CFO THOUGHT LEADER

497: Rites of Passage Along the Commercialization Path | Tim Adams, CFO, ObsEva


Listen Later

Three years ago, Tim Adams probably never imagined that today he would be taking spin classes in Geneva, Switzerland. At the time, the seasoned finance leader could be found queueing up at Logan Airport to board yet another flight to San Francisco.

Of course, one could argue that a certain Logan departure gate ultimately helped to put Geneva spin classes on the horizon, since it played no small role in transporting the CFO to a round of talks that helped to seal the sale of the finance leader’s earlier company Demandware of Woburn, MA, to Salesforce of San Francisco back in 2016.

As Demandware’s CFO, Adams says, he was involved when an unsolicited offer arrived from Salesforce after the e-commerce platform had achieved consecutive years of 30% growth.

“It’s sometimes hard to sell a company when you enjoy what you are doing and there’s a personal aspect, but you have to put that aside to do what is right for the company’s shareholders,” explains Adams, who today is CFO of ObsEva, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in Geneva, Switzerland.

“When I joined ObsEva in January 2017, mission number one was a successful IPO to raise the money that we needed to develop our compounds,” explains Adams, who operates from the company’s Boston office. While ObsEva achieved “mission number one” shortly after his arrival, financing stills remains top-of-mind for ObsEva’s finance chief, who–regardless of travel–likes to make exercise a part of his daily routine. Asked if he’s opened a gym membership in Geneva, Adams tells us that his next spin class is one departure gate away.

NOW SUBSCRIBE: The Quarterly Digest of CFO Strategic Insight http://bit.ly/2Wfv291 (50 CFO Profiles Every Issue).

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

CFO THOUGHT LEADERBy The Future of Finance is Listening

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

122 ratings


More shows like CFO THOUGHT LEADER

View all
The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors by SaaStr

The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

179 Listeners

Masters in Business by Bloomberg

Masters in Business

2,171 Listeners

The McKinsey Podcast by McKinsey & Company

The McKinsey Podcast

377 Listeners

PwC's accounting podcast by PwC

PwC's accounting podcast

182 Listeners

Coaching for Leaders by Dave Stachowiak

Coaching for Leaders

1,451 Listeners

Accounting Best Practices with Steve Bragg by Steve Bragg

Accounting Best Practices with Steve Bragg

262 Listeners

The a16z Show by Andreessen Horowitz

The a16z Show

1,099 Listeners

HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review

HBR IdeaCast

166 Listeners

The Accounting Podcast by Blake Oliver & David Leary

The Accounting Podcast

334 Listeners

Inside the Strategy Room by McKinsey & Company

Inside the Strategy Room

173 Listeners

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg by All-In Podcast, LLC

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

10,017 Listeners

CFO Weekly by Personiv

CFO Weekly

43 Listeners

Business Breakdowns by Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts

Business Breakdowns

350 Listeners

Planning Aces by Brett Knowles & Jack Sweeney

Planning Aces

1 Listeners

HBR On Strategy by Harvard Business Review

HBR On Strategy

78 Listeners

HBR On Leadership by Harvard Business Review

HBR On Leadership

161 Listeners