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Elon Musk’s Surprise Pick for Tesla CFO Is a Relative Unknown

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Re: Elon Musk’s Surprise Pick for Tesla CFO Is a Relative Unknown

#31

Post by Pharmakon »

relaunched wrote: post #24

This is a huge red flag, in my opinion. A CFO is legally responsible for compliance to exchange regulations, SEC, etc. Reporting is based on judgement, regarding the interpretation of very complex rules. I would have liked to see someone with external experience that has a frame of reference as to how other companies do things, in a high-pressure, regulated environment; a la Ruth Porat. Musk is a big personality, wit…

I’m starting to get worried myself. Seeing finance people who would have to take responsibility for things like signing the financials over to audit leaving is not unlike seeing rats dive off the deck of a ship. Maybe they’re just tired of the ride, but maybe they’re aware of something the crew isn’t. Either way, ignoring that sign and making excuses because of love or Tesla is a bad move. A lot of major financial implosions in the past gave off plenty of warning signs that many people ignored. Until it all finally comes out, the naysayers expressing concern about HugePopularEndeavor X are usually shouted down as pessimists or saboteurs.

Then things fall apart and suddenly everyone wants to know how it wasn’t seen coming. A stream of people unwilling to sign on the dotted line for the audit is worrying. Replacing them with a totally inexperienced person for a $50b market cap company smells like burning sails and timbers to me.

Re: Elon Musk’s Surprise Pick for Tesla CFO Is a Relative Unknown

#32

Post by hartator »

gamblor956 wrote: post #30
firstplacelast wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think they have difficulty retaining senior talent because they are underpaying or that Tesla is a shit-show to work for? Either way, it's extremely difficult for younger people to be in CxO positions unless they start a company. I'm extremely doubtful that most can't do the job, it's just that they can't get hired. I'm sure this person will do just as good of a job as any 50+ yo with an extra decade or two of…

Finance isn't like programming. Programming is skill-based, so it's easy to become good at a quickly. Finance is knowledge-based, and a lot of that knowledge can only be learned by actual on-the-job experience. So, years of experience in a knowledge-based field is simply a shortcut/rubric for measuring a person's knowledge of their craft. Typically, people in knowledge-based fields who think that they're as good at t…

What the difference between skills and knowlegde in performing these two very intelectual jobs?

Re: Elon Musk’s Surprise Pick for Tesla CFO Is a Relative Unknown

#34

Post by ameister14 »

gamblor956 wrote: post #22
danhak wrote: post #3

He seems pretty well-known within the company. First joined Tesla 9 years ago, Wharton undergrad, Harvard MBA. He’s obviously qualified, what’s with all the ageist comments? 34 years old is a “kid” now? On HN of all places? Who cares if he’s a “relative unknown” according to WSJ. Is notoriety an important qualification for CFO?

For a CFO position of a publicly traded company, 34 years old isn't a kid--it's practically a toddler. But the bigger issue is that he simply doesn't have the experience that would be expected of a CFO of a publicly traded company, especially one that employs so many non-standard accounting metrics.

I mean, the CFO of GM is 39, Keith Cozza became CFO of Icahn at 27, David Knopf became CFO of Kraft Heinz at 29, Andrew Power of Digital Realty at 27

Re: Elon Musk’s Surprise Pick for Tesla CFO Is a Relative Unknown

#35

Post by airstrike »

danhak wrote: post #3

He seems pretty well-known within the company. First joined Tesla 9 years ago, Wharton undergrad, Harvard MBA. He’s obviously qualified, what’s with all the ageist comments? 34 years old is a “kid” now? On HN of all places? Who cares if he’s a “relative unknown” according to WSJ. Is notoriety an important qualification for CFO?

> Who cares if he’s a “relative unknown” according to WSJ. Is notoriety an important qualification for CFO?

No, but experience is. Apple's CFO is 55 years old. That's about the age you'd expect the CFO of a huge public company to be.

Re: Elon Musk’s Surprise Pick for Tesla CFO Is a Relative Unknown

#36

Post by airstrike »

byron_fast wrote: post #33

Credentials like Wharton and Harvard mean something to the HN crowd? I'm sure this guy is fine, but Tesla - Musk - needs someone who will eat the shit on their plate.

A bazillion kids have Wharton and Harvard credentials, and let's just say not all of them are cut out for the CFO role.

Re: Elon Musk’s Surprise Pick for Tesla CFO Is a Relative Unknown

#37

Post by airstrike »

ameister14 wrote: post #34
gamblor956 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a CFO position of a publicly traded company, 34 years old isn't a kid--it's practically a toddler. But the bigger issue is that he simply doesn't have the experience that would be expected of a CFO of a publicly traded company, especially one that employs so many non-standard accounting metrics.

I mean, the CFO of GM is 39, Keith Cozza became CFO of Icahn at 27, David Knopf became CFO of Kraft Heinz at 29, Andrew Power of Digital Realty at 27

Those are some cherry-picked examples... definitely not the norm and half of those aren't even comparable companies

Re: Elon Musk’s Surprise Pick for Tesla CFO Is a Relative Unknown

#38

Post by ameister14 »

airstrike wrote: post #37
ameister14 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, the CFO of GM is 39, Keith Cozza became CFO of Icahn at 27, David Knopf became CFO of Kraft Heinz at 29, Andrew Power of Digital Realty at 27

Those are some cherry-picked examples... definitely not the norm and half of those aren't even comparable companies

Yep, you're right - average age of a S&P 500 CFO in 2012 was 42, seems to have gone up a bit since.

Just saying, not a toddler.

Re: Elon Musk’s Surprise Pick for Tesla CFO Is a Relative Unknown

#39

Post by fatlasp »

Pharmakon wrote: post #31
relaunched wrote: post #24

This is a huge red flag, in my opinion. A CFO is legally responsible for compliance to exchange regulations, SEC, etc. Reporting is based on judgement, regarding the interpretation of very complex rules. I would have liked to see someone with external experience that has a frame of reference as to how other companies do things, in a high-pressure, regulated environment; a la Ruth Porat. Musk is a big personality, wit…

I’m starting to get worried myself. Seeing finance people who would have to take responsibility for things like signing the financials over to audit leaving is not unlike seeing rats dive off the deck of a ship. Maybe they’re just tired of the ride, but maybe they’re aware of something the crew isn’t. Either way, ignoring that sign and making excuses because of love or Tesla is a bad move. A lot of major financial im…

In grad school I had a corporate finance professor that said when you see the CFO leaving it's almost always a bad sign. Finance guys don't leave when everything looks like it's going to be smooth sailing for years to come

Re: Elon Musk’s Surprise Pick for Tesla CFO Is a Relative Unknown

#40

Post by rchaud »

byron_fast wrote: post #33

Credentials like Wharton and Harvard mean something to the HN crowd? I'm sure this guy is fine, but Tesla - Musk - needs someone who will eat the shit on their plate.

On HN, Reddit and a number of other STEM-leaning forums, MBAs are only good if they can be used to support a position Musk takes on something.
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