JDG Associates Recruits CFO for the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
October 12, 2023 – Rockville, MD-based executive search firm JDG Associates has recruited Trevor Williams as the new chief financial officer for the Washington, D.C.-based Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB), which manages the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), a retirement plan available to federal employees and members of the armed services.
Mr. Williams is a financial executive with more than 26 years of honorable service as a military finance officer. He has experience in strategic financial management integrating cross functional applications of policy, finance, and organizational management. Mr. Williams previously served as the comptroller of the U.S. Cyber Command where he led a team of financial management professionals and a budget in excess of $1 billion.
As FRTIB’s CFO, Mr. Williams will provide guidance to senior-level leadership on financial issues, with responsibility for financial policies and fiscal guidance within the agency and for the TSP. He is charged with exercising effective control over the financial resources of the agency and the Thrift Savings Fund. Mr. Williams will ensure that the financial policies and procedures, as authorized by the executive director and chief operating officer, are followed within the agency.
Founded in 1986, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board is an independent federal agency. “The FRTIB helps federal employees and members of the uniformed services retire with dignity by providing benefits similar to private sector 401(k) plans,” said the agency. “The TSP is widely considered to be one of the best retirement plans in the world and a model for defined contribution plans.” The TSP is one of the world’s largest defined contribution plans, managing over $480 billion for more than 5 million participants located in every time zone around the world.
Respected Search Consultants
JDG Associates has been providing executive recruitment services to Fortune 1000 corporations, associations and non-profits, federal, state, and local governments, research and consulting firms, and defense contractors since 1973. The firm’s research-intensive process and personal approach have resulted in more than 4,000 senior-level searches across a broad spectrum of industries and disciplines in the Washington, D.C. region and nationally.
Related: Key Capabilities for the Modern CFO
Darren DeGioia serves as president of JDG. He conducts senior-level search assignments for research and consulting organizations as well as the public sector. His areas of expertise include information technology, accounting and finance, the quantitative sciences, operations / general management, marketing, and communications. Prior to joining JDG, Mr. DeGioia spent four years in the hospitality industry with the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and Sheraton Hotels.
The Market for CFOs
The market for senior finance executives remains candidate-centric and brisk, according to Andy Miller, CEO of BrainWorks. “While public discussion of macroeconomic conditions continues to hint at inflation and recession, finance professionals remain fully employed and heavily engaged,” he said. “Among the finance executives, CFOs and business unit financial officers remain in high demand, both to provide oversight for portfolio companies in the PE space and to engage newly created business units by expanding public companies. Tax talent has been in demand for many years and is increasingly scarce. Global and complex tax guidance and leadership, including managers, directors, and analysts remain essential in the proliferation of business strategies. Also engaged at high volume over the last 12 months are controllers, analysts, and FP&A professionals.”
The Evolving Role of the CFO
Given the speed at which market conditions, business strategies, and operational structures have changed in recent years, businesses are more aware than ever of the crucial role the chief financial officer plays in shaping and driving a company’s strategic direction. A just-released report by BoardEx of “The Role of the CFO 2022” examines more than 1,400 CFOs who lead major publicly traded companies across 16 countries around the world. Let’s take a closer look.
At the sector level, geopolitical uncertainty, legislative uncertainty, and uncertainty regarding interest rates, inflation, and the potential for recession create sector-level challenges. While forecasting is fraught with uncertainty, BrainWorks believes that inflation has peaked and that recession is largely a lagging story at this point. “Given the degree of uncertainty in the world, any assessment of what financial services will face in the future is at best educated guessing,” said Mr. Miller. “That said, the challenge of securing top talent, the sufficiency of talent in the marketplace, the rate of change between currencies, tax implications of selected business strategies and the proper filing of documents in support of such strategies, accurate forecasting, analytics, and planning will all remain needful in the sector.”
Related: Financial Services is Booming, CFO Role Continues to Evolve
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; and Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
