Acquisition International - Global CFO Excellence Awards 2022 17 Mar22562 Best Temporary & Permanent Staffing CFO (Milan): Nicola Dell’Edera perating as one of the leading groups in staffing and permanent business internationally, Gi Group provides a diverse range of services, covering search and selection, outplacement, outsourcing, training, and HR consultancy. Indeed, the company’s success is abundantly clear – in 2021, Gi Group acquired over 3.2 billion euros in revenue. Furthermore, it boasts subsidiaries and branches in 28 countries, including China and the United States, yet its focus remains in Europe. With over 6,000 employees worldwide, Gi Group provides a workplace that pushes employees to strive for perfection – one of these employees is Nicola Dell’Edera, the company’s CFO. After spending many years honing his skills as a corporate banker, for which he spent time in America and Italy, he decided to make a change. Delving into corporate finance, Nicola began his career at Natuzzi, a high-end Italian furniture company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. During this time, he served also as CFO and member for the boards of many foreign subsidiaries. Following this role, he gained experience as CFO in private equity investments and he took on a position with Alitalia, an Italian airline company, where served as Vice President of Finance and Planning & Control. Subsequently, since March 2019, he has been working as the Global CFO for the Gi Group, it is here that he also serves as a member of the Holding Board of Directors. ‘I have always played my role as a business partner using a strong, analytical approach and using a reciprocal “challenge” approach with business lines,’ Nicola comments. This ties in a great amount with his leadership style, which prioritises communication and clarity. His style is structured and built around creating efficacy. He writes, ‘weekly updates with direct reports represent the most effective ways for sharing strategies, goals, achievements, failures. Then at least once a month talks with CFOs located in the 28 countries in order to have them always aligned with HQ strategies and priorities.’ In addition, he pushes his team to focus upon personal and professional development, believing that learning should never stop. ‘Myself and the Global Finance Team are focused on setting up a O Gi Group is a leading temporary and permanent staffing company that has reached a high level of prestige. Working across the globe, the company has drawn in billions of euros. The CFO, Nicola Dell’Edera, tells us about the role of finance to achieve group goals solid global finance platform supporting businesses and countries. Considering the important growth plan, the funding at the right time, and price is a fundamental piece of our strategy.’ Gi Group continued its success throughout the pandemic, surviving without reducing its profitability or market share. Consequently, in 2020, the company was able to implement a flexible approach for managing its cost structure, which resulted in an abundance of opportunity within the market. Nicola adds, ‘this strategy has proven successful, especially in 2021 when the Group was able to grow in revenue by more than 30% compared to 2020.’ In order to emulate Nicola’s success as a CFO it is important ‘to understand the fundamentals of the business, with particular reference to margins structure (this a low margin business), establish a strong relationship with business, have them understand and develop a solid basic financial language, challenge them on ways to improve performance and recover from negative deviation from budget and business plan. It is very important to get trust from the CEO, showing a practical approach in managing finance as a service for business and investing in people and systems in order to deliver quality and integrity in numbers.’ 2022 has big plans for both Nicola and the Gi Group. The industry is going through a period of extensive innovation, which is both a benefit and a challenge. For example, the rise of digitisation has proven to be an area of contention. Henceforth, the company is currently working on achieving the correct way to reach clients, as whilst technology is relevant, in many areas it is not entirely prevalent. ‘I’d like to continue on this path, consolidating a new role for the CFO as business partner,’ says Nicola with absolute conviction, ‘it’s something that I also teach to colleagues and students in master’s and conferences. The CFO is no longer a bean counter, systems and culture are driving change towards a role that is more useful for the company and joyful for the CFO and his team.’ Contact: Nicola Dell’Edera Company: Gi Group Web Address: www.gigroupholding.com
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