Ruth Porat, CFO of Alphabet, Inc. (the company formerly known as Google), talked this week at the prominent Davos conference on how her role as a CFO is focused on creating long-term value rather than incremental results.
She previously worked at Morgan Stanley and joined the Silicon Valley giant as CFO last May. The CFO is adding strong internal controls and infrastructure that improves visibility that are crucial in today’s volatile markets.
Here are some key points from her talk:
Capital Allocation: “She has spent the 2016 budget process focused on long-term capital allocation for the company’s collection of businesses, from health care to self-driving cars, that it internally calls ‘bets.’”
Reporting & Infrastructure: Companies must build infrastructure that allows them to see what is going on throughout their businesses. “You would not get into a car and drive 100 miles an hour with mud on your windshield,” Ms. Porat said. “That is the lesson, particularly in businesses moving as rapidly as tech.”