Meet The 20 Top Performing CFOs Of S&P 500 companies: America’s Best Chief Financial Officers 2014

Karen M. Hoguet, CFO of Macy’s, Inc. has been named as No. 1 chief financial officer by the CFO Journal’s Top 20 ranking of corporate finance chiefs this year.

To compile it’s finance chiefs ranking, Journal examined the performance of Standard & Poor’s 500 companies, concentrating on 9 financial metrics, plus 4 tiebreakers, over the 36 months ended June 30, 2014.
The 9 financial metrics:
Four tiebreakers: Share buybacks, dividends, acquisitions and changes in market value

The 20 Top Performing Chief financial officers (CFOs) at S&P 500 companies:

1.  Karen M. Hoguet, chief financial officer of Macy’s, Inc.

CFO start date: October 31, 1997
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC); 3 year change: 39%
Operating Margin; 3 year change: 17%
Dividend plus buyback as share of free cash flow: 132%

Hoguet has since helped the company rebrand and merchandise hundreds of stores under the Macy’s banner after its 2006 purchase of May Co., she is a member of the Boards of Directors of The Chubb Corporation and Nielsen N.V.

2. Robert M. Knight, Chief Financial Officer of Union Pacific Corporation

CFO start date: February 1, 2004
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC); 3 year change: 34%
Operating Margin; 3 year change: 21%
Dividend plus buyback as share of free cash flow: 212%

Mr. Robert M. Knight, Jr., also known as Rob, began his career with Union Pacific Corp. in 1980. Mr. Knight is a member of the Boards of Directors of Grupo Ferroviario Mexicana and TTX Company.

3. Michael J. Angelakis, Chief Financial Officer and Vice Chairman of Comcast Corporation

CFO start date: March 2007
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC); 3 year change: 102%
Operating Margin; 3 year change: 6%
Dividend plus buyback as share of free cash flow: 64%

Mr. Angelakis is a graduate of the O/P Management Program at Harvard Business School and received a Bachelor of Science from Babson College. Mr. Angelakis currently serves on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

4. Robert Ryder, Chief Financial Officer of the Constellation Brands, Inc.

CFO start date: 2007
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC); 3 year change: 68%
Operating Margin; 3 year change: 68%
Dividend plus buyback as share of free cash flow: 47%

Robert Patrick Ryder, also known as Bob, has been CFO and Executive Vice President at Constellation Brands Inc. since May 15, 200. Mr. Ryder is a Certified Public Accountant and holds B.S. degree in Accounting from the University of Scranton.

5. Jay Rasulo, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Executive Vice President for The Walt Disney Company.

CFO start date: January 1, 2010
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC); 3 year change: 32%
Operating Margin; 3 year change: 27%
Dividend plus buyback as share of free cash flow: 145%

Jay Rasulo is the Chief Financial Officer and Senior Executive Vice President for The Walt Disney Company since January 1, 2010. He holds a degree in economics from Columbia University and both an M.A. in economics and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

[Photo: Jay Rasulo, The Walt Disney Company]

6. Robin L. Washington, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Gilead Sciences, Inc.

CFO start date: May 5, 2008
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC); 3 year change: 13%
Operating Margin; 3 year change: 16%
Dividend plus buyback as share of free cash flow: 31%

Robin L. Washington has been the Chief Financial Officer of Gilead Sciences Inc. since May 5, 2008 and Executive Vice President since January 27, 2013. Ms. Washington is a member of the Board of Directors of Honeywell International, the Board of Directors of Salesforce.com and the Board of Visitors, Graziadio School of Business and Management, Pepperdine University. Ms. Washingtonis a certified public accountant and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

7. Thomas G. McFall, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Finance of O’Reilly Automotive Inc.

CFO start date: 2006
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC); 3 year change: 63%
Operating Margin; 3 year change: 21%
Dividend plus buyback as share of free cash flow: 144%

Thomas G. McFall, also known as Tom, has been the Chief Financial Officer at O’Reilly Automotive Inc. since May 31, 2006. He also serves as its and Executive Vice President of Finance and Principal Accounting Officer. He graduated from Michigan State University in 1992 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and is a CPA.

8. Robert K. Shearer, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, V.F. Corporation

CFO start date: July 1998
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC); 3 year change: 47%
Operating Margin; 3 year change: 8%
Dividend plus buyback as share of free cash flow: 106%

Robert K. Shearer, also known as Bob, has been CFO at V.F. Corporation since July 1998 and has been its Senior Vice President since June 2005. Shearer is responsible for the financial operations of VF and its operating units around the world. He also oversees VF’s Mergers & Acquisitions, Global Business Technology and Corporate Travel groups. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Catawba College, Salisbury, N.C. and is a Certified Public Accountant. He serves on the board of directors of Church & Dwight Co. Inc.

9. John A. Olin, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Harley-Davidson, Inc.

CFO start date: September 2009
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC); 3 year change: 120%
Operating Margin; 3 year change: 16%
Dividend plus buyback as share of free cash flow: 105%

Mr. Olin has been the Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Harley-Davidson, Inc. since September 2009.He also holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Chicago.

10. Herbert Parker, Chief Financial Officer of Harman International Industries

CFO start date: June 1, 2008
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC); 3 year change: 35%
Operating Margin; 3 year change: 58%
Dividend plus buyback as share of free cash flow: 95%

Mr. Herbert K. Parker has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Harman International Industries since June 1, 2008. Herbert earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Lee University, Cleveland, TN.

11. Frank H. Boykin, Chief Financial Officer of Mohawk Industries Inc

CFO start date: January 2005
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC); 3 year change: 86%
Operating Margin; 3 year change: 56%
Dividend plus buyback as share of free cash flow: 0%

Frank H. Boykin is the Chief Financial Officer of the Mohawk Industries Inc in January 2005. Before joining the Mohawk Industries, he served as a Senior Manager at KPMG LLP, a worldwide audit, tax and advisory services firm.

12.Thomas J. Hirsch, Chief Financial Officer of Fiserv Inc.

CFO start date: 2006
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC); 3 year change: 37%
Operating Margin; 3 year change: 1%
Dividend plus buyback as share of free cash flow: 79%

Thomas J. Hirsch is Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer at Fiserv, Inc. Mr. Hirsch holds an Master’s Degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and Accounting from the University of Wisconsin.

13. William Plummer, chief financial officer and Executive Vice President of United Rentals, Inc.

CFO start date: December 1, 2008
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC); 3 year change: 800%
Operating Margin; 3 year change: 92%
Dividend plus buyback as share of free cash flow: -56%

William B. Plummer, also known as Bill, has beenCFO and Executive Vice President of United Rentals, Inc. since December 1, 2008. He received an MBA from Stanford University in 1986 and also earned B.S and M.S degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1980 and 1982, respectively.

14. M. Keith Waddell, the Chief Financial Officer and President of Robert Half International Inc

CFO start date: 1988
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC); 3 year change: 108%
Operating Margin; 3 year change: 84%
Dividend plus buyback as share of free cash flow: 146%

Mr. M. Keith Waddell has been CFO and President of Robert Half International Inc. since 1988 and February 2004 respectively

15. Joseph Ianniello, Principal Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, CBS Corporation

CFO start date: July 2009
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC); 3 year change: 59%
Operating Margin; 3 year change: 36%
Dividend plus buyback as share of free cash flow: 248%

Mr. Ianniello, also known as Joe, has been the COO at CBS Corporation since June 2013 and also serves as its Principal Financial Officer. He served as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of CBS Corporation since July 2009. He studied Bachelor of Business Administration from Pace University and MBA from Columbia University.

16. Aldo J. Pagliari, chief financial officer of Snap-on Inc

CFO start date: March 31, 2010
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC); 3 year change: 29%
Operating Margin; 3 year change: 32%
Dividend plus buyback as share of free cash flow: 87%

Mr. Aldo J. Pagliari has been the Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Finance of Snap-on Inc. since March 31, 2010. Mr. Pagliari holds a Master of Business Administration from Syracuse University and a Bachelor of Science in Mineral Economics from Pennsylvania State University.

17. Thomas R. Adams, CFO of Reynolds American Inc.

CFO start date: January 1, 2008
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC); 3 year change: 12%
Operating Margin; 3 year change: 22%
Dividend plus buyback as share of free cash flow: 4,491%

Mr. Thomas R. Adams has been the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President at Reynolds American Inc. (formerly, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc.) since January 1, 2008. Mr. Adams holds a Bachelors degree in Accounting from Duke University.

18. Anne H. Lloyd, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President for Martin Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.

CFO start date: June 1, 2005
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC); 3 year change: 53%
Operating Margin; 3 year change: -1%
Dividend plus buyback as share of free cash flow: 234%

Ms. Lloyd has been CFO of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. since June 1, 2005 and its Executive Vice President since August 25. Ms. Lloyd is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and is a Certified Public Accountant.

19. Stephen P. Smith, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of NiSource Inc.

CFO start date: August 2008
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC); 3 year change: 42%
Operating Margin; 3 year change: 32%
Dividend plus buyback as share of free cash flow: -39%

Mr. Stephen P. Smith, also known as Steve,  has been Executive Vice President and the Chief Financial Officer of NiSource Inc. since June 1, 2008 and August 2008 respectively. Smith earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University Of Chicago Graduate School Of Business and a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.

20. Martina Hund-Mejean,  chief financial officer for MasterCard Incorporated

CFO start date: 15 November, 2007
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC); 3 year change: 10%
Operating Margin; 3 year change: 9%
Dividend plus buyback as share of free cash flow: 85%

Ms. Martina Hund-Mejean is responsible for Corporate Controller, Tax, Internal Audit, Investor Relations, Strategy, M&A, Financial Planning & Analysis, Treasury, Risk Management, Global Supply Chain, Business Unit Finance and Regional Finance. Served as senior vice president and treasurer of Tyco International Ltd. Prior to Tyco, she was senior vice president and treasurer of Lucent Technologies Inc. (now Alcatel-Lucent). Ms. Hund-Mejean received a master’s degree in economics from the University of Freiburg, Germany, and a Master of Business Administration from the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia.

Note: Figures are for the 36 months ended June 30, 2014.
Source: Korn/Ferry International (tenure); S&P Capital IQ (financial); Via The Wall Street Journal (CFO Journal)