
Elon Musk’s Surprise Pick for Tesla CFO Is a Relative Unknown - theBashShell
https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musks-surprise-pick-for-tesla-cfo-is-a-relative-unknown-11548935508
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danhak
He seems pretty well-known within the company.

First joined Tesla 9 years ago, Wharton undergrad, Harvard MBA.

He’s obviously qualified, what’s with all the ageist comments? 34 years old is
a “kid” now? On HN of all places?

Who cares if he’s a “relative unknown” according to WSJ. Is notoriety an
important qualification for CFO?

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berberous
When the last CFO left in under 2 years, and many other senior execs seem to
be fleeing, the worrisome implication is that TSLA has trouble attracting and
retaining senior talent given the work pressure and thin financial margin, so
they are instead turning to a relatively green home-bred 34 yo.

At the end of the day, I'm not personally worried about this and think this
guy will likely do just fine, but this is sufficiently unusual that I don't
think the WSJ article is odd.

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firstplacelast
Do you think they have difficulty retaining senior talent because they are
underpaying or that Tesla is a shit-show to work for?

Either way, it's extremely difficult for younger people to be in CxO positions
unless they start a company. I'm extremely doubtful that most can't do the
job, it's just that they can't get hired.

I'm sure this person will do just as good of a job as any 50+ yo with an extra
decade or two of experience. Typically people that require 10+ years of
experience to perform a job are worse off than someone that is capable after
only 4-5years. Lots of dumb-fuck boomers out there that had to be spoon fed
every iota of information before they could perform at a high level.

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gamblor956
Finance isn't like programming. Programming is skill-based, so it's easy to
become good at a quickly.

Finance is knowledge-based, and a lot of that knowledge can only be learned by
actual on-the-job experience. So, years of experience in a knowledge-based
field is simply a shortcut/rubric for measuring a person's knowledge of their
craft.

Typically, people in knowledge-based fields who think that they're as good at
their jobs after 4-5 years as someone who has been practicing 10+ years are
full of $$$$ and tend to create more problems for their clients/employers than
they solve.

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hartator
What the difference between skills and knowlegde in performing these two very
intelectual jobs?

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relaunched
This is a huge red flag, in my opinion. A CFO is legally responsible for
compliance to exchange regulations, SEC, etc. Reporting is based on judgement,
regarding the interpretation of very complex rules.

I would have liked to see someone with external experience that has a frame of
reference as to how other companies do things, in a high-pressure, regulated
environment; a la Ruth Porat.

Musk is a big personality, with a my way or the highway attitude. Ultimately,
I'd feel more comfortable with someone who could unequivocally walk away, and
in doing so, would send a huge signal that something doesn't smell right.

In my experience, someone who grew up drinking the coolaide won't have the
experience / ability to pull the company back from disaster. Think about all
the folks at Uber. It's sad, but you need experienced and ethical leadership,
that has an obligation beyond just to the CEO, in Legal / Compliance and
Accounting. Especially given the wild ride at Tesla, this is more important
now than ever.

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Pharmakon
I’m starting to get worried myself. Seeing finance people who would have to
take responsibility for things like signing the financials over to audit
leaving is not unlike seeing rats dive off the deck of a ship. Maybe they’re
just tired of the ride, but maybe they’re aware of something the crew isn’t.
Either way, ignoring that sign and making excuses because of love or Tesla is
a bad move. A lot of major financial implosions in the past gave off plenty of
warning signs that many people ignored. Until it all finally comes out, the
naysayers expressing concern about HugePopularEndeavor X are usually shouted
down as pessimists or saboteurs.

Then things fall apart and suddenly everyone wants to know how it wasn’t seen
coming. A stream of people unwilling to sign on the dotted line for the audit
is worrying. Replacing them with a totally inexperienced person for a $50b
market cap company smells like burning sails and timbers to me.

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fatlasp
In grad school I had a corporate finance professor that said when you see the
CFO leaving it's almost always a bad sign. Finance guys don't leave when
everything looks like it's going to be smooth sailing for years to come

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rm_-rf_slash
I generally agree with that assessment, but to be fair, any qualified CFO
would likely have lower-risk, comparable-reward option elsewhere.

I believe in Tesla and hope to the heavens that they succeed in what they are
doing, but if I were a star CFO being headhunted for this job, I would
probably see myself looking at the prospect of working brutal hours with an
uncertain payout, and a possible reputational vulnerability should things go
south. Only true believers need apply.

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neonate
[https://outline.com/Ts4ZUj](https://outline.com/Ts4ZUj)

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CedarHill
Thank you for this!

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byron_fast
Credentials like Wharton and Harvard mean something to the HN crowd? I'm sure
this guy is fine, but Tesla - Musk - needs someone who will eat the shit on
their plate.

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rchaud
On HN, Reddit and a number of other STEM-leaning forums, MBAs are only good if
they can be used to support a position Musk takes on something.

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perryh2
A relatively young pick motivated to prove himself in a highly visible
position that others have left seems perfect to me. I think he will be a
stable choice and stay for a while.

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lordnacho
There's no obvious reason he couldn't do this job. Executive roles are very
culturally sensitive, and this guy knows the firm.

Given decreasing margin returns to experience, how much more experience does
he need?

The guy who turned around LEGO was also in his 30s when he took over, seemed
to go fine.

In case you're wondering whether I think everyone in their 30s can take a
leading role, I think there's a fair chance assuming the person has been
exposed to some management content.

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gamblor956
The issue isn't that he wouldn't be great in a VP of Finance or Controller
role--the issue is that he's been appointed the CFO of a publicly traded
company with serious past, present, and future financial and regulatory
challenges. And he has absolutely no experience dealing with the regulatory
challenges, which is more than half of a CFO's job.

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lordnacho
I don't know the details of his history, but chances are he's worked on those
things under the previous CFO? I would think someone who's worked in the
finance office of such a firm would know what needs to be done, even if he
wasn't the head of the office.

If everyone needed to have direct experience, there'd never be anyone
considered qualified.

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mempko
Looks like Musk found the fall guy.

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aboutruby
WSJ seems like they try to find every excuse possible to pick on Tesla

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rchaud
By providing information about the new CFO, one that the CEO didn't even
bother providing a last name for?

