CEO’s know that “A great CFO is his best secret weapon.” Aside from the sexism, that’s a shot at CLOs. Or maybe GCs are not so secret? The article in Fortune, July 25, 2011 at 27, rubs in the comparison: “A great CFO needs to be part numbers whiz, part general manager, and part consiglieri.” Consiglieri? Isn’t that the forte of the general counsel, the wisdom behind the throne.
What threw me further was the rave about the CFO of Mittal Steel who “fought off a poison pill and a Russian rival in the hostile $38 billion takeover of European rival Arcelor.” Smacks of unauthorized practice of law, not that there were any M&A issues a good bean counter couldn’t handily take care of. Who needs a lawyer when you have a CFO?