Anthony C. Mavunga

You may find it odd that a CFO is sharing this piece, but I think this is a great article from Chip Wilson, distributed in the Wall Street Journal this week on how Lululemon lost its soul. The issue with Lululemon is not that they had (or didn't have) smart financial people. This is a crucial part of any successful business. The classic error occurred when the main conversation was on how to maximize profit(s) in the short term, rather than how to create amazing products for amazing guests with amazing people first and then financial management being used to support this dream first mentality. When you lose sight of the north star of amazing products, with amazing people, for amazing guests, you begin to take short cuts that lead to long term decline. This does not mean unfettered growth with no financial metrics in place, but a relentless focus on the important things first in conversations (innovation, culture, product and customer experience) followed then by conversations on how to make this profitable and sustainable over time (not necessarily in one or two quarters). These two functions can work beautifully together but finance must be second and support the creation of true business value, not just short term, unsustainable profit(s). I have found that the companies that succeed over many years and decades are ones that adopt a founder led/visionary mentality first, innovate constantly and then are supported by absolute excellence in business operations and finance. The reverse can work for a time and is celebrated by Wall Street in the short term but it does not create long term business value. When I think about the CFO I strive to be, it’s not just about bringing absolute excellence in financial and operational management.  It’s about aiding the dreams of visionaries and founders to create amazing products and services for amazing guests and to develop/support amazing team members. It will be interesting to see how Lululemon reacts to this article.

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Launched same year as Walmart, Kmart should be a retail titan Instead, by 2002, fragmented systems drove it to bankruptcy 📉 In our latest Capital & Clarity newsletter (link in comments), we dive into the real issues behind Kmart's collapse: Silos across merchandising, supply chain, and finance. Numbers existed, but no one connected them. The result was bloated inventory, frozen cash, and vendors walking away. The lessons are clear: 1️⃣ Tech + Finance = Leverage Walmart invested in IT to unify data in the 70s. Kmart didn’t. Without integrated systems, finance can’t be the arbiter of trade-offs. 2️⃣ Promotions Without Modeling = Death Spiral Discounting looks like growth until finance maps the real cash cycle. Without that lens, promotions erode margin and liquidity simultaneously. 3️⃣ Culture of Instinct > Analytics At Kmart, executives ignored data that challenged instinct. Today, founders must force finance into the strategy room, not let it sit in the back as ��reporting.” -- Kmart had capital, brand recognition, and scale. It still fell because finance wasn’t the unifying framework. #cpg #retail #dtc #kmart #walmart #privateequity #restructuring #cashflow #financialmodeling #cfo

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In Finance, we often talk about assets on the balance sheet. But the most critical asset, Human Capital, doesn't sit in a column. It drives every other number. For Episode 3 of #WhatADelivery, I sat down with our CHRO, Seema Nair, to discuss something crucial for any high-growth organization: How do you build a culture that scales? We didn't just talk about policies. We discussed: Moving beyond 'HR as a support function' to HR as a strategic business enabler. The concept of the '4 Es of Learning' (Education, Experience, Exposure, Ecosystem) is used to build future-ready skills. We are using technology not to replace people, but to automate rote work and unleash higher-level productivity. If you are interested in how Flipkart is building a sustainable, high-performance organization from the inside out, this is a must-listen. Catch the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/gFEEkh7w  Kalyan Krishnamurthy | Rajneesh Kumar | Hemant Badri | Jane Duke | Balaji Thiagarajan | Keshav Dhakad | Aakriti Chandra | Sarah Gideon | Aditi Chandak | Sophia Stephen #Flipkart #Leadership #HumanCapital #FutureOfWork #Podcast

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No one grows by leading in an echo chamber. Mentorship is valuable, but it only gives you one lens. A leader operating across complex systems needs multiple points of view: people who see around corners you can’t, challenge assumptions you’ve grown too comfortable with, and remind you that scale without perspective is just noise. I’ve learned that having a personal board of advisors is less about status and more about calibration. In a business where speed and precision both matter, those voices help you slow down the right things and accelerate the rest. Leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about surrounding yourself with people who make the questions sharper.

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CASH IS NOT THE KING ANYMORE 👑❌ Surprised? Most boards are. When I assessed competitive benchmarking across key industry players, I watched two companies with similar revenues take radically different paths. Company A: $500M cash reserve. Celebrated their "fortress balance sheet." Company B: $80M cash, but deployed capital into AI-driven inventory optimization. One year later? Company A is restructuring, struggling with obsolete inventory, and watching market share erode. Company B grew revenue by 34%, improved margins by 8%, and opened 12 new business units. The harsh truth: Cash is no longer king. Strategic capital velocity is. In 2025, cash sitting idle is a depreciating asset. Winners ask better questions: ✅ How fast can we convert cash into competitive advantage? ✅ What's our return on deployed capital vs. the opportunity cost of waiting? ✅ Are we protecting cash or protecting mediocrity? Companies with $2B in cash (trapped somewhere) get disrupted by competitors who spent $200M strategically on: ✓ Technology that reads consumer behavior in real-time ✓ Supply chains that respond in days, not quarters ✓ Talent that innovates faster than the market shifts The new CFO equation: Old thinking: Revenue - Costs = Profit → Build Cash New reality: Strategic Deployment Speed × Capital Efficiency = Sustainable Value Three questions every CFO should ask today: 💸 What is our "cash drag" costing us? Every dollar in excess reserves is a dollar NOT creating competitive moats. 💸 Do we have a deployment roadmap or a hoarding mindset? There's a difference between prudent reserves and fear-based inaction. 💸 Are we measuring what matters? ROIC, cash conversion cycles, and strategic reinvestment rates tell you more than your closing cash balance. The Reality? The companies deploying strategically today are building businesses that generate cash effortlessly tomorrow. 💰 Cash isn't king. Intelligent capital deployment is. What's your take? In your organization, is cash working for you—or just sitting there? Are we too obsessed with cash reserves in uncertain times, or is liquidity still the ultimate safety net? #CFO #Finance #Strategy #Leadership #CashFlow #BusinessStrategy

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A simple test to see if your Finance team is actually strategic. Here is a brutal thought experiment: If your Finance team disappeared for 30 days… Would leadership actually notice before the month-end close? I’m not talking about missing reports. I’m not talking about late invoices. I’m not talking about compliance. I’m talking about decisions. Would any strategic move change? Would a pivot be delayed? Would the CEO feel blind or just mildly annoyed? If the honest answer is "not really," your Finance team isn’t strategic. It’s transactional. Transactional Finance keeps the lights on. Strategic Finance decides where to build the next house. The difference isn’t your ERP, AI tools, or Excel skills. It’s the courage to engage before certainty exists. Strategic Finance doesn't wait for the close to speak. They speak while the deal is still messy. 💬 If your Finance Lead was gone tomorrow, which decision would stall first? ------------------------------------------------ I post every weekday to help Finance leaders move from "scorekeepers" to "game-changers." Follow for more. #FPandA #Finance #Strategy

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Some career lessons are learned behind closed doors. Early in my career, I was lucky. Not because of titles, but because of access. Leaders trusted me with exposure to senior finance leadership long before I had the experience to ask for it. At Dell, my manager brought me into closed door conversations with Mark Hawkins, then Sr. VP of Finance and later went on to become the CFO of Salesforce. I listened and I learned how senior leaders think. At Texas Instruments, I met CFO Kevin March and his leadership team in private sessions and over dinner. That’s where I learned how leaders think about the future and align behind the CEO’s vision. Not all learning was comfortable. I worked for a CFO who was tough as nails. He pushed hard. His words stayed with me: “You may not like this now, but you’ll thank me when you reach senior leadership.” All of this happened early, five to ten years into my career. Those moments prepared me for senior leadership long before I reached it. Mentors mattered. One early mentor from R&D told me, “If you want to be a CFO, start thinking like one.” When I became a CFO for the first time, another mentor said, “Leadership is lonely. Get used to it.” That honesty helped more than any framework. Even today, I reach out to mentors for perspective and course correction. Careers don’t grow on hard work alone. They grow through early exposure, honest guidance, and people who open doors early.

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Here’s the CFO lie that kills teams: “Forecasting is about predicting the future.” Nope. Forecasting is about preparing for when the future goes off-script. When I took over finance, I gave my team a new mantra: “We are not historians. We are architects.” That small shift changed everything. Historians: report what happened. Architects: design what happens next. We even used a Finance Value Pyramid concept: Bottom layer: flawless accounting (foundation). Top layer: strategic finance (the brain). Once the team saw the vision, every number became a decision trigger. No vanity metrics. No passive forecasts. Only clarity and action. Finance was no longer the department of “what happened.” It became the department of “what’s next.” 💬 What mantra would you give your finance team to reshape their mindset? #StrategicCFO #CFO #FPandA

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Finance has to do more than protect margins. It has to protect the brand. Throughout my career, I have learned that CFOs are not just managing costs. We are building value through data, discipline, and deep brand understanding. Whether it was at Godiva, Wella, or Burberry, my focus has always been the same: align capital with brand equity, make decisions through the lens of the consumer, and never lose sight of what makes the brand meaningful. In my most recent interview, I got to share more on how financial strategy can drive innovation, agility, and long-term brand strength. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eGfRiy44

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A Signal to the Market When the largest company in history Walmart makes a transition between exchanges, the market needs to pay attention. Walmart’s decision to move its shares to the Nasdaq from the NYSE is more than just a procedural shift; it's a powerful endorsement of where the future of commerce and technology intersect. According our CEO Doug McMillon, the ability to be associated with the Nasdaq brand and participate in the Nasdaq 100 rose to the top of the decision factors. This move is a deliberate strategy to reinforce the technological transformation the company has undergone and to ensure "everybody knows" how much Walmart has changed. The message to the market is clear: Technology is no longer a supporting function; it is the core engine of future growth. The next transformation is being driven by AI, representing a shift so significant that it impacts leadership succession. This impending change is already manifesting in the customer experience, leading to the creation of an AI-native shopping experience that replaces older apps and websites. What does this future look like? It means reducing shopping friction and inventing entirely new ways to interact with retail. We are moving toward systems that are highly personalized, using multimedia presentations (potentially looking like TikTok for browsing) or being extremely efficient for tasks like replenishment. Furthermore, significant investment in physical automation, paired with data and increasingly intelligent software, will revolutionize inventory management and the back-end operation. For every executive watching this massive relocation: This is a loud confirmation that the path to sustained growth requires a commitment to fundamental change, specifically around intelligent technology. The market is rewarding companies that lead this technological evolution, solidifying the Nasdaq as the home for forward-looking innovation. https://lnkd.in/gi7Y4uB9

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My thoughts on the hiring market in Accounting and Finance within the manufacturing space. This is not an all encompassing market post. I am aware that unemployment is higher than it has been in years and there are a lot of talented people looking for work right now. This has been the most interesting market I have seen in my almost 7 years of recruiting. It is neither client driven (less jobs, more candidates) or candidate driven ( more jobs, less candidates) With the tariff situation unfolding this year a lot of manufacturers were impacted one way or another. A LOT of my clients went into hiring freezes, which impacted the first half of the year greatly. The second half of the year, hiring picked up. But candidates have started taking the reigns. Anytime there is uncertainty in the market, candidates become more hesitant to make a move. It better be a damn good one. We are in that middle ground right now where clients are still in control, but candidates are taking the control back - it makes for interesting conversations, more declined offers and more negotiating/competition to attract top talent. With that being said - scary trends that make this feel like spooky season instead of the holiday season! - A scary amount of accountants cannot perform basic excel functions. (We have had multiple clients have to let people go recently due to this) - Microsoft TEAMS is still a bear for people to figure out to use on an interview - People are starting to use AI on video interviews!!!!! This is really scary and hiring managers notice big time. 2026 has the beginning signs of being a very strong market, but I am not an economist, I am just a guy. Happy Holidays everyone! Appreciate the partnerships we have made along the way this year and continuing to build on them moving forward!

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