In this episode, Sasha Orloff is joined by Valerie Burman, CFO of Sugar Bowl Resort in Lake Tahoe and former VP at Workday and SAP, shares her unique journey from being an executive at Silicon Valley tech companies to becoming the CFO of a ski resort. Valerie talks about her philosophy on building the dream team, the importance of understanding business acumen in a CFO role, and strategies for achieving long-term liquidity. She also reflects on hard won lessons from multiple M&As and corpdev.
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X/SOCIAL:
Sasha on X: @sashaorloff
Valerie's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/burmanval/
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TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Introduction
(01:45) Valerie Berman: From tech to Tahoe
(03:00) Transitioning to Sugar Bowl
(05:21) Day one as CFO: Skiing and listening
(07:02) Unique aspects of Sugar Bowl
(08:13) Balancing fun and financials
(13:05) Sponsors: Netsuite | Metaview
(14:54) Measuring success and setting goals
(24:27) Navigating seasonal business challenges
(30:00) Building a dream team at Sugar Bowl
(32:24) Sponsors: Brave | Omneky
(33:46) Insights on M&A and corporate development
(36:24) Decision making in private companies
(42:02) Significant role of cultural alignment
(46:07) Advice for aspiring CFOs
(48:06) Closing remarks and outro
"Tech Finance" with Sasha Orloff: B2B Fintech | AI | Finance Tech 