The Only Way is Up - Career Q&A with Magdalena Baugh - UK CFO
May 18th, 2022
The Only Way Is Up with Magdalena Baugh– UK CFO at Innovation Group Limited.
We are lucky enough to hear about Magdalena’s brilliant career to date, her thoughts on what it takes to progress within Finance and she shares her own business challenges over the past 18 months.
Magdalena has spent most of her career in the Banking and Insurance industry, having worked in various Finance and Commercial roles at Barclays and LV= and is currently the UK CFO at Innovation Group in Hampshire.
Q1) Clare “In terms of your current role – what is your remit”?
A1) I look after several functions supporting our revenue generating businesses. That includes Finance, Risk, Facilities, Compliance, Legal and HR. And of course, there is always a stack of exciting business projects and growth opportunities that I get involved in, that makes my job varied.
Q2) Clare “What challenges has your business had to face in the past 2 years?
A2) Uncertainty (mainly driven by COVID) would be the one challenge that our business, as well as many other businesses, had to face. However, since then, the world hasn’t really stood still either: buoyant recruitment market, supply chain challenges, high inflation, Brexit impacts – all created a perfect storm of unpredictability and further uncertainty.
Q3) Clare “What path did you take to become an Accountant?
A3) I graduated with a Business and Finance degree and spent two years in the business (as an accountant), before deciding to qualify in ACCA. I studied alongside working for Barclays in Poole, Dorset.
Q4) Clare “What advice would you give someone embarking on a career in finance?
A4) Be positive and always put your hand up to take on new challenges and to learn new skills.
Q5) Clare “What skill set do you think makes a successful CFO?
A5) Two things...
Finding ways to enable, and not to block, the ambition of the business. And secondly, having good commercial intuition, when all facts are quite possibly not available, to make the right business decision. It’s also very helpful, if you can instil those values across your wider teams.
Q6) Clare “As CFO, what do you enjoy most in your job?”
A6) I absolutely love the variety of each day, personally it keeps me engaged and keeps me on my toes. I love being close to ‘the heart’ of the business and the important decisions. And I love leading and developing my teams.
Q7) Clare “When recruiting staff what is more important attitude, qualifications or experience?”
A7) Each has its place, but to me the one that will always wins is attitude. Some of the best hires I’ve made were based on the person’s attitude and my ‘gut feeling’.
Q8) Clare “What are your thoughts on hybrid working?
A8) I am a big fan of hybrid working. I believe the acceleration in the general acceptance (that people can do as good job from their home office) following COVID is one of the best by-products of the pandemic. However…what is required is a level of mutual and mature trust between the manager and the employee, so we all need to work hard on sustaining that trust, to benefit from the great flexibility we get in return.
Finally, on a lighter note!
Q8) Clare “Is there anything you are not very good at?”
A8) Absolutely…I am terrible at remembering names and even worse at doing media interviews…there is something about being in front of the camera that makes me unusually nervous. My work colleagues can vouch for that.
Q9) Clare “Who would you most like to be stuck in a lift with?”
A9) No doubt about it…Lewis Hamilton!
Q10) Clare “How do you relax?”
A10) Cooking dinner or going for an evening walk helps me switch off and take my mind off the pressures of the day.
Thank you Magdalena for sharing your thoughts with us. It's been fantastic catching up with you again after all those years!!
June 2022