Finance Guys In Tech

“THE WAY TO CONNECT WITH PEOPLE IS TO LISTEN AND UNDERSTAND WHERE THEY CAME FROM…AND THEIR PHILOSOPHY.”

Today our guest is Jim Footh, a Real Estate Principal here in AWS Finance and another one of our business partners.

Today Jim takes us on an entrepreneurial ride from paper routes to Paris and explains why a weekend cruise involves driving his car into a lake.

You’ll especially like this one if you’re curious about Real Estate. It was a great show, we hope you enjoy!

2:07 | Living on an island and taking the ferry to work
4:20 | Jim growing up, paper routes, detailing cars
6:30 | Refurbishing an amphibious car, check out the pics!!
https://www.charleskunken.com/blog/7/#JimsCar
8:07 | Is the 'Seattle Freeze' real?
10:20 | It's ok to use college as a time to explore
13:10 | Advice for new grads - Ignoring the pressure we put on ourselves, and not comparing yourself to your friends
15:50 | Moving to Paris, with 2 kids (1 & 3)....and no job (eventually at CBRE)
20:03 | Life as an Expat
21:00 | What does it actually mean 'to be in the real estate'
24:40 | Cap Markets at Jones Lang LaSalle, making career choices in the present
27:09 | What Jim discovered when he came to Amazon - everybody's prepared to swing for the fences
30:33 | What's the toughest part of getting a deal through? Communication.
31:10 | Why Data Centers are the toughest types of Real Estate projects.
32:40 | The way you'll be successful is by having relationships
33:00 | The advice Jim gives to his team. Patience.
36:00 | Being good at communication at all levels.
38:55 | What Jim looks for in new hires. Creativity & problem solving, culture fit, overcoming obstacles.
41:50 | What advice Jim would give himself if he were starting out? Don't compare yourself to your peers, keep experimenting until you find something you enjoy.
43:10 | Consuming content - books and thinking
45:30 | 14 countries in 12 months
46:05 | 3 people to have dinner with...Jim hacks my question, again
47:50 | A philosophy for life. Listening, understanding people.

Jim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-footh-mcr-ccim-769046a/

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CONTACT THE SHOW:

To subscribe to the Art & Work weekly newsletter: https://www.charleskunken.com/subscribe 

To find us online: https://www.charleskunken.com/podcast or email the show with any questions, comments, requests for guests, etc: [email protected]

Sid on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhodi/
Charlie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleskunken

The Art & Work blog | https://www.charleskunken.com/blogsummary (weekly posts exploring creativity & mindset)

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Theme music by Good Baby. ‘Rose Colored’ (instrumental version).  You can peep the full music video here: https://www.

“Be true to yourself, no matter what.”

Today our guest is Ernest Popescu, a Bus Dev Sr. Manager here in AWS Infrastructure (and Sid’s business partner). Ernest takes us on a classic ‘Hero’s Journey’  prior to joining Amazon in 2014, complete with tales, hijinks, and the lessons he learned along the way. This episode was a blast. We hope you have as much fun as we did!

3:50 | Wait, how many languages does Ernest know?

5:01 | Ernest as a kid - sports…and just a little trouble ;)

8:01 | Mechanical engineering & joins the infantry at 18

10:10 | First job consulting with DBM, in France, Spain

11:50 | Futon + PS3 + ricer cooker = simple times

12:45 | A duplex, a pug and a very interesting transition towards the business side with GM…

17:50 | Peeling back the layers…of a coconut

18:50 | A ‘Think Big’ objective on salary…

19:45 | Two early lessons from a Managing Director - on money, and communication

21:50 | Here it is…the run up to the Amazon origin story begins…it involves a building up a respectable art collection

22:35 | An explanation to the art gallery **PICS OF THE ART GALLERY BELOW (or go check it out on the blog here if you’re reading this from the show notes) https://www.charleskunken.com/blog/6/#ArtGallery

26:25 | …and then Amazon comes a calling…

29:10 | What was different at Amazon - loved the culture

31:05 | Which ‘Leadership Principles’ would you add?

33:29 | What was different about working with Finance peeps at Amazon?

34:20 | What makes a good finance partner

36:30 | What advice would you give yourself starting out? - Be true to yourself, no matter what

39:36 | on consuming new information & what’s Ernest reading,

40:44 | Ernest drops one of my favorite fiction books of all time ‘ The Name Of The Wind’ by Patrick Rothfuss

42:55 | Three people for dinner

43:56 | and Ernest’s philosophy on life

Ernest on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ernestpopescu/

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CONTACT THE SHOW:

To subscribe to the Art & Work weekly newsletter: charleskunken.com/subscribe 

To find us online: charleskunken.com/podcast or email the show with any questions, comments, requests for guests, etc: [email protected]

Sid on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhodi/
Charlie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleskunken

The Art & Work blog | charleskunken.com/blogsummary (new writings on creativity, mindset)

Insta |  instagram.com/cbkunk/ (Daily 1 min. Instagram TV show: #ThePlazaOfTruth)
fb | facebook.com/cbkunk

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The theme music for the show is by Good Baby: ‘Rose Colored’ (instrumental version).  You can peep the full music video here: goodbaby.band/musicvideos

“You walk in with your idea, people are going to engage with you. They’re going to get into your data, they’re going to get into your thought process and they’re going to challenge you, and they’ll also build on it. So you’re going to walk out with a different product…a better product.”

Today our guest is finance gal Mona Leung, a Director here in AWS Finance. Mona draws on her 2 decades of finance experience before joining Amazon in 2014. She tells us what was different about Amazon, what advice she would give herself if starting out again, and oh yes we can't forget, Mona’s motto aka the 'Mona Leadership Principles'. We hope you enjoy!

2:15 Pizza Hut Finance

3:38 What Mona was like as a kid…an athlete

6:20 What was different when joining Amazon? - Taking risks & big ideas.

7:06 Mona’s Amazon origin story

10:01 Leadership style – be bold, be vocal, take risks, embrace mistakes

11:11 Advice to new hires – unlearning, don’t just default to old habits

11:51 What Mona unlearned – wanting people to like your idea vs. wanting them to help with your idea

14:57 What qualities do you look for in a new hire? The spark & The genuineness.

17:51 Something about Amazon – it’s fun.

20:31 MONA’s MOTTO aka the Mona Leadership Principles

23:21 What advice Mona would give herself starting out

26:19 The worst advice Mona ever received – you should aim to be in the CFO pipeline by ‘this’ age

27:56 on Diversity – how Amazon is like the U.N., in culture & work experience

30:41 The 3 people Mona would most want to have dinner with 

31:11 Active listening

32:11 What Mona learns from her children (and how they help her with work)

36:41 Parting words for those just starting out – be mindful but relax, it’s a journey

Mona on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monasleung/

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Sid on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhodi/
Charlie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleskunken

To find us online: charleskunken.com/podcast or email the show with any questions, comments, requests for guests, etc: [email protected]

Art & Work blog | charleskunken.com/blogsummary (Ideas on creativity & mindset)
Subscribe | charleskunken.com/subscribe (To the ‘Art & Work’ weekly email newsletter)

Insta |  instagram.com/cbkunk/ (Daily 1 min. Instagram TV show: #ThePlazaOfTruth)
fb | facebook.com/cbkunk

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Music by Good Baby. ‘Rose Colored’ (instrumental version), goodbaby.band/musicvideos

“For the first 90 days here I would try to sit as much as I can, or literally just move your desk to where your business partners are.”

Today we have an interview with Karl Brenner Roman, Sid’s and my ‘cousin’ (by the org chart) here in AWS infrastructure finance. Karl is an energy guy and he’s  got some great insights on how he has found success adding value in finance at Amazon.

1:00 When do you stop counting your Amazon tenure in months?

3:00 Karl’s gig before b-school included energy retrofitting sugar factories, mmm

5:45 The albums that were on replay in Cost Rica as a kid

8:33 Favorite music venues in Berkley & Seattle

12:00 What attracted Karl to Amazon – promoting renewable energy

14:20 Considerations for FinTech campus recruiting at business school – company focus vs. product/team focus

17:45 Visa considerations in business school recruiting – discover early which companies have sponsorship for international students

20:00 On finding your balance at Amazon

21:35 Karl’s advice for first 90 days at Amazon – spending time with the business team

22:45 How to add value in finance

23:50 The difference in perspective of finance vs. the business

25:55 Finance's obligation for long term thinking

27:40 Thoughts on career path, staying close enough to the business to ask good questions

29:10 Lighting round word association with Sid

30:00 Parting words for anyone interested in a career in tech finance – can you map your story and skills to the business’s need

32:20 What’s Karl doing this weekend?

Connect with Karl on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karl-brenner-rom%C3%A1n-6a963152/
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Sid on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhodi/
Charlie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleskunken

Here's where you can find us online: https://www.charleskunken.com/podcast or contact the show with any questions, comments, requests for guests: [email protected]

Subscribe to the ‘Art & Work’ weekly Newsletter: charleskunken.com/subscribe

Other socials:
https://www.instagram.com/cbkunk/
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The opinions on this show are my own. The voices in my head...still figuring that out.

Today we have an interview with Sid Dhodi, my homie and teammate here in AWS finance. Sid brings the funny, we'll definitely be hearing from him again.

1:00 Sid’s origin story

3:05 Never try this…Sid & family land in NYC for business school

7:20 Flunking every 1st round interview

9:55 How Sid prepared for Amazon interviews

13:35 The biggest learning curve the first year – communication

16:10 Amazon’s data culture

19:16 Sid’s superpower that isn’t a leadership principle: hardwork

19:55 Using mental math in negotiations

21:50 What’s the culture really like?...it’s been great, there’s pockets at all big companies

24:00 The sales pitch – why Amazon is great and some last advice for interviews

25:00 Sid on Seattle, hobbies & value investing

Connect with Sid on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhodi/

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Here's where you can find us online and subscribe to the weekly blog, where all the ideas start: charleskunken.com/subscribe.
And you can always hit me up with questions: [email protected]

Lets connect:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleskunken
https://www.instagram.com/cbkunk/
https://www.facebook.com/cbkunk

(0:41) 1/Be Useful Quickly; (1:16) 2/Solve Problems, Don't Create Solutions; (2:15) 3/Start w.The Micro; (3:16) 4/1-on-1 Strategy; (4:32) 5/The 3 Buckets

This is the coffee chat I have with new analysts on Day 1 and I wanted to share with you so you can hit the ground running.

You can find us online here and subscribe to the weekly blog, where all the ideas start: charleskunken.com/subscribe.

This is the audio from an episode of the 'Finance GuyTV' Youtube channel. You can get that video here.

You can always hit me up with questions: [email protected]

Lets connect :)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleskunken
https://www.instagram.com/cbkunk/
https://www.facebook.com/cbkunk

Whatsup peeps and welcome to episode 1! This is just a quick preview of what we've got in store. Here's the description of the show: 

Charlie Kunken brings you a not-so-typical-approach to working in finance at Amazon all geared towards helping you perform better, forming stronger teams, reducing stress & anxiety, and having plenty of laughs along the way.

We’ll go micro on the day-to-day tactics and tips. We’ll go macro on creativity and mindset. We’ll give you all kinds of new ideas to play with about how to get into tech finance or what an optimal career might look like for you. 

We'll also bring you guests who you might not otherwise have access to. And since our number one objective is to bring you value we'll listen to you about the things you really want to hear. 

Charlie (that’s me) has worked in finance at Amazon since 2014, currently as part of Amazon Web Services and is also 1/2 of GoodBaby.band | Bass and songwriter for fornow.band | Recovering drummer | Author of the Art & Work weekly newsletter at charleskunken.com | Writer. Rider. New Yorker. Artist. - - 

You can find us online here and subscribe to the weekly blog, where all the ideas start: charleskunken.com/subscribe.

If you've got any questions you can always hit me up:
[email protected] |
https://www.charleskunken.com/contact |

Lets connect :)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleskunken |
https://www.instagram.com/cbkunk/ |
https://www.facebook.com/cbkunk |