Workshop CFOs
The traditional tasks of a CFO, such as analysis, reporting or controlling, are increasingly being supplemented by strategic consulting functions. The CFO supports the development and definition of the company's overall strategy and also presents the progress of the implementation of strategic goals to external stakeholders. In addition, he must ensure that business decisions are based on sound financial criteria. This applies in particular to the development of new markets, the success of which often also depends on whether all the background information and necessary analyzes relating to the market to be developed have been provided in advance. This requires a double effort from the Chief Financial Officer, who is responsible for the company's financial management. He must proactively and supportively develop and implement initiatives for the financing and implementation of the project.
In this workshop/panel, the challenges of a CFO in relation to market entry in the USA will be discussed and current developments in the requirement profile will be highlighted.
Our speakers
Wolfgang Hoffman
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Wolfgang Hoffmann is a graduate industrial engineer. For more than 30 years he held management positions in the Bosch Group, mostly in the USA. In his role as commercial director of the Automotive Aftermarket Division in North America, he was responsible for the areas of controlling, accounting, planning, logistics, purchasing and IT. In addition, his area of responsibility included the implementation of M&A projects. Other important positions in the Bosch Group were tasks in the central audit department, global controlling for the Power Tools Division and commercial management functions in Japan, Italy and in the USA. Wolfgang Hoffmann is married and lives with his family in Naperville, IL.
Barbara Lang
CFO, MAN Diesel & Turbo North America Inc.
Barbara Lang is CFO at MAN Diesel & Turbo North America. After studying business administration and economics, she began her career at Arthur Andersen in Germany in 1995. In 1997 she joined the Freudenberg Group and held various positions in finance in Germany and France.
In 2004 she was appointed CFO at MAN Diesel & Turbo France and remained there until March 2013 when she joined MAN Diesel & Turbo North America.
Andy Stecher
President/CEO, Plasmatreat North America
Andreas Stecher is President/CEO for Plasmatreat North America, a subsidiary of Plasmatreat GmbH. Plasmatreat is the world market leader for material surface pretreatment prior to bonding, coatings and seals within the processing industry such as automotive engineering, electronics, medical technology and packaging. Plasmatreat North America operates with three separate business units in Toronto, Chicago and San Francisco. Mr. Stecher has more than 30 years of experience in C-level management at globally operating companies, especially in the transatlantic business area. After training as a bank clerk in Germany, he completed his training in the USA with a bachelor's and MBA.
Crispin devil
CFO, Lincare Holdings
Mr. Teufel was appointed CFO of Lincare Holdings - part of The Linde Group - in March 2013. Before that he was Finance Director Global Accounting, Controlling and Tax of the Linde Engineering Division since 2011. He was also a member of the IFRS specialist committee of the German Accounting Standards Committee eV From 2005 to 2011, Mr. Teufel worked as Head of IFRS Competence Center & External Reporting at the corporate headquarters of Linde AG. His career began at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Frankfurt, where he passed his exams to become a tax consultant and certified public accountant. Mr. Teufel is a member of the board of directors of the German-American Chamber of Commerce in Atlanta.
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Mark Tomkins
Managing Director, AHK USA-Chicago
Mark Tomkins has been working for the AHK USA-Chicago since 2006 and has already supported a large number of German companies from different industries with their market entry in the USA with his team. He has been the managing director of the AHK since May 2015 and a member of the board since 2009. During his tenure at the AHK, he played a leading role in developing the Skills Initiative, which supports companies and public institutions in introducing German dual training structures, including programs such as ICATT and CICES in Illinois, MAT2 in Michigan and KY FAME in Kentucky.
Before his time at the AHK, Mr. Tomkins was active in business development consulting for more than ten years and advised international companies on the establishment of strategic alliances and long-term cooperation.