Diversity & InclusionThe NeuGroup Insights Interview
April 27, 2023

Finding Career Success: Embrace Change, Understand Yourself

PwC principal Kristen Michaud discusses her career path from biology to finance, and what she’s learned along the way.In the latest episode of NeuGroup’s Strategic Finance Lab podcast, Kristen Michaud, a principal in PwC’s Finance Transformation group, joins NeuGroup’s Julie Zawacki-Lucci to discuss what they’ve learned from decades in finance—and advice they wish they’d received earlier in their journeys. In the podcast, which you can listen to now on Apple and Spotify, Ms. Michaud discusses her career path, beginning with a biology degree and possible plans for medical…
D&ISenior ExecutiveThe NeuGroup Insights Interview
March 30, 2023

She Told the CFO She Wanted To Be Treasurer One Day. Now She Is.

Advice on advocating for yourself from Sandra Ramos-Alves, treasurer of Bristol Myers Squibb.Sandra Ramos-Alves was an assistant treasurer at Celgene when Bristol Myers Squibb bought it in 2019. By June of 2021, she was acting treasurer of BMS. And in October of that year she was named senior vice president and treasurer of the pharmaceutical giant that had acquired the company where she had worked for more than 14 years. In a Strategic Finance Lab podcast episode you can hear by…
Diversity & InclusionThe NeuGroup Insights Interview
March 16, 2023

Nurturing a Finance Career and a Family: One Woman’s Journey

How Emily Backstrom of General Mills navigates career and family, and how the company supports women in finance.In this Strategic Finance Lab podcast marking Women’s History Month, Emily Backstrom, vice president for corporate finance at General Mills, shares with NeuGroup’s Nilly Essaides how she has successfully managed a 21-year career at the company, rising to her current position overseeing enterprise FP&A among other responsibilities. Ms. Backstrom also discusses the value of deciding to lean into your career at certain times and,…
Diversity & InclusionFP&AThe NeuGroup Insights Interview
March 2, 2023

A Finance Leader Balances Work, Family and Helping Other Women

In two video clips, General Mills’ Emily Backstrom shares her experience juggling work and family and describes General Mills’ Women Across Finance program. March is Women’s History Month and NeuGroup is recognizing the achievements, challenges and experiences of successful women in finance. Below you’ll find two video clips with insights from Emily Backstrom, vice president for corporate finance at General Mills. She has worked at the company for more than two decades; today, she oversees enterprise FP&A, financial capabilities and systems,…
Capital MarketsCash InvestmentsDiversity & InclusionThe NeuGroup Insights Interview
February 23, 2023

Empowering Diversity in Finance: Views From Two Women Bank Execs

Loop Capital’s Sidney Dillard and Sobani Warner of Siebert Williams Shank discuss their careers, working at Black-owned firms, the role of D&I coordinators and more. Many multinational corporations in recent years have increased their commitment to hiring banks, brokerage firms and asset managers that are owned by members of minority groups—so-called diverse-owned firms. NeuGroup is committed to learning and sharing more about these firms, the people who run them and the value they bring to corporates in capital markets transactions…
Diversity & InclusionThe NeuGroup Insights Interview
February 16, 2023

Treasury’s DEI Opportunity: Partnering with Diverse-Owned Firms

Insights from Loop Capital’s Sidney Dillard and Siebert Williams Shank’s Sobani Warner. NeuGroup’s Strategic Finance Lab Podcast—available on Apple and Spotify—will bring you an interview next week about the progress made by diverse-owned banks, brokers and asset managers. It features Sidney Dillard, partner and head of corporate investment banking at Loop Capital, and Sobani Warner, co-head of corporate finance at Siebert Williams Shank (SWS). The two firms are among the top Black-owned financial institutions in America. Hit the play button below to watch a video…
TechnologyThe NeuGroup Insights Interview
February 9, 2023

Funding Growth-Tech During a Downturn: A Tech Banker’s Insights

Bank of the West’s Andreas Bubenzer-Paim on markets, ChatGPT and bankers helping tech firms weather recessions. The collapse of the IPO market in 2022 is just one factor weighing on growth-tech firms that need financing as they prepare for a possible economic downturn while watching many mega-cap tech companies eliminate jobs. That’s the backdrop for this timely Strategic Finance Lab podcast conversation with Andreas Bubenzer-Paim, managing director and head of technology banking at Bank of the West. You can listen to it…
Capital MarketsTechnologyThe NeuGroup Insights Interview
February 2, 2023

Tech in the Spotlight: The Outlook for Financing Growth in 2023

Capital markets insights from Bank of the West Head of Technology Banking Andreas Bubenzer-Paim. If you only read the headlines, you might think that every technology company in the world is cutting jobs. But Andreas Bubenzer-Paim, Managing Director and Head of Technology Banking at Bank of the West, knows that layoffs by giants like Alphabet, Microsoft, IBM and other mega-caps are only part of a tech sector landscape which includes thousands of smaller, high-growth tech firms—many still private—that are actively hiring, not…
FP&ATechnologyThe NeuGroup Insights Interview
January 26, 2023

ChatGPT, AI and the Future of Finance: An FP&A Leader’s Vision

Baxter International FP&A head Aaron Bloomer shares insights on how FP&A can lead finance into the digital future. The buzz surrounding the OpenAI tool ChatGPT has highlighted the power of artificial intelligence and the potential for AI to bring the future of finance forward—in ways that will further disrupt and transform finance organizations. That’s the jumping-off point for a lively Strategic Finance Lab podcast conversation between NeuGroup’s Justin Jones and Baxter International vice president of FP&A Aaron Bloomer about AI, advanced analytics and the leading role finance…
The NeuGroup Insights InterviewTreasury Management
December 21, 2022

Starting Treasury from Scratch: One Expert’s Not Secret Recipe

NVA treasurer Chris Ingoldsby shares insights grounded in his creation of the treasury function at two companies. Building a complete treasury team is a marathon, not a sprint. However, there’s real value in a new treasurer scoring some quick wins soon after joining a company. That’s according to Chris Ingoldsby, an ultramarathoner who created the treasury function at NVA, and previously built it from the ground up at Riverbed Technology. You’ll hear more insights from Mr. Ingoldsby about his approach to…