In this podcast, Simon is joined by Johnny Bray, the CFO at Vistair Systems based in Bristol in England. Vistair is an ambitious tech business growing fast. Johnny started there over six years ago as their commercial finance, in commercial finance, then promoted to head of finance.
Vistair is an ambitious tech business that is growing fast. Johnny started at Vistair as commercial finance manager, then became head of finance and is now the CFO. He has a diverse skill set and experience that extends beyond the traditional finance focus. He’s responsible for HR, legal and even facilities.
The early parts of his career was spent at Grant Thornton as an audit manager, gaining valuable experience auditing a diverse set of businesses. Interesting fact, in 2016, Johnny was recognized as one of Accountancy Age's young professionals, being named among the top 35 under 35. He also serves as the director of a community land trust, contributing to development of affordable houses in his area, South Devon in the UK.
He shares some fabulous stories in this episode of his life and experience in finance, starting out in audit and loving it. I didn't think it was possible to love a role in audit, but there you go, that's just me. He talks about what the role of CFO is like. He debunks the myths and shares why he loves the role. He encourages finance people to think more widely, not just focus on the finance, the numbers, but really get into the head of your stakeholders, deeply understand them, whether they're internal or external.
We had a really good chat about tech and his belief that tech is a great investment in actually investing in your people. You free them up so they're more productive and that allows them to work on more strategic activities, which is much better value for the business. So here it is, stay tuned to gain insights into the multifaceted career of a CFO. I hope you enjoy.
Useful Links
Host: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siritchie/
Sponsor: https://www.blox.so/
Sponsor Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blox-plan
Guest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnny-bray-b9296b36/
Guests company: https://www.vistair.com/