders in our communities and corporations.

I absolutely adore my friend Carin, and respect her immensely as a person and a professional. However, I will share with you that of the thousands of interviews I've done in my career, my very first meeting with Carin did scare the heck outta me just a little bit. Carin, thanks for joining us today. And do you remember our first meeting?

Carin Taylor: Hey Derek, good to be speaking with you. I do remember our first meeting, but I don't know why it scared you so bad.

Derek DeWinter: I wanted to impress you probably more than I've wanted to impress a lot of people in my life. I'm not gonna lie so yeah, it made me a little nervous.

Carin Taylor: That's hilarious. Well, I remember the meeting being a fantastic meeting and I remembered meeting you thinking, ah, what a wonderful person. I hope I get to work with him a bit more So I hope I'm less scary than I was back then.

Derek DeWinter: It was a me problem for sure, but I did, I mean, I, I certainly wanted to impress you quite a bit. We were advancing the board for Watermark, a board that we both served on for a few years. And I really, really wanted you on the board desperately. So I definitely wanted to make a good impression.

Carin Taylor: Well, you did your job because I actually joined the board, so even better yet.

Derek DeWinter: There you go. Alright, so I've got a few questions for you. The first is probably the most complicated one. So let's pretend you have a hundred dollars in your pocket.

To purchase attributes that you believe have made you a successful executive that you can't live without. And the more you spend on a specific attribute, the less you can spend on others. For instance, if I believe that intelligence is the single important attribute I possess, which is I can hear noise in the background as if there was laughing that has helped me get to where I am.

I might spend $80 on that and $20 on other attributes, but you only have a hundred dollars. So where would you start allocating your money?

Carin Taylor: Oh, it's such a good question. I'm not sure how I would allocate it across all the different attributes, but I would imagine that close to a hundred percent would be directed toward attributes that make the world a better place. So for me, it would be things like empathy and cultural intelligence and being open-minded in things like humility, and curiosity and compassion, and courage.

So as much as you know, strategy and communications and those types of things are all needed, I'd probably lean on things that I think would make us a better world.

Derek DeWinter: It's as good of an answer as I could possibly think of. What is in the news in the market a whole lot lately is AI and you can't kind of, you can't do anything without hearing about it one way or the other. As it relates to the role of a diversity officer, are you more concerned or more excited about the impact on the way you do your job going forward?

Carin Taylor: Yeah, it's a great question. And I would say probably a little bit of both. You know, I'm excited about the opportunities that AI will bring to the world. And so if I think about things like diversity reporting as an example AI is gonna help out tremendously. So just imagine that I need a report, it's on some demographics, and let's assume I need a report on, let's just say the number of Asian women who have been promoted in the last five years from North America, Europe, and Asia, and I'd like to understand what leadership skills have been most beneficial for that person within years one and five. That would be a very complicated report for me to get today. AI is going to be able to give me that information literally in seconds.

And so for those types of reasons, I'm excited about AI. But on the other hand, I'm also a little bit concerned. So, you know, most of my concerns really have to do about, honestly, Derek, the efficacy of people and how humans may misuse AI and so I'm, I'm more so worried about the unintentional consequences of AI and people just not using it in the right way, or us not thinking long enough downstream to really understand the, the true impacts that are going to come from AI.

And so those are the kinds of things that I'm worried about ethical AI practices and consistency across the world on how AI should be used for good, I think this is really important because as we both know, AI will be used in a negative, in a bad way as well.

And I think we just have to be aware of that and that we have to mitigate. Some of the bad behavior as much as we can, but honestly, I'm pretty cautiously optimistic about what's to come with AI.

Derek DeWinter: Excellent. What would you tell your younger self about how we've done in the last 25 years in corporate America as it relates to developing diverse organizations and, in sharing your thoughts with your younger self? Would she the young, you be surprised to know we've come this far or would she be disappointed we've not made even further strides?

Carin Taylor: Hmm. God, it's such a good question. So I would probably tell myself probably three things. The first thing would be I told you this would be a long, hard fight and it has been. But honestly, I would also say that every moment of pain has been worth the advancement. Whether or not that advancement has been big or small, the amount of effort that we actually put into this work is really important.

And it feels often like we are not making a ton of progress. But if I reflect on how this conversation has really shifted from being really just about women, you know, 20 years ago and trying to get women into leadership and more women into our companies, to today where we're talking about things like Belonging for all, I think the conversation has certainly changed and, and I'm excited about that.

I think the next thing is, I'd probably say, you know, we've made some impressive strides, and although it may not always feel like that we have to celebrate the wins along the way because as I mentioned, all of those wins become extremely important. But like I said, you tend to forget all the accomplishments that have been made because, the work can really be daunting.

And then I think the third thing is honestly, we have a lot more work to do. And the best way that we can do it, honestly, is together. So there are a lot of people out there who are doing work in the DEI space of all shades and, and colors and walks of life. But as I think about where I do my best work, Derek, it's in having conversations like this with people like you who and people who are you know, a similar thought track as we think about what is it gonna take to make this world a better place for all people. And so there's a lot of progress that we've made. I'm excited about it. yeah, there's still a lot more that we need to do as a society.

And like I said, we can, we can definitely do this work together, but a lot to do.

Derek DeWinter: It's interesting. We've talked about this a lot over the course of the years we've known one another, and these are hard questions to step into but they don't seem so hard after you've had the conversations. The hard part then is the work to, you know, To make things better and to understand one another more, but sometimes that very first step is one you don't take because you're so nervous about the things you might say or, or the wrong things you might do.

But, if you don't take that first step, you don't get anywhere.

Carin Taylor: I, you are so right, and right now, today, one of the things that I think is really polarizing in our country right now is honestly the fact that we will not listen and talk to each other anymore. Right? It doesn't really matter what side of the spectrum you are on. On any topic today, we've gotten to a point to where we, we are at an impasse and we will, we refuse to hear one another and I think the more we can just let down the blinders and hear the other side and, and it's not to move you over to the other side or make you think like, I think it really is about us having the opportunity.

To learn more from each other and understand one another so we can move forward together with that understanding.

Derek DeWinter: So that was a question that's really related to kind of corporate America, how far we may or may not have come and over the course of the past 25 years. But you have exposure to teams that are outside the United States certainly outside of the Bay Area, nationally and internationally. How would you characterize or kind of compare the approach to equity inclusion in those regions or areas of the world?

Carin Taylor: Yeah, it's such a good question. You know, as I've been doing this work over the last, you know, 20 or so years, what I have found is that DEI is different around the world because our demographics are different around the world and what I find is that we focus on what's closest to us. So if I think about North America as an example, we focus a lot on gender and race or, ethnicity, but we're also focused on things like disability and caregivers.

We saw through the pandemic this notion of really being focused on caregivers, both for those who are caring for the young and the elderly, is a real pocket of concern for us as a nation and so that's an area that we are focused on.

But if I look across Europe part-time work is something that they focus on a lot.

People with disabilities, how do they get more women into leadership? All of those things are important, but here's what I'll tell you. Even with all the nuances I have found that there is some common ground and it is this notion of belonging and so regardless of your location or your demographics, ensuring that people feel like they belong has really been the common thread.

As companies and countries are continuing to move forward. And so there's something that just keeps bringing us back to this notion of belonging and that I think is extremely interesting.

And at the end of the day, you look, people wanna work for a workplace where. They feel welcomed, like they feel heard, like they feel appreciated.

And so the more I hear from Chief Diversity Officers and Chief People Officers and CEOs, they're honing in on this notion of belonging. A lot of times, you know, Derek, we often talk about, well, what is belonging? One of the things I have been working on is identifying what is belonging and how does that show up?

And I've been looking at it through this lens of peace, and I'll share that with you really quickly.

And so I did a little bit of research around like, what is it that makes me feel like I belong? It was these five tenets, psychological safety, empathy, acceptance, connection, and feeling embraced.

And when you put those together and those things spell out PEACE, those are the things that make someone like me feel like I belong.

And so I think there is something true in this notion of wanting to bring out the goodness in people through this lens of peace or belonging.

Derek DeWinter: Hmm. That's pretty awesome. We actually just did a video DEI and B, belonging, exercise today in our company, ironically.

And so I see the word belonging, you know, as something that has been being really highlighted today or more recently than I have seen it in the months prior to this.

So it's another additional piece of the entire puzzle, right?

Carin Taylo r: Yeah, both belong. And then the other word that comes up a lot is equity, right? How do we just not make people feel like they belong, but how do we make everybody feel like they belong? And how do we make sure that we're creating an equitable experience for everyone?

Derek DeWinter: Well, you are such a thoughtful and interesting person. So what would you be doing if you weren't in a senior leadership HR diversity role like you're in now?

Derek DeWinter: It could be anything. It can be anything.

Carin Taylor: Literally anything, it would be one of two things. I would either be a talk show host because I love sitting on the other side like you and asking questions like this, or, I would be an actress. And then if you were to ask me this question, like in the last probably three or four years, I might even be a professional pickleball player.

Derek DeWinter: I love that. Oh, awesome. Speaking of an actress, have you seen the Barbie movie?

Carin Taylor: I did. I did.

Derek DeWinter: Did you like it?

Carin Taylor: I did.

Derek DeWinter: Okay. What is the thing you like the most and the least out of the movie? And I saw it too, by the way.

Carin Taylor: So the thing I like the most, honestly, was that you were either called Ken or Barbie. I thought that that was such a great way to talk about diversity. And so that I definitely loved it and there wasn't anything that I really didn't like about it, what I did.

What I enjoyed is it really, it was a movie from my genre and was really talking about things that I had forgotten about in some cases as well.

And so, I enjoyed it. I've spoken to a lot of people who have either loved it or they've hated it, but I enjoyed it.

Derek DeWinter: Oh, I thought it was, I thought it was great. My wife was definitely like, hitting my arm going, oh my God, I had that. Oh my God, I did that. Either. I remember the pool, I remember this. All those kinds of things.

I tell you what, you've been on the receiving end of a lot of questions from me, so I get to throw this is not a safe move on my part at all by letting you ask a final question and I don't know what it is of me.

So I'll let you have the stage for your talk show host endeavors.

Carin Taylor: Awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you for joining me today, Derek. My first question for you is, why should everyone, including cisgender white men like yourself, care about DEI? What's really in it for them? How would you articulate that?

Derek DeWinter: Well, that's an easy question to answer, of course. Wow, that's a big one. I think, you know, I view the world in a sense of like, there should be a place, and you used the word peace earlier. There should be a safe place for everyone to exist, live, and share questions, answers, and thoughts, and if I don't provide an opportunity for those around me to be in a safe place, then I am not doing a very good job of making whatever is around me, whether it's my house or my community, or my workplace or the world greater.

I'm not doing my best to make it a better place and so, you know, I tend to think about this a lot more as I get older. I suppose I probably didn't think of this way when I was 20 or 30, or certainly even younger, but as I get older, I should be doing more because it's simply the right thing to do for those around me. And a byproduct of that is that it’s a better thing for me too. I get more authentic, real connections with people, and if I'm not doing my part, then I don't get those. Maybe it's a selfish move I get a little bit too, but like I love authenticity and conversation and relationships and if you're not creating a platform for that and the things that you do and say, then I think it's kind of a big shame on you.

Carin Taylor : I love that. Thank you. And that was unscripted, so I appreciate you answering so authentically.

Derek DeWinter: Well, You and I go back, you know, a few years and and I absolutely appreciate you joining us. I wanna thank you again for making the time and for listening to it is very worth recognizing that in addition to Carin's very important day job, she is a highly sought-after speaker, facilitator, and leadership coach on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

And if you wanna hear more from her, you should reach out. Directly or indirectly to the people around her, that's uh, all the more important thing to bring up because it's a special thing for us to have you today.

And Carin, I thank you so much for joining us. And on a personal note, I thank you so much for your friendship over the years. It means a lot.

Carin Taylor: Thank you so much, Derek. This has been a pleasure. I was so happy to be here with you today. Appreciate you.

Derek DeWinter: Be well. Thank you. Bye-bye.

Carin Taylor: Thank you.

The DeWinter Difference: Matt Field, Chief Financial Officer of Joby Aviation

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 11:00:00 GMT

The DeWinter Difference: Matt Field, Chief Financial Officer of Joby Aviation

About The Episode

In this episode of the DeWinter Difference, Derek sits down with Matt Field, Chief Financial Officer of Joby Aviation. Matt shares his insights on living and working internationally during his time at Ford, adapting leadership strategies for different team cultures, the skills he looks for when identifying talent, and more.

Listen now at the streaming sites listed.

Learn more about the DeWinter Difference podcast here and share your thoughts and comments below.

Where to Stream

Episode Transcript

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

Matt Field

Derek DeWinter: Welcome to our listeners who are tuning into The DeWinter Difference, an audio podcast where I spent a bit of time with incredible executives I've worked with, and you get to listen in. I hope that our conversations are unique and insightful, short enough so you don't respond to texts and emails while listening, but long enough so that you get some great takeaways that you can apply in your own career, life, and relationships.

Today, I'm very pleased to speak with Matt Fields. Chief Financial Officer of Joby Aviation. Prior to Joby, Matt spent two decades at Ford Motor Company holding positions with progressive amounts of responsibility, both nationally and internationally, and led teams of as large as 1,000 people. He joined Joby in 2021 to help steer them towards a public offering in 2023.

Matt, thank you so much for taking time today to chat.

Matt Field : Thanks. Just one correction. We went public the same year I joined, so 2021.

Derek DeWinter: Yep, there you go.

Matt Field: We have been public for a couple of years now.

Derek DeWinter: Well, you know, true to form, we're gonna not even edit that out. We're gonna, leave it as is because we all make little mistakes and I'm full of them. So that would make, that makes sense. It's 2023 now, of course.

Matt Field : Can't believe it's been a couple of years already.

Derek DeWinter: Yeah. Well, maybe that's what I was thinking. So for those of you who are busy, you know, checking out LinkedIn to see who Matt is and where his background is I will help set the stage a little bit with kind of an interesting intro. So, Matt, you're in Dearborn, Michigan sometime in late 2020. It's cold outside, maybe snowing, maybe a little sleet.

Either way, it's winter or winter is very fast approaching in the Midwest. The phone rings, you pick it up and someone says to you, cars on the road are so yesterday. What do you think about living by the beach and working at a company building flying cars? Now I'm sure this isn't exactly the way it played out, but I would love to hear how the initial conversation went, and your transition to a company as unique and interesting as Joby.

Matt Field: Yeah, so you're right. So, you know, this was many people through 2020. We were all working through COVID. And for me, that meant working in the basement and so one of the unique things about automotive, and there are just a handful of industries, I think, that are like that, that it really shuts down between Christmas and New Year's.

While teams are working and doing stuff and you're responding to emails and so forth, it's not the usual pace. You have, you know, 12, 14, 16-hour days or 18 to 20-hour days during some of the peak coven times. And so I did get this phone call and usually, you know, I always listen to people and say, understand where their perspectives are.

This was something I just had never heard of before. Didn't know the industry existed. It wasn't on my radar, but I've always been, you know, a bit of a history buff, a bit of a business buff and when transportation changes, it changes fast. So I wanted to learn more because really Joby was moving into that next generation of transportation, but doing it already starting from a sustainable place. So, I was just curious to find out more, met the leadership team, met the whole board, and was really impressed with the culture and the people impressed with the mission you know, understanding where they were on the technology spectrum and also where they were relative to others was important.

They just ticked all the boxes, something that sounded like, if you look, if you kind of project yourself forward and look back. Was this something you feel like you'd miss out on if it was successful and you weren't part of it? And so I talked to my wife, talked to the kids, and decided it was worth pursuing.

Derek DeWinter: Have you ever actually been to the Santa Cruz area before?

Matt Field: No, but my wife and I met at Berkeley. We went to Berkeley for grad school. Both were MBAs there. And so we met in class. And so we knew the Bay Area fairly well, but I'd never been to Santa Cruz. I'd been to Monterey to the aquarium once before. I've been down to Big Sur for some camping but have never been to Santa Cruz.

It was, it was a bit of a leap of faith because of COVID and everything else. Yeah, I did everything virtually in terms of making this decision. So it was a bit of a bit of a surprise to drive over the mountains and see the ocean. I mean, I knew that I knew all that was there, but it was still delightful to see it in person.

Derek DeWinter: I'm sure there are probably more similarities and there are differences between work at Ford and work at Joby. It's surely more fun to talk about the differences. So what are some of the things that immediately jump off the page to you about, you know, life and leadership and the finance function that Joby versus Ford?

Matt Field: So Ford, you know, it's a wonderful company with a rich finance tradition, and that means there are so many processes that are established. I mean, I don't remember what forecast number we were on, but we used to do a monthly forecast and it was like a forecast, I don't know, 868. You could actually count on when that process started because it would have been 868 months so it really started, a lot of those foundations started post World War II, which was a great training ground on so many fronts, and automotive is just a wonderful industry because you learn so much, it's so complicated.

So, you know, leaving that infrastructure and that talent pool where you had, as you said, like a thousand finance people in the US many of whom have been there and they've grown up in the company and there's just such experience, but also wisdom and, you know, moving to Joby I think I walked in and the finance team was maybe six or seven people. It was a chance to grow a new team, establish processes, take the best of what I learned, plus kind of look more broadly and say, well, what, what do I want to change? How do we want to adapt? And, and build those processes into a new culture.

The other thing that's been surprising to me is at Ford, so many people grew up in the system that everyone knew a bit of their, i'm not going to say swim lanes because you really blur lines and finance and other functions as you work on cross-functional teams. Here at Joby, so many people come from different companies because we're building a company that's all new and so you have a real mesh of people. Figuring out, you know, what does finance do, what does manufacturing do where's what, when everyone knows kind of what legal does, but, you know, everyone working together from, from not a shared history of a corporate culture so there's a real melding and evolution that comes from that I didn't actually expect, but it's been really delightful.

Derek DeWinter: That's awesome. It's speaking of, you know, Adapting and you know, using different attributes and different sizes and shapes and types of organizations. Let me, let me try to set this question up here with how you would spend some money. So let's pretend you have 100 in your pocket and it's the only money you have to purchase attributes that you believe have made you a successful, successful executive.

The more you spend on a specific attribute, the less you can spend on others. So if I believe that flexibility is the single most important attribute I possess, then I might want to spend 80 on that. And then I would spend 20 on other things. Where do you believe you would start allocating your money?

Matt Field: I did listen to your other podcasts that you did with other people. They were, they were amazing. They were, they were great to listen to. Hopefully, this one comes off as well. So I was thinking about this one night I couldn't sleep earlier in the week and was thinking well, that's a really good question.

Where would I put the money? I think honestly, these percentages change over time in your career. But at this point, this is kind of where I would balance the budget. First

Derek DeWinter: You would be a finance executive. Oh my God.

Matt Field: Exactly, hopefully, it adds to a hundred because you know so I'd start off with hard work and accountability.

I think you can't be in finance. You can't you can't get to these levels without working hard, but also being accountable, for delivery. And these first three, I'm going to say are kind of three-quarters of my budget and I went back and forth between you know, what exact ratios, but we'll just say this, this bucket is kind of three-quarters and it's, it's how I think of it as how do you work with others.

So hard work and accountability first, that's, that's core to, for me, what's been really important is respecting other people listening, but also being curious. So I'd put that in kind of that second bucket of the three quarters because. You really, what I've found in my career is finance because you're so broad across the organization, you can take other perspectives and translate across functions or across people and hear where people might not be communicating the way they think they are. That has to be tied to respecting viewpoints, but also being curious to learn. The third piece of that, which I think supports the other ones, is having trust. Trusting other people, but also respecting other people's trust in you and being approachable. I truly believe, you know, that old finance doctor, no, really doesn't work so much anymore because if you've got problems, you want people to bring them to you if you're not approachable, you really, I don't think you can really be successful in finance today in big complicated companies.

So that's kind of the first three quarters is those three foundational elements. Then the last 25 percent I would say is what really makes a difference above and beyond that.

And that's you know, maybe spread it equally. Maybe there's a little bit of different weight in there, but there's mentorship and advocacy because you do need to build teams, you need to train people, you need to identify talent. At Ford, you had such a big pool that you were kind of identifying talent in the pool and advocating for people. At Joby, it's about training the people you have, but also finding people outside that you want to bring in. So a little bit different.

Derek DeWinter: Yeah. Cause I would imagine much of the team that you worked with at Ford. It's from Ford.

Matt Field: That's right. So you had this natural pool that came in every year that was refreshed. And so really. My job as a manager and eventually senior leader was trying to find the best of the people coming in. I still went out and recruited people, so I was active in recruiting, but, at some point, it was like, okay, who, at what level is driving things the way and behaving the way you want to, to kind of grow an organization. So, so very different.

Derek DeWinter: So you have led teams as large as a, as a thousand and there'll be people listening to this audio podcast. Hopefully, a bunch of them work at companies that aren't near a thousand people, let alone finance organizations that are a thousand people. So you have kind of a very, very crazy unique perspective on leadership that probably a lot of people can't even quite imagine. Are you also given that you worked at Ford and held different positions outside the country and probably did an excessive amount of travel as well? You've been to a lot of different places and a lot of different countries and sold in different countries and what have you.

So I'm curious from, through your lens, what are some of the more unique countries, good, scary, otherwise, that you have been in and how difficult have some of them been to work in?

Matt Field: So I was fortunate to work and live abroad we actually, when our, when our kids were young, I think we were about two and a half and four we moved to Bangkok working with Ford, and then three years later moved to Shanghai, we were there for four years and came back from, from Shanghai in 2013 and then had various roles and international responsibilities throughout. I want to say any place was particularly difficult in the sense that, you know, It was infrastructure with the company in every country we operated in. We'd been places for, you know, 100 years, so you had local relationships. I think what was really important was thinking about your own leadership style and how you interact with teams and build teams in different places because again, in Bangkok, when I first arrived, I tried to bring the same leadership I had in the US to Thailand. And I had a 60 percent quit rate on my team. And so I had to really rethink, well, what's not working and talk to people who've been there for a while and find mentors that I could talk through.

Well, how do I change my approach? How do I change how the team is developed? And so restructured the team in a way that allowed people to come up to speed faster, and spend more time on training. And so really it was thinking about how to Both how do I change my leadership style. But how do I recruit the right people?

How do I work with different cultures? Because we had team members in Japan, we had team members in India, had team members in Brazil, and Germany. How do you work across those cultures? It really came down to a bit of what I said at the beginning when you gave me my dollar to spend. Which was, you know, respecting people, listening, seeking to understand it was also just, you know, being resilient when you face failures and kind of forgiving yourself and others and then adapting.

So, you know, I wouldn't say anything, everything was a challenge, but I wouldn't say anything was bad. You just have to learn and adapt as you work through different cultures, which is a great growth experience. I recommend working and living abroad for everybody.

Derek DeWinter: Do you think that there's been a shift in the way other countries have looked at the U. S. from a purely business perspective over the years? I don't. I don't know that I'm asking that the perfect way or you can maybe you'd have to be in Thailand, you know, and then go back 10 years later to see exactly how things have looked or look differently. Do you think there's been a perceptual change in the way that some countries look at the U. S.?

Matt Field: You know, it's a great question. I think there's an ebb and a flow to that. There are elements where I think people look at the US the same way they always have, which is a great educational system, and a wonderful place to start things and grow things, but also I think internationally, those opportunities are now evident, right?

India has always had a really strong educational system, but it's now getting to be more entrepreneurial, and more tech-forward. Now people are starting things in India, whereas they might've started in the U.S., the same in China, same elsewhere. I do think people are seeing differences more, unfortunately, which I think is a real tragedy, both in the U.S. and abroad. I think some of those seeing differences instead of commonality is creating more hesitancy for international collaboration at kind of the corporate business level. Which is a real shame because there's so much opportunity, to change the world, to have opportunities, and so forth. I do look forward to a time when there are high degrees of respect, collaboration, and teamwork globally.

Derek DeWinter: Knock on wood. Absolutely. You can't open up the paper, but I don't know that anybody opens up the paper anymore, but you can't turn on your computer, go to a newsfeed, or hear a company X, Y or Z talk about their business without AI being a part of it these days. It's having an accelerating impact on our lives, work, and everything in between. Are you excited about the impact it has on your functional job or are you as nervous as you are excited or,, or concerned, or a whole mix of things?

Matt Field : I think you can't be excited without also being concerned. What you see in some of the digital imagery and so forth can be concerning, but I'm really excited overall because whenever you see new technology, other than bad, you know, spell corrects on my Apple techs, which sometimes are quite humorous and fun to enjoy.

I think the role AI will play. We're just seeing the tip of the iceberg, whether that's programming you know, helping you write things. I was talking to another CFO a while back and we were talking about Chat GPT, and he's a small company as well he said, well, I needed a job description for a role.

I just Chat GPT it and then I edit it. I thought, well, that's brilliant because of job descriptions. You know, they're not rocket science and so, you know, something like that is a perfect way to save yourself some time. I think you think about that more broadly, whether that's on the accounting side, the finance side, the policy side, the legal side, throughout organizations.

I think there's tremendous opportunity for AI and we're probably just starting to scratch the surface. That doesn't mean there's no risk and concern as well. There's a lot, there's a lot here to unpack a lot of opportunity, probably more so than blockchain, which was the big thing a few years ago that never really seemed to quite get there.

But AI definitely feels like it has legs for the long term.

Derek DeWinter: I definitely do not want to talk about blockchain technology. The level of complexity and the wide eyes that you would look at and when you look at me when someone tries to talk about it, like, oh my gosh.

Matt Field : Definitely seems like it hit its hype cycle and never quite recovered.

Derek DeWinter: A blockchain expert would dispute that, of course.

Matt Field : Someone out there is gonna send you hate mail, Derek.

Derek DeWinter : I get a few. So what would you be doing if you weren't a CFO?

Matt Field: My dad was a professor and I love working with people. I think I would teach, I really think that's not only a valuable profession that makes a huge difference for people, but I just like it. I love reading, I love learning. You know, I've even thought about at some point when I retire, is that something I want to do? But I think teaching, you know, being a professor, training the next generation of business leaders. That's probably where I lean

Derek DeWinter : Gotcha. Well, I've been able to ask you a whole bunch of questions. So we get to turn the tables now and we get to do, you know, the fun, interesting, scary part for me is you get to ask me a question. I don't know what it is. Hopefully, I won't embarrass myself in the response.

Matt Field : I'm sure you'll do better than I have.

Derek DeWinter : I doubt that.

Matt Field : You know, one thing I've always wondered about, and I don't have to worry about it here because every day is different and there's so many new and exciting things to do, but, as I think about how you stay. From avoiding complacency to avoiding stagnation, one of the things that I truly believe is you have to have something that you feel like you're not successful at, like some side hobby or something that keeps you out of your comfort zone.

This is actually an idea my wife highlighted to me many, many years ago through some of the Angela Duckworth kind of grit and perseverance stuff. So I guess my question is, what do you do to keep yourself? Out of your comfort zone so that you keep that mental flexibility, that energy, and from kind of stagnating.

Derek DeWinter : Well I've been doing this for 30 years, so there's a natural part of my job that is redundant. The new stuff is, that everybody's new every conversation is new, every client is a little bit different, and every client is different at different life cycles of being a client, and every candidate is different at different life cycles of being a candidate.

I've known candidates that were you know, two years out of public accounting who are now CFOs and now we've worked with their kids and so our, you know, the, our days as recruiters, headhunters, executive search, they're all very, very different because we're dealing with very different people.

So we're, I think we're fortunate in that regard that everything is a little new all the time. I also have three children on the personal side of things, so that every day is different and new. So I'm almost constantly out of a comfort zone there as much as I'd like to think I keep things together. There's not a day that goes by that I'm not challenged in some capacity there. I think as I get older too, I also think I've got less time left in front of me than behind, you know, not to be a buzzkill, but it's true. I’m 52, so I'm trying to think of the things that are really valuable to me going forward that I feel like I better get, I better get on this, which is either learning another language or playing the ukulele or, or whatever it might be, and I think those are things that you constantly need to flex for sure.

Matt Field: That flex piece that to me that's where that kind of, because we all have challenges and you're right, kids job, new colleagues and stuff, but it's that flex piece that I think that's that constant growth of feeling like you're striving to be better at something where it's okay to be horrible at because you don't know how to play the ukulele yet.

Derek DeWinter: It is great to be bad at things. It is just wonderful. I mean, you want to get better, obviously, but like, I don't know if you're, it makes everybody a little bit more human. Nobody's perfect out there. Last time I checked. So, do you know Dr. Emmett Brown?

Matt Field : I don't.

Derek DeWinter: This is good, this is a kind of a trick question here for you.

Dr. Emmett Brown said, and I quote roads where we're going. We do. We don't need roads back to the future. Do you guys not reference Back To The Future?

Matt Field: We do. It comes up. It comes up a lot. I have to admit Back to the Future is a very popular topic here. You know, it's a very science-based company. A lot of analogies to back to the future. Star Wars, Star Trek. We definitely don't need roads. We need landing

Derek DeWinter: There you go. Maybe, maybe Joe Ben should dress up as Dr. Emmett Brown one of these days and someone else can be a Marty McFly. So have you been in one?

Matt Field: So just this year we actually flew with a pilot on board. And so, you know, we're progressing our certification process as we speak and eventually, I'll get in one. As the advice of one of my Ford colleagues told me when I was, when I was leaving a very senior engineer, a wonderful human being, said, Matt, my only advice is let the engineers get in first. I think that's good advice.

Derek DeWinter: He has brilliant advice. Absolutely.

Well, Matt, you are a busy man with a lot going on. You made time for us to have a conversation, which I appreciate. We haven't known one another that long, but I look forward to many, many, many more years of conversations like this and visits and, and what have you.

It's been a real treat today having this conversation and I'll let you go back to being the successful financial executive that you are and really appreciate your time.

Matt Field : Well, thank you so much, Derek. Let me know when you're back over on this side of the mountain.

Derek DeWinter: Yeah. Done deal. We'll take care. Thanks, Matt.

Matt Field: Hey, thank you so

Derek DeWinter: All right. Bye

The DeWinter Difference: Tyler Sloat, Chief Financial Officer at Freshworks

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 17:35:17 GMT

The DeWinter Difference: Tyler Sloat, Chief Financial Officer at Freshworks

About The Episode

In the very first episode of the DeWinter Difference podcast, Derek DeWinter sits down with Freshworks Chief Financial Officer Tyler Sloat. Tyler shares his insights on career development, his journey from Econ and Pre-Dental undergraduate to CFO, hiring pre- and post-pandemic, and more.

Listen now at the streaming sites listed.

Learn more about the DeWinter Difference podcast here and share your thoughts and comments below.

Where to Stream

Episode Transcript

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

Derek DeWinter: Welcome to our listeners who are tuning into the DeWinter Difference, an audio podcast where I spend a bit of time with incredible executives I've known for years, and you get to listen in. I hope our conversations are unique, insightful, and short enough to keep your attention, but long enough so that you get some great takeaways that you can apply in your own career. Today I have the very good fortune of speaking with Tyler Sloat, the CFO of FreshWorks. In 2021, he helped take FreshWorks public, and prior to that he spent 10 years at Zuora and has a career that includes time at iconic tech companies like Siebel Systems. Obopay and Network Appliance. We actually have a fairly unique connection in that we're both from Hawaii originally, and as this is being recorded we're really just two, three weeks away removed from the horrific tragedy that is still ongoing on Maui, which is my home.

And I hope those that are listening won't lose steam in their efforts to support them through love prayers and even donations, or hopefully donations. So, Tyler, thanks for being here.

Tyler Sloat:: Happy to be here, man. I agree. I think I told you I had my mom over from Oahu last weekend. And then my, my brother actually works for Hawaiian Airlines still in Honolulu, and they, you know, they, I. Had to kick into emergency mode. I just it's, I just think so much worse than what people think.

So the, the more help anybody can give, the better.

Derek DeWinter: Yeah, it's going to be an ongoing theme around here for a bit of time. I hope really is mind-boggling what's going on. So one of the other unique connections that we have, which I didn't realize or, or I had to remind myself of in addition to being from Hawaii, we both started our careers at Coopers and Lybrand, which is kind of funny.

Tyler Sloat: It's, I mean, it, yeah, it is also crazy how, how long the tentacles can reach. I still talk to some of the folks that I started in Boston, Coopers and iBrand in the Computer Assurance Services group and you know, some are still partners at PWC or others or CFOs or even some retired now, which good for them. But yeah, it's, it's pretty cool alumni group to have.

Derek DeWinter: Well, and you know, given that our paths are, are somewhat similar, at least to start we took different trajectories at some point in time, but those listening may not fully appreciate the start of your career where it began. So maybe take us back to a few of the early decisions you made. Starting with going to college basically 5,000 miles away.

Tyler Sloat: Yeah, I tell people that, so I went to Boston College and folks think about that from Hawaii. They go, wow, that's crazy. But the reality is I went to a high school called Punahou, you know it well. And great school where everybody, you know, pretty much goes to the mainline for school.

It's not a hundred percent true, but a lot of people do. Actually, I had 12 kids from my graduating class went to BC. I was a little bit different because my mom was a professor at Hawaii Manoa. She was a nursing professor and then it was really my parents got divorced when I was pretty young.

And it was just my, kind of my brothers and, and my mom and I on the island. And we didn't, we didn't have a lot, so we didn't travel a ton. Outside of some stuff I would like go to summer camps and stuff. I. I'd never been to Boston before. In fact, this is, you know, applying before internet.

So it was really just applying based on brochures and the story goes, I was deciding between Holy Cross and BC. Because based on brochures, they market themselves as kind of the same exact school, right? In a suburb of Boston kind of Catholic organizations. I was going to play football at Holy Cross and it really just came down to dollars and BC ended up giving me more money which was important.

And so I ended up showing up in Boston. Never been before, but my brother was a senior at MIT when I was a freshman at BC and he said, You know, we were typical brothers. We didn't talk that much, but he's like, Hey, why don't you just come out a little bit early? So I, I dropped my bags off at BC. I literally showed up, took the T to campus, dropped my bags off, and then went down and lived in my brother's frat for a couple weeks and pretended to be a senior rushing all the freshmen with him, which was pretty darn fun.

And then he was there, you know, we got the overlap for a year, which was kind of cool having him being in the in the same city. So but yeah, Boston, my wife, who I met at BC loves to tell everybody that I showed up. I didn't even have a jacket. I think I headed to, headed to Filene’s Basement pretty quick in October to buy some stuff. So it was a great experience.

Derek DeWinter: That's funny. I only went to Santa Clara in terms of distance away, which felt like. I mean, it's a long way just getting across the water. And I didn't own anything. Like I had just tank tops. Like it was crazy.

Tyler Sloat: You probably had tank tops and dolphin shorts and slippers.

Derek DeWinter: Totally. Dolphin shorts, are you kidding me? Would we do this and kind of do the editing? We'll try to edit in some sort of picture of dolphin shorts for those who don't actually know what they are. Lots of neon, lots of dolphin shorts.

Oh. Well, hey, you know, I've been in search for 30 years, actually almost 30 years. It'll be 30 years next year, which is kind of crazy. And I, I've learned plenty of things along the way, but one thing for sure is that there's not a singular profile that guarantees success for being, for anything specifically, but in, in our case, as we're talking to A CFO here for being a CFO. That said, if I gave you a hundred dollars to spend on certain attributes, where would you allocate that money? You know, as you think about the things that have made you successful.

Tyler Sloat: Yeah. I've thought about this a little bit and what's really interesting, if I think about my career, you know, there there's investments you make in yourself, like say in school and things like that, which, which I've made some. And you know, it takes, you know, work or, or, or sacrifice in some areas. But I think that the most I've learned, it hasn't been in a classroom, it's been from folks who've been there, done that. And I, I've tried to make it a point to really realize I still have a lot to learn, but there, there's always f folks that, you know, I can learn from. And so that a hundred bucks, like if I would recommend, and I, I do recommend this to folks you know, who are kind of early in their careers, gosh, I'd break that into five different low-key breakfasts that you take.

You invite, you know, somebody who could be a mentor out to breakfast, you know, and two to five different people potentially. And I've done that. I've just reached out randomly to folks for lunch. And what you'll find, I think specifically in the CFO community is that, you know, most, not everybody, but most people really do want to help others and with the job, but also with learnings and whatnot.

And so it's been super helpful for me in my career to kind of make some of those relationships and be able to tap into them, but just have some key learnings from folks.

Derek DeWinter: Awesome. Have to talk about AI because you can't turn the news on, you can't open up a browser. You can't do anything without seeing AI. It's becoming incredibly prolific. And as it relates to your job as a CFO, are you more concerned or more excited about the impact on the way you do your job?

Tyler Sloat: I'm a lot more excited. I think the concern comes with diving in without actually validating. It's like, you know, old Reagan “trust but verify.” But the interesting stuff for CFO in my perspective is not necessarily all the government's compliance stuff, and a lot of that is like included in getting your books closed and if you actually look at the body of work that that is being done as part of that, so much of that is still relatively manual, but it's not like it's intelligent work per se. It’s just stuff that are repetitive tasks and, and things that actually can be replaced. Even with more accuracy, with incredibly more efficiency with, you know, some intelligence built in and automation.

And we've, you know, we've tried to build that into a lot of our functions here at FreshWorks, and we're going to continue to do that. And so that part's exciting because the thing is, that's not what I consider, you know the most exciting part of the job. And so if you can figure out how to get that done more accurately, more efficiently, then you get to actually spend more time on, on what I think the more interesting value add parts of being a CFO are, which is really around kind of business model ownership, strategy guidance and, and things like that. And so I think it's super exciting, again, I think a lot of it has to be proven out and there has to be some prudence there.

But overall, I I think this is going to be a net positive.

Derek DeWinter: As it relates to your job, this is a question that we talked about before, but as it relates to your job, just to throw your curve ball, is this something that's popping up in board meetings as it relates to your functional job? It certainly is popping up in investor conversations around AI and integration or product and all that kind of stuff, but you know, as it relates to your specific, Functional area.

Tyler Sloat: Is taking up a decent amount of mind share in both, you know, our, our product meetings, our management meetings, and our board meetings because we're injecting so much AI into the products that we sell. But for functional I would say it's not taking as much time on, the board meeting. Audit committee meetings where we actually dig in a little bit deeper into the functions.

And that's where, you know, my team gets to come in and kind of prevent, present their functions and the achievements and then what they're, each one of them is working on. In that forum, absolutely. We are positioning AI as a place that is going to help us move forward.

It's going to help a place that's going to kind of reduce risk through automation and a place that, you know, will have more adherence to SOX controls and things like that. And so yes, it is a definitely part of the discussion.

Derek DeWinter: So you're saying that your audit committee is concerned about risk? That sounds crazy, Tyler. I'm kidding. Hey, let's say I'm interviewing with you today for a senior role in your organization. How would you compare what you're looking for today or even the way that you interview versus four years ago or a time period before Covid?

Tyler Sloat: So when I look at a company in general and, you know, just the whole organization, I really think that the company can kind of be broken down into four operational tracks that are hired, retire, quote to cash, procure to pay and corporate. And then I look at the systems people and processes across each one of those tracks.

And I think you can capture most of the operational elements within an organization. The people on my team, a lot of them have purview or pieces of each one of those tracks. And so when I'm interviewing somebody now, part of it is the same as when I was interviewing them, somebody 10 years ago, which is really around, okay, do they have the capabilities and the aptitude to be able to get the job done. Some of it's because they've done it before, but some of them may not have actually had direct experience, but they can be smart enough. And then the experience they had, have had in the past is going to be something that can be applied to whatever their new role is.

And so I don't always have to hire somebody who's, who's been there, done that for the function. But they do have to have the aptitude to be able to do it. That is the same. The same bar that has always been there. Now, I think that changes with experience and new technologies that are out there that I think somebody has to be aware of what those are open to those things and adapting.

But I think that the biggest lens that we're putting now on hiring, especially at, say somebody reports to me where the expectation is that they're not actually individual contributors. They're really, you know, building and managing teams is really what type of manager are they going to be? Are they going to be a great cultural fit?

And then lastly, now, especially at FreshWorks, where we are very much a, a multi-geographical company, but also, you know, kind of exponentially emphasized in Covid where so many folks moved away that you have to be so much better at communication and management in a remote framework.

And that's actually a very difficult skill to have. And part of that is even, specifically for accountants and things, being able to come outside of your show and communicate and reach out and create relationships. And so that is the lens that I am trying to put on things as I'm hiring folks.

Because I think even if you have the aptitude if you can't do the other part, you're not going to be successful. And so you have to have, be able to do both.

Derek DeWinter: You are a very, very capable CFO, but if you weren't a CFO, what would you be doing?

Tyler Sloat: Yeah, you know, it's interesting, like when I first went to college, I thought I was going to be like a youth minister. And then my major actually in school, I was an econ major and a pre-dental, which is no different than pre-med. I clearly didn't go down that path. It wasn't really, it's not, that's not really recommended path for a grade point average stuff, but it was interesting to go learn.

I never had an accounting class in undergrad. In fact, when I graduated and went to Coopers, I went into computer assurance services, which was kind of it, internal controls before SOX existed. And then when I transferred to San Jose from Boston, I transferred into audit. I literally was reading a fundamentals of accounting book in my car before I walked into the office.

Because I didn't know what a debit and credit was. And then obviously quickly had to go to educate myself. Both on the job and, and go take classes. The point of that is I never necessarily thought I was going to be an accountant. That's not what I, I, I grew up to be. I actually don't necessarily even consider myself one as a CFO.

I consider myself more of an operator, and I. When I look back, I was like, okay, could, if I didn't have a job as, as a CFOi'd, I'd probably want to be somewhat of a COO or something like that. But if I was really going to do a complete career thing, to be honest, I'd probably want to follow somewhat of my mom's path and, and be a teacher if I was being super honest.

Derek DeWinter: Well look you've been on the receiving end of a bunch of questions and while we talked about what those might look like. Before this, we did not talk about any sort of, or I don't know what sort of question you might ask me. So the zinger on this hole uh, conversation to close things out is you get to ask me a question and I don't know what it is, and hopefully, I will not put my foot really far in my mouth.

Tyler Sloat: No. Well, I mean, you, you just talked about that we started at Cooper's together, but you obviously took a completely different career track now. And so I actually have a, like a dual part question. 'cause I'd love to find out, you know, you've, you've built an incredible organization. I also know you're very involved in philanthropic efforts and things like that.

But I was kind of curious, okay, how did that happen? And then I guess as the second part of the question is going to be around what are you seeing in the best possible? Candidates today, what are, what are you, you asked me about interviewing, but when you are looking for an executive or something for one of your clients, or even, you know, somebody else, what are the attributes that you're looking for the most in those folks?

Because I think that'd be interesting for me to hear, but also anybody who's listening to this. And then lastly, outside of work, I know you're involved in a great organization in San Jose, but like, what, what drives you every day? To just kind of get up in the morning and go perform? So it's a three-part question there.

Derek DeWinter: Jesus. Wow. Look at what you did to me. Okay, so Coopers well, you know I guess I followed my heart, which is my wife who was an accounting major at Santa Clara. And that seemed like a good idea. So I declared accounting and I became an accounting major. And while you had to read about debits and credits in a book on the way to the office, I struggled with that for, you know, through all of my education.

I just never really embraced the accounting path yet. I followed it because it seemed like, you know, I declared my major, I'm going to go and do public accounting, and when I was there, I didn't do well. I mean, that's probably not the best thing to say for everyone to listen to, but I did very poorly. I wasn't highly rated.

I was very well thought of, I think, you know, as it related to working with other people, but functionally, I, I was, I was marginal. And so I was actually part of a layoff at Cooper's and Lybrand about nine months into my time there, along with a handful of other folks. It wasn't a great time in the market.

It was 1994 about a year into my tenure there. And so I had a chance to kind of sit back and go, you know, do a little bit of a pause and say, you know, I've been following this kind of riding this wave that was kind of going along to make a, a reference of the ocean, but, I finally made a decision to do something differently and I sat across from a headhunter who was talking to me about different roles, none of which I was qualified for, to be totally clear. And I liked what the role that he was playing with me and in terms of like, you know, the job that he was doing. And so I ended up kind of flipping the script on him and saying, well, what about what you do? And I remember him telling me at the time, like, be careful. You might like it. Now I'm 30 years later and clearly, I have liked it and excelled at this much more, more than I ever did in, in accounting. And so yeah, that's how I kind of got in and out of it pretty quickly. As for kind of this like what I'm seeing in the best candidates, you know, the, the older I get the more I appreciate you know, really genuineness in people's thoughtfulness. And listening. There are so many problems people try to solve overly quickly without taking in enough information.

So when I'm thinking of candidates who are over, who are selling themselves too quickly without listening to the question that's asked or thinking about the framework of how to present something I just, I tend to have a really great appreciation for somebody who's very thoughtful. Um, doesn't mean long-winded, but just, you know, really thinking about the question and how it relates to, you know, the situation at hand.

And, and that's not, people are often very quick to try to fill space with noise and then they may not actually be answering the right question at all. And so I do appreciate it when people are kind of thinking about things a little bit differently and more thoughtfully. And as it relates to kind of things that drive me when I get up every morning, you know, aside from, you know, my family and their wellbeing and trying to provide and all that kind of stuff.

You know, I've, I've done well enough over my career that that's not a significant issue every morning. But I'll take it back to an accounting term opportunity cost. You know, when I, when you're 22 or three or four, and I tell those people all the time, There you don't really think about opportunity costs as it relates to time.

And now that I'm in my, you know, over 50, you know, the opportunity cost of doing one thing versus another is, is much more dramatic. And so if I'm doing something, I want it to be really purposeful, whether it's at work or whether it's in the community, whether it's thinking about doing just the right thing. More often than, than not. That's really, I, I really look at life in terms of that. And I think it's, it's not the be not the worst way to kind of approach things.

Tyler Sloat: That's a great perspective.

Derek DeWinter: Yeah. And I try to get back to Hawaii once in a while, get my feet in the sand in terms of, you know, perspective. So, um, and this year I will, I'm hopefully going to be able to get back in a way that I can do something as it relates to, you know, giving back, you know, going back to the tragedies on Maui that are still just, you know, unfolding in ways that we can't even begin to think about whenever this does air, which would be over the course of the next few weeks. I fear we're not going to be much further along, unfortunately, in kind of the discovery of really how crazy things have been over there. So but hopefully I'll get back. Well, I appreciate your time uh, Tyler, you're, uh, you've been a. Great to me, great to our firm over the years. You're a good man. I know you've raised a great family. You pour yourself into your work and have excelled, so I really, really appreciate you being part of our, actually our very first podcast.

Tyler Sloat: Thanks for having me, man.

Derek DeWinter: Well done.

Tyler Sloat: I appreciate you as well, so this has been great. A lot of fun.

Derek DeWinter: Al right. My best to you buddy. Take care.

Get to Know: Jacqueline Berman, Manager, DeWinter Consulting New England

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 17:15:17 GMT

Get to Know: Jacqueline Berman, Manager, DeWinter Consulting New England

Can you tell me about your background?

I was raised north of Boston and later relocated to the city after completing my Bachelor’s at UMASS Amherst. Despite having deep roots in the area, I've moved around a bit, including a brief stint in Philadelphia. For a period, I found myself splitting time between Boston and Toronto. Somehow I always found my way back home to New England.

My entry into the recruiting world happened by accident. Post college, while working in a completely unrelated position, I bumped into a childhood friend who I had fallen out of touch with. Long story short, we became coworkers. It’s been 12+ years and I haven’t looked back since!

Why do you like this field?

I love working in the recruiting industry because at its core, it’s really just networking and matchmaking. The ability to understand people, identify their strengths, and connect them with the right opportunities has always come pretty naturally. To me, networking isn't really a job, it's just part of who I am.

Why are you excited to spearhead DeWinter Group’s expansion into the New England market?

I am excited about expanding the DeWinter Group into the New England market because not only do the company’s values align with me personally, but also with the fundamental principles instilled during our shared training together at a previous company. Emily (Lorrey) Calicchio , Tonya Salerno , and I each discovered the company independently, all captivated by these shared core values. With 30+ years of recruiting experience between us, I am eagerly looking forward to working with both Emily and Tonya to deliver exceptional service to our clients.

What do you love most about the New England area?

First and foremost, I love being close to my family. The lobster rolls aren’t so bad either.

DeWinter Group's Boston Consulting team offers professional on-demand finance and accounting support. Learn more about our consultant staffing solutions and get in touch with Jacqueline today .

The DeWinter Group 2023 Annual ESG & DEI Report

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 16:57:31 GMT

The DeWinter Group 2023 Annual ESG & DEI Report

We are thrilled to present our 2023 Annual ESG & DEI Report, a comprehensive reflection of our commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles, as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Dive into the report to discover the inspiring stories, progress made, and the vision that guides our journey forward.

Get to Know: Tonya Salerno, Recruiting Manager, DeWinter Consulting, New England

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 19:30:24 GMT

Get to Know: Tonya Salerno, Recruiting Manager, DeWinter Consulting, New England

Can you tell me about your background?

After growing up on Long Island, I made my way to Boston to kickstart my academic journey at Northeastern University where I earned my Bachelor's Degree in Psychology. I delved into the world of contract and permanent staffing and have been recruiting accounting and finance professionals since 2011. I've been proud to be a New Englander since 2007, and enjoy raising our two boys, and working on our small farmstead when I'm not behind the desk.

What brought you to the recruiting?

I have always been a connector all my life, so connecting professionals and recruiting made sense. Getting to meet fascinating and ambitious individuals is one of the perks of my job. The real joy kicks in when these remarkable people come together through a successful hire. It's the magic of connecting the right talent, and that gives me passion for this field.

As for spearheading DWG's expansion into the New England market with Emily (Lorrey) Calicchio and Jacqueline Berman , it's personal for me. I've known them both for a solid decade, and let me tell you, they’re the real deal. Our combined values and dedication to seeing success, not just in candidates and clients, but in people as a whole, is something truly remarkable. Joining up to expand into the Boston market feels like helping our neighbors. I’m truly excited to contribute to its professional landscape.

DeWinter Group's Boston Consulting team offers professional on-demand finance and accounting support. Learn more about our consultant staffing solutions and get in touch with Tonya today.

2024 Bay Area Finance and Accounting Compensation Study & Industry Report

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 15:57:56 GMT

2024 Bay Area Finance and Accounting Compensation Study & Industry Report

Our comprehensive report for exclusive, data-backed market insights, compensation breakdowns and trends across the accounting and finance fields. In it, you’ll find detailed reporting on how Bay Area companies are compensating accounting and finance professionals across levels and company sizes, so you can go into 2024 empowered with the information you need.

Highlights from the 2024 report include:

Detailed compensation bands for 27 key finance and accounting roles
A closer look at the Bay Area labor market
AI's impact on hiring
Hiring trends in 2024

Get to Know: Emily Calicchio, Managing Director of DeWinter Consulting, New England

Tue, 30 Jan 2024 17:12:17 GMT

Get to Know: Emily Calicchio, Managing Director of DeWinter Consulting, New England

Meet Emily Calicchio , the driving force behind expanding DeWinter Group's world-class finance and accounting consulting services into New England! With a wealth of expertise in recruiting and staffing, Emily brings a dynamic blend of skill, passion, and innovation to our team. In this short interview, she shares her journey, insights, and aspirations, offering you a glimpse into the talent that propels DeWinter Group forward. Get to know Emily, her professional journey, and the invaluable perspectives she brings to our organization.

Can you tell me about your background?

I am from Burlington, MA, and attended Salem State University , so I have deep roots in the Boston area. I have been lucky enough to spend the last seven years traveling to New York City, working with businesses on their hiring needs and contributing to the development of my internal team as well. All of this has led me here to DeWinter Group, to grow the East Coast division.

What drew you to the recruiting industry and why do you like this field?

The recruiting world caught my attention because of its unique ability to connect with so many different people. This field is fulfilling because you get to see people through various steps in their career, and be a small part of it. Working with the hottest, or most impactful companies and becoming a valued resource for them brings me the most joy.

Why are you excited to spearhead DeWinter Group's expansion into the New England market?

I am excited to show New England the DeWinter difference. We aren’t here to sell an idea that doesn’t already exist, we are here to give clients and candidates an experience that they likely haven't had with a recruiting firm before.

What do you love most about the New England area?

The seasons, the seafood, and the people!

DeWinter Group's Boston Consulting team offers professional on-demand finance and accounting support. Learn more about our consultant staffing solutions and g et in touch with Emily today.

DeWinter 2023 Finance & Accounting Mid-Year Industry Report

Thu, 24 Aug 2023 18:12:13 GMT

DeWinter Group's 2023 Bay Area Mid-Year Industry Report

DeWinter Group's guide to what you need to know for the second half of 2023, all in one place. In our Finance & Accounting Mid-Year Industry Report, you'll find expert insights and market trends in the Bay Area and beyond.

DeWinter Group Makes Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Companies List

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 18:34:03 GMT

DeWinter Group Makes Inc. 5000 List of Fastest-Growing Companies

We're thrilled to announce that DeWinter Group has been named to Inc. 5000's list of fastest-growing private companies in the US.

This achievement is a testament to our team's incredible commitment to excellence amid dynamic market conditions , the ever-changing landscape of staffing, and the evolving needs of our clients and candidates.

As we move forward, we remain steadfast in our dedication to providing you with exceptional service, tailored solutions, and access to the best accounting and finance talent in the industry.

With over two decades of experience in diverse market conditions, our team is prepared and proactively adapting to meet your evolving needs. We believe that together, we can leverage this strong labor market to seize opportunities and drive your organization's growth and success.

DeWinter Group Named to SIA's Largest US Staffing Firms 2023

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 13:08:14 GMT

DeWinter Group Named One of the Largest US Staffing Firms in 2023 For Second Year in a Row

We’re delighted to announce that DeWinter Group has been included in Staffing Industry Analysts ' Largest US Staffing Firms 2023!

This achievement is a testament to the exceptional efforts of our team and their dedication to helping top companies and people reach their fullest potential.

Check out our LinkedIn post about this exciting news, celebrate with our team, and to stay up-to-date with the DeWinter Group.

Dr. Lerone A. Martin Black History Month Speaker Event

Thu, 02 Mar 2023 17:59:00 GMT

DeWinter Group's Black History Month Speaker Event with Dr. Lerone Martin

Our team was thrilled to welcome speaker, historian, and award-winning author Dr. Lerone A. Martin of Stanford University at our Black History Month Event on February 22, 2023.

Dr. Martin shared his unique perspective on Martin Luther King, what he taught, and his legacy. Thank you to Dr. Martin, our event co-host New Heritage Capital, LLC, and everyone who attended this unique and insightful event.

If you have an interest in one of his books we encourage you to go to your favorite local bookstore, however, if that's not possible we've also made it easy for you to purchase one (or both) of his books - Preaching on Wax and The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover .

Check out some of the insights Dr. Martin shared with our audience and learn more about the King Institute at kinginstitute.stanford.edu .

2023 Bay Area Finance and Accounting Compensation Study & Industry Report

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 16:26:49 GMT

2023 Bay Area Finance and Accounting Compensation Study & Industry Report

Highlights from the 2023 report include:

Detailed compensation reporting across 27 finance and accounting roles
A closer look at the labor market
Managing employees’ shifting priorities
Compensation trends for 2023

DeWinter Group Partners with Cloud Computing Services Client Through IPO Prep

Wed, 02 Nov 2022 21:04:10 GMT

DeWinter Group Partners with Cloud Computing Services Client Through IPO Prep

The Challenge

Our client, a major cloud computing services provider based in the Bay Area, was dealing with hyper-growth, IPO prep, and process implementation.
They needed a staffing solution and project support to support their team through this growth stage.
Their team had an incredibly fast-paced work culture so recruiting specifically for this candidate characteristic was always top of mind.

The Solution

Partnering with our client's VP of Finance and VP Controller, our Direct Hire team made 6 six placements leading up to the IPO.
Our Consulting team was brought in to fill 8 staff augmentation and special project positions during the same period.
Since the 2019 IPO, our client’s continued growth and our team’s strong relationships have resulted in 67 consulting placements, an increase in the share of the client’s contingent staffing filled by DeWinter, and annual growth in our partnership 4 years in a row.

DeWinter Group Acquires Syrinx Consulting

Thu, 13 Oct 2022 15:53:30 GMT

DeWinter Group Acquires Syrinx Consulting

We’re thrilled to welcome Syrinx Consulting to the DeWinter Group family.

Syrinx is a leading provider of high-end software development and technology staffing solutions serving clients in the greater Boston area. The company has built a strong reputation in the marketplace since its founding in 1998 through a relentless focus on sourcing high quality, hard-to-find candidates with specialized skillsets across programming languages, including .NET, Python, Java, and SQL. The company also produces a podcast called “Underserved”, which hosts leaders and visionaries from across the technology industry.

Our partnership with Syrinx will add significant scale to our fast-growing technology line of business, Maris Consulting Group , and offer an expanded skillset to our clients. “Syrinx has a great reputation and brings tremendous value to our platform,” said Shane Oberg, CEO of DeWinter.

Our combined business will be able to offer clients on the West and East Coast a full suite of staffing and recruitment services for specialized finance & accounting and technology talent demands.

Find out how DeWinter Group can help build your company into the future with the top finance, accounting, and tech staffing solutions available.

Meet DeWinter Group’s New Website

Wed, 28 Sep 2022 18:53:06 GMT

Meet Our New Website

We’re thrilled to unveil our the new DeWinter Group website. Designed to create a seamless experience for our partners and job seekers, our site will be a powerful tool in helping us deliver the highest quality of accounting and finance staffing solutions.

From the new intuitive layout to our integrated job board, our redesigned website was built with our clients and candidates experience prioritized.

Our website update is another step in DeWinter Group’s longstanding commitment to offering the highest standard of care to our partners. Explore our new site and discover how DeWinter Group can connect you to the best finance and accounting talent for your team or in finding your next great opportunity.

Case Study: Major SaaS Company Partners With DeWinter for Successful SAP Implementation

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 21:14:11 GMT

Major SaaS Company Partners With DeWinter for Successful SAP Implementation

The Challenge

Our client, a $2B publicly traded SaaS company headquartered in San Jose, was undergoing a company-wide project to implement SAP in late 2019.
At project kick-off, they’re using only internal resources as SAP Module Managers, pulling functional accounting & finance management to lead portions of the SAP implementation.
After consulting with their executive team, DeWinter Group is tasked with developing a staffing solutions backfill strategy to more efficiently complete the SAP implementation.

The Solution

DeWinter’s history and expertise in recruiting for highly specialized accounting & finance roles meant we already had a highly qualified database of candidates.
Our team optimized candidate delivery by prioritizing their open roles and targeted recruiting efforts, leading to a repeatable process that ensured multiple options for each opening. The client had a single point of contact with our team to facilitate efficient interviews and onboarding.
By early 2021 our team, in conjunction with our tech and IT consulting practice, filled all openings generated over the course of the project. Our client hired 29 roles in total to support this project and successfully completed their SAP implementation.

2022 Compensation Study & Industry Report

Fri, 09 Sep 2022 16:13:22 GMT

2022 Compensation Study & Industry Report

For Bay Area Accounting & Finance Professionals

To our valued Clients and Candidates

The last twelve months have inspired immeasurable change, organizationally and individually. In 2021 several key trends emerged that have hiring implications for the foreseeable future. These include:

Remote work
Dynamic virtual interviewing and onboarding processes, and
Continued record venture funding in the Bay Area

To be successful in 2022 and beyond is to prioritize people. Today’s employees will not stay where they feel undervalued or underpaid; salary data, in this regard, has never been more important.

Download your copy of the 2022 Bay Area Compensation Study & Industry Report at the link below.

3 Reasons You Need To Be A Better Data Storyteller in 2020

wow@shazamme.com (Default Author) — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 14:51:46 GMT

3 Reasons You Need To Be A Better Data Storyteller in 2020

Data is an invaluable tool for any modern business. Through the meticulous collection and analysis of data, professionals can visualize progress in any given domain and carefully adjust trajectories towards the goals that we are aiming at. For data to be felt at a visceral level, however - in other words, to ensure that it’s able to achieve its intended goal of driving our mission forward - it must be communicated as a story.

What does it mean, exactly, to be a data storyteller? Think of it this way: left to its own devices, raw data is just numbers on a spreadsheet, points on a graph, or percentages taking up a particular portion of a chart. It’s messy and vague unless you happen to be one of those people who are specially trained to read between the lines and find the patterns.

When it is framed as a story, on the other hand, one that can be directly related to the broader goals and interests of the audience - then data suddenly acquires the catalytic ability to drive action and accelerate momentum. Data storytelling is nothing less than the ability to establish an emotional connection between the chaos of raw data and the continued pursuit of a collective goal.

Still not convinced? Here are three more reasons why data storytelling will continue to be an invaluable skill in 2020:

It builds stronger connections between people. For thousands of years, storytelling has been one of humanity’s core strategies for fostering social relationships. Here is a modern example: a recent analysis of the 500 most listened-to TED Talks found that stories composed no less than 65% of the total content . To this day, stories (including stories extracted from data) are unmatched in their power to draw people closer together.
Information becomes significantly more memorable when communicated as a story. A recent study conducted at Stanford University found that only 5% of participants were able to remember a single statistic. In contrast, 63% of participants remembered the details of a story. That is a significant difference, and it has enormous (and obvious) ramifications for how we should be conveying information to our colleagues and our teams.
Stories make it easier for people to make decisions quickly. Recent neuroscientific research has demonstrated , pretty incontrovertibly, that people tend to make decisions based on emotion more than on pure logic. We like to think of ourselves as purely rational creatures, but the science shows that we’re not nearly as free from the sway of emotion as we typically believe ourselves to be. If data is representative of the purely logical and analytical part of our brains, then stories are the vehicles of emotion. The quickest way to drive decision-making and ensure forward progress, therefore, is to employ the emotionally-resonating power of stories.

Startup Corner: 3 Ways to Design Developers’ Roles to Maximize ROI on New Hires

Wed, 10 Jun 2020 13:00:00 GMT

Managing a tech startup company can feel like trying to run in ten directions at once. With the full weight of the company’s success on their shoulders, startup owners quickly begin to feel overwhelmed by the number of technical problems that they feel personally responsible for. In addition to being able to competently lead, multitask, and envision a future for their company, the ability to effectively delegate tasks is critical to the success of any tech startup. Furthermore, understanding best practices for managing a development team can give the decision-maker the peace of mind to approach one problem at a time.

How Blockchain Could Radically Change Accounting Jobs Forever

Wed, 27 May 2020 13:00:00 GMT

Ledger systems are changing every day. With the juggernaut Blockchain looming, this post will explore some of the basics of the Blockchain platform and how it will mold accounting and finance in the near future.

How To Earn a Blackbelt in the Fine Art of Professionalism

Wed, 13 May 2020 13:41:00 GMT

Most people will agree that professionalism is, in many respects, the backbone of any successful career. And yet, even though it is a term that is tossed around a lot in the workplace, many people only have a vague understanding of what professionalism actually entails. This is understandable, because professionalism is, in truth, not a straightforward subject or by any means a simple art to master. Professionalism is an umbrella term that encapsulates a broad array of outlooks, attitudes, and behaviors. With that in mind, professionalism should be thought of less as something that has been accomplished merely as a result of showing up to work on time or wearing the right attire and more as a mode of being in the workplace that should be continually honed, adjusted, and practiced.

The DeWinter Group Announces Partnership with New Heritage Capital

Mon, 04 May 2020 18:33:00 GMT

May 5, 2020 (San Jose, CA) - The DeWinter Group (“DWG”), a Northern California-based recruitment firm, is pleased to announce a private equity partnership with New Heritage Capital (“Heritage”), a Boston-based private equity firm. Leveraging Heritage’s unique Private IPO Ⓡ solution, DWG’s partnership team will retain operating control while increasing the company’s existing liquidity and financial flexibility to accelerate growth.

How To Flex Your Professional ‘Muscles’ To Reach Your Goals in 2020

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 12:57:00 GMT

The advent of each new year brings new challenges - as well as new opportunities. As technology and workplace best practices continue to evolve rapidly, there is an ever-increasing demand for modern professionals to be able to adapt quickly by learning and honing new skills. Take coding, for example. In 2010, this was still a relatively obscure skill that was only required within a small niche of the tech industry. In 2020, coding has become an essential skill and resume booster for professionals working within almost any major industry.

A DeWinter Group Toy Story

Mon, 23 Dec 2019 14:21:00 GMT

the DeWinter Group

Maris Consulting Group

Salvation Army

8 Reasons to Use an Agency Recruiter for Hiring

Wed, 13 Nov 2019 16:31:00 GMT

Original article posted on Meghan Hanson's LinkedIn . Please go give her a LIKE and FOLLOW after reading this article!

The DeWinter Group Participates in the 2019 San Jose Walk to End Alzheimer’s

Wed, 23 Oct 2019 17:30:00 GMT

Did you know that Alzheimer’s is now the most costly disease in the United States and that no Alzheimer’s victim has ever recovered from the disease – yet? These are some of the insights into this devastating disease that DeWinter Group employees learned by participating in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s in San Jose this month, hosted annually by the Alzheimer’s Association . It was a truly remarkable event. We joined thousands of other volunteers on a beautiful morning walk through downtown San Jose, united in a mission to end Alzheimer’s.