EP 013 - The Insurance CFO with David Junius, CFO at Cowbell Cyber

It is my utmost pleasure to introduce our esteemed podcast guest today, Mr. David Junius. Currently serving as the Chief Financial Officer at Cowbell Cyber, based in the vibrant city of New York, David brings with him a wealth of experience and a proven track record of excellence in the field of global finance.

With a career spanning over two decades, David has established himself as a highly accomplished Global Finance Executive, renowned for his expertise in areas such as corporate finance, business planning, accounting, and budgeting. His knack for developing new financial models and enhancing existing analytical tools has been pivotal in consolidating total P&L, showcasing his unparalleled ability to direct key executive functions in multi-cultural settings and delivering large-scale financial transformation.

David’s journey with Cowbell Cyber, a growth-stage startup that has raised over $100Mn, began in October 2022, and in just over a year, he has already made significant strides in propelling the company towards greater heights. Prior to this, he held the position of Chief Financial Officer at SiriusPoint in New York, where he played a critical role in the transformation and turnaround of two Bermuda reinsurers. His leadership saw the management of a considerable portion of the company's workforce spread across North America, Bermuda, Europe, and Asia, establishing him as a primary contact for investors and rating agencies.

His tenure at AIG, spanning 19 years, saw him in various pivotal roles, including CFO of International General Insurance, Vice President & Treasurer, and Head of Capital Strategy, among others. During this time, David managed financial reporting, business support, capital planning, and regulatory reporting for AIG’s most profitable general insurance segment, covering over 50 countries and territories.

David’s academic background is as impressive as his professional journey, with an MBA in Analytical Finance and Accounting from the prestigious University of Chicago, an MAIA in International Affairs and Russian Studies from The George Washington University, and a BA in International Relations and Soviet Studies from Boston University.

Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming a man of integrity, creativity, and unmatched work ethic, someone who brings a high degree of personal initiative to everything he does, Mr. David Junius.

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Quotes: 

“I think this is one of the greatest challenges for CFOs over the last 20 years. Everyone is in the technology business. It doesn't matter what your business is… from a CFO perspective, everybody's in the data business, and hence everybody's in the technology business.”

“The real challenge today is how to use data.”

“One of the key elements of being a good CFO is interacting with a different set of strategic partners, stakeholders, and giving the CEO feedback in a different way than what he's hearing from customers, distribution partners, and also employees.”

“They may come at it from the accounting side; they might come at it from the treasury side. They may come at it from the business side, and I was able to blend each of those experiences and really bring those together. And I think that gives me a bit of a different perspective than other CFOs that might've only come up through one function.”

“Treasury is a great place to learn a business because when you understand how the cash flows in an organization, you really understand what the levers are because you don't get caught up in the intangible or just the accounting items, you really see the cash flows.”

“Sometimes you have to have your eyes open, open to possibilities, but you also have to trust that maybe some of the people that you work for know you and know how you could fit and roll.”

“If you're good, you'll always get calls. And sometimes you're not interested, but it's always good to get some feedback on the market.”

“They don't want someone to just kind of process numbers and show up and say, here are the numbers. They want a strategic partner who can bring insights as to how the business is performing and get that feedback back to the business leaders.”

“What is the goal of a modern finance organization?  It's really to be a value-added business partner.”

“Less time we spend in close is more time that we can be a value-added business partner.”

“I really want people that can challenge the status quo and are interested in moving on efficiency and buy into the view of being that value-added partner, which means finding time in your day to do that value-added work.”

“I'm looking at people that go just because I did it that way yesterday doesn't mean that's the way I want to do it tomorrow.”

“I think anytime in stress, it's really about prioritization. Because I think where people get distracted, they can get caught up in the stress and the panic, and then they kind of lose focus on their day-to-day work.”

“I think the CEO should always be focused on where do we need to be in three years? And then allowing his or her team to execute day-to-day. I think a CFO, put things in perspective. I think the CFO is thinking about longer term for finance, but where do we need to be in a year? How do we get there in a year? I know where the CEO wants to be in three years. I'm going to break that down into chunks. I'm going to be responsible for executing on that next year.”

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