CFO Studio Magazine with Robert Falzon, CFO, Prudential

Q2 2017 WWW.CFOSTUDIO.COM 9 MULTIDIMENSIONAL MAN I n addition to his job as executive vice president for Prudential Financial, Inc., and running the Finance function, Rob Falzon is active in numerous volunteer positions. He is the executive sponsor of Prudential’s Black Leadership Forum (BLF), an employee resource group that is over 1,000 strong and is a cross-business network that “offers employees opportunities to demonstrate and strengthen their leadership ability, advance Prudential’s business strategy, and improve the communities in which we work and live,” he says. Falzon chairs the New Jersey State advisory board for the Salvation Army as well as the advisory board of the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club of Newark Ironbound. He serves on the advisory board for Rutgers Business School and the board of overseers for Rutgers University, and serves on a local community board for the YMCA. In addition to his own rigorous fitness routine, Rob also volunteers time to help coach Special Olympics athletes in their weekly practices. Empty nesters married for over 30 years, Rob and his wife, Nancye, moved to Morristown five years ago, buying a 100-year-old home in a historic district. Fixing it up provides an “interesting and satisfying distraction,” says Falzon. Rutgers as an undergrad, winning Phi Beta Kappa membership while earning a B.A. in Economics. (He also has an MBA in Finance and Accounting from Columbia University.) In helping people to progress in their careers, Falzon encourages them to recognize that they need a mix of skills. Careers spent in a silo aren’t going to develop that breadth of skills, he points out. Young people “ought to be looking at lots of lateral movement” as they build those proficiencies, “as opposed to thinking that every change is going to be a change where they’re moving up the corporate ladder,” he says. Falzon describes the Prudential as being “maniacally focused on talent.” Finance has a requirement that all employees get 48 hours of formal training per year. Leadership programs for new college graduates, newMBA graduates, and seasoned executives are available, as well as specialized training. “We’re about a culture focused on our talent, diversity, and inclusion and high levels of collaboration,” he says. Creating a Global Community On Falzon’s team of approximately 2,000, roughly one third work outside the United States. He travels regularly to Japan, where Prudential’s single-largest international office is found, and is taking steps since becoming CFO to create a more connected global Finance community. This begins with defining elements that are common to finance, “so no matter where in the world they sit, they know what it means to be part of the global Finance community.” Understanding, for example, that everyone on the team deals with the month-end close develops cohesion, a sense of mission, and a common experience, says Falzon. In meetings to discover common ground, something else becomes clear: “Whether you’re in the U.S. or Tokyo or Seoul, you know we’re making investments in your professional development and that you have opportunities to progress as a professional, both in terms of the types of experiences you’ll have and career opportunities,” he says. And there’s another layer to this. With a sense of community and common culture, you get a stronger team and financial processes, Falzon notes. “If you have a sense of belonging to the global Finance community, you have a shared construct in terms of what’s important — if that’s common, you’re going to find that individuals will rally around our objectives, conduct themselves ethically, and treat each other in such a way that’s consistent with our company values.” Falzon, the Jersey boy who discovered his own pathway, is not a lone wolf. Rather, he is a big believer in community. In 2016, Falzon launched “Finance Forward,” the vision for creating the Finance organization of the future. And to make this vision tangible, going into 2017 and beyond, he’s kicked off a virtual global road trip to even further engage employees everywhere. In addition, he hosts meetings with 60 top leaders, U.S.-based town halls where people live-stream from satellite locations and the replays are made available to global offices. Falzon also takes time to visit offices from Shelton, CT, to Seoul in person. He says these efforts to enhance connection across the globe are intended to enhance business outcomes and build stronger talent by focusing on collaboration, sharing of best practices, and professional development. It’s one of the most important and enjoyable things he undertakes each day. C “If you have a sense of belonging to the global Finance community, you have a shared construct in terms of what’s important.”