ACG NJ CFO Forum September 17, 2026

Featured Speaker, Robert J. Vander Meulen, EVP & CFO, Komline-Sanderson

Bob has over 20 years of Chief Financial Officer experience in industrial manufacturing businesses, partnering with executive teams and owners to drive growth and improve financial control and cash flow. In his spare time, Bob enjoys being with his family, running, and Saturday morning cartoons.

Bob holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Montclair State University.

Technical Skills Are Not Enough: Soft Skills for the Successful CFO

Today’s CFO must bring far more to the table than strong financial and technical expertise. This discussion will explore the career experiences, leadership lessons, and interpersonal skills that help finance executives successfully navigate growth, change, complexity, and uncertainty.

Drawing on experiences across public companies, private-equity-backed organizations, and family-owned businesses, the session will examine how CFOs must adapt to different owners, leadership styles, cultures, and expectations. The discussion will also address career progression from public accounting into CFO roles, including the value of broadening experience and pursuing opportunities that may not initially appear to be traditional promotions.

Through examples involving acquisitions, rapid growth, refinancing, financial distress, restructuring, business sales, and career transitions, participants will hear practical lessons learned from both successes and mistakes. The session will also explore the transformation of Komline from four newly combined businesses into a significantly larger and more complex organization, demonstrating how the CFO role must evolve as a company scales.

Particular emphasis will be placed on the skills beyond technical competence that contribute to effective financial leadership, including self-awareness, judgment, active listening, adaptability, constructive candor, emotional steadiness, influence, relationship-building, and understanding the needs and perspectives of others.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Identify key career experiences and developmental opportunities that can prepare finance professionals for broader CFO and executive leadership responsibilities.
• Describe how the CFO role and leadership approach may need to change based on ownership structure, organizational culture, growth stage, and business complexity.
• Recognize leadership challenges associated with acquisitions, rapid growth, refinancing, restructuring, financial distress, and business transitions.
• Explain why technical financial expertise alone is insufficient for effective CFO leadership.
• Identify soft skills that support stronger communication, decision-making, influence, relationship-building, and organizational leadership.
• Evaluate how the expectations of the CFO role are changing and which leadership capabilities will become increasingly important.

Expected Outcomes

Following the session, participants should be better prepared to:

• Assess their own strengths and development areas beyond traditional finance and accounting expertise.
• Apply greater self-awareness and adaptability when working with different owners, executives, employees, and stakeholders.
• Use listening, judgment, constructive candor, and relationship-building more intentionally in leadership situations.
• Anticipate how their responsibilities and leadership approach may need to evolve as an organization grows or undergoes significant change.
• Consider career opportunities based on the experience and capabilities they can develop, rather than solely on title or immediate advancement.
• Develop a more complete view of the skills required to succeed as a modern CFO and senior finance leader.

Thank you to our CFO Forum Co-Hosts:
Mike Corridon, President, ACG New Jersey, CFO, United Window & Door Manufacturing, Inc.
Jim Earnest, Executive Director - Business Development Executive, JPMorganChase 
J. Michael Fischer, Jr., Managing Director, DBD Investment Bank
Blake Goodman, Senior Managing Director, JLL
Darek Hahn, President & CEO of AffinIT LLC
Michael Hadjiloucas, Partner In Charge - Corporate Tax Group, Eisner Advisory Group LLC
Mark Kuehn, Founding Chairman, ACG NJ