24 Acquisition International - Global CFO Excellence Awards 2023 May23261 Best Construction Company CFO (Western USA): Ryan Richards Priding itself on its unique sense of identity, Petra Custom Builders seeks to deliver an unparalleled experience to its customers and a component of personal fulfilment to their employees. The value they place on relationships is renowned throughout the Western USA. As a result of its prioritization of core values, the company is gaining significant traction and positioned to overcome challenges. Their focused leadership team and CFO, Ryan Richards, have already seen great success and are ambitiously pursuing opportunities ahead. eferred to as ‘The Pack’, Petra Custom Builders’ team is a tight knit group of individuals who each share an unrivalled passion for their work. This, combined with an intrinsic alignment with the company’s core values, allows each person within the team to develop in ways that are simply inspiring. Through continuous personal growth and team development, Ryan is more than aware that the people are the cause of success within the business. As a result, he rejects the canonical approach to financial management and the stereotypical perspective of the CFO. Ryan recognises that it’s an incredibly common trend within the CFO position to prioritise numbers over people. He dismisses this notion entirely. To him, the individuals behind a company are what drive it forward – financials are simply a representation of what the company’s people are doing. If their best interests are always considered, it’s far easier for them to achieve success as a collective. Ryan therefore adopts a strategic approach with his staff that’s wholly centred on developing them as people. Following Ryan’s previous managerial experience, he proceeded to continuously enhance his skills upon joining Petra Custom Builders. Through a long process built on years of learning opportunities, he was inspired and trained by the company’s founder and CEO, Jimmy Moore, to embrace a system of values-based leadership. Every day Ryan works to promote alignment with the values and vision of the company throughout his team. As a rule, Ryan intentionally sets examples of the core values and relates every decision made through their precedent. These values serve as driving forces in every situation. Following them, or not following them, can be the difference between promoting the company’s success or undermining it. As described by Ryan himself, the uncompromising values are as follows – relentless forward momentum, exercise discipline, confidence with humility, intentional thought and action, and open and honest relationships. Each of these qualities are invaluable in a vacuum. But, combined, the synergistic energy they have throughout the organization is explosive. His mentality towards the responsibility of leaders to serve their people plays a large part in the culture Petra Custom Builders – it’s what keeps the company and the team members in a strategic feedback loop heading for success. Of course, strategy is essential when it comes to the role of Chief Financial Officer, and Ryan exemplifies what it means to be able to construct a forward-thinking methodology. The first ingredient is a timeless foundation; a philosophy that can stand in all conditions. The second ingredient is having the right people. The third is a R structure that maintains enough flexibility for people to grow and develop, but not so much that accountability can be side stepped. Once these pieces are in place, then Ryan is ready to talk about the financials. Ryan naturally enjoys forecasting and analysis, but if these three components aren’t in place it makes for a short conversation. He’ll tell you which direction the forecasts inevitably point, no numbers needed. What really sets Ryan apart, however, is his outlook on both the industry and tackling challenges. Ryan believes the industry will always do what the industry does – it goes up, it goes down, and ultimately it continues to provide challenges that must be overcome. The best way to handle it is to, first, accept that it’s inevitable. Then, focus on building the internal strength of the organization by building the people that make it possible. So long as you value yourself and the members of your organization, you’ll be able to keep your forward momentum. It’s this admirable mindset that Ryan closely adheres to throughout his practises. In short, Ryan is a CFO who places a different emphasis on the historically ‘numbers first’ role, and he takes it incredibly seriously. He’s fully devoted to presenting his team with the opportunities to grow and become the best versions of themselves. This, in turn, has played a critical role in Petra Custom Builders’ undeniable success. Thanks to his prowess, he’s now the holder of the Best Construction Company CFO (Western USA) award. A company is driven by its staff, and Ryan Richards is at the forefront of promoting exceptional talent at every opportunity. Contact: Ryan Richards Company: Petra Custom Builders Web Address: https://www.petracustombuilders.com/
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