CFO with a Biology Degree? E12
In this episode of “Financial Footsteps’ Candid Conversations with Financial Leaders,” host Chad Dean interviews Arvind Bobra, CFO of Lesson, who shares his career journey from his roots in Arizona to his initial foray into investment banking and his pursuit of an MBA at Columbia University. Arvind highlights the challenges he faced balancing demanding work hours with personal health and the importance of networking and non-academic experiences in New York City.
Arvind discusses his career transitions, including the impact of the 2007 financial crisis, his move to Globe Specialty Metals, and his appreciation for the intersection of finance, accounting, and operations. He emphasizes the value of problem-solving skills, strategic networking, and passionate career pursuits, crediting key mentors at Axon for shaping his leadership style. Arvind’s journey underscores the importance of continuous learning and leading by example, culminating in his current role as CFO where he fosters a positive culture.
Lessen is a property services technology platform providing repair, maintenance, and project work to residential and commercial property portfolio owners. Residential maintenance services include HVAC, electrical, plumbing, site inspection, and in-house technician management.
Commercial maintenance includes reactive, recurring, and speciality services across more than 55 trades, including HVAC, plumbing, electrical, building maintenance, landscaping, snow and ice management, preventative mainteance, asset management, and capital planning.
Arvind Bobra is the CFO of Lessen, Inc where he leads the Finance & Human Resources functions. He brings a solid execution track record and extensive finance leadership experience, particularly through driving expanding profitability amid rapid growth.
He most recently served as Senior Vice President of Finance at Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AXON), where he led financial planning & analysis, product finance, commercial finance, and treasury.
In his eight year tenure at Axon, Mr. Bobra served in a variety of finance roles, including investor relations, and built critical functions and processes that helped scale the company’s revenue from $200 million to $1.2 billion, supported by a SaaS business that grew from less than $20 million to more than $500 million in annual recurring revenue.
Prior to Axon, he spent five years as Director of Finance & Business development at Ferroglobe PLC (formerly Globe Specialty Metals), where he played a critical role in the execution of the company’s growth strategy, including its IPO and four subsequent acquisitions.
Mr. Bobra began his career at Lazard LLC in Mergers & Acquisitions. He holds a BA from the University of Chicago and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
In his free time, Mr. Bobra enjoys playing tennis, yoga,and skiing. He and his wife Praveena have 2 boys Neeyam (12) and Nirvan (7).
Connect with Arvind on LinkedIn.
About Financial Footsteps
Financial Footsteps is dedicated to providing insider access to successful accounting and finance leaders thereby providing ideas, insights, and ‘secrets to success’ to those aspiring to be leaders themselves.
Interactive conversations with guests will reveal the genesis for a career in accounting and finance, the great (and not so great) decisions that were made along the way, and the advice that these leaders would give to their younger selves.
About Your Host
Chad Dean has been an executive recruiter since 1996. He currently is owner and CEO of a top-ranked national recruiting firm with a 33 year history servicing the Finance disciplines.
Chad Dean’s relaxed and authentic recruiting style combined with a relentless work ethic and dedication to ethical recruiting has propelled him to the highest levels of success in recruitment and career counseling. He has been sought after by CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, and numerous other publications for his expertise.
Chad Dean is a proud Arizona native, married for 21 years, with two second-generation native teenage sons. He has an MBA from Arizona State University and a BS in Biology from FHSU.
About Our Sponsor
Integrated Management Resources was founded in 1990 in Tempe Arizona. Starting with clients like Goldman Sachs (first client and still a client today) and top Wall Street hedge funds, IMR built a robust recruiting process that digs out the most desirable ‘passive’ candidates from our client’s competitors.
IMR’s Phoenix Accounting and Finance practice services large and medium sized organizations for mid-senior level full-time placement and interim staffing.
