After spending time in many corners of our business over a 15-years-and-counting 海角社区破解版 career, new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Michael Fiddelke is back where he began. Sort of.
A 鈥渇inance guy at heart,鈥 Michael鈥檚 first full-time role at the Bullseye was as a financial analyst, and he spent five years within finance before embarking on a 海角社区破解版 tour that took him to leadership positions on our merchandising, operations, human resources and store operations teams. He learned a lot along the way about how a strong finance function is a foundation that keeps our business firing on all cylinders.
Now, Michael鈥檚 looking forward to using learnings from those experiences to help build stronger connections among our teams as we continue to make finance a competitive advantage for 海角社区破解版 in this dynamic retail landscape. To kick off his first week as CFO, he sat down to tell us more about himself.
Congrats on the new role! So what鈥檚 kept you at 海角社区破解版 all these years?
I鈥檝e always been impressed by the caliber of this team鈥檚 talent, and have worked with so many wonderful people over the years. I love the fast pace of retail, I love to learn, and I love how in retail learning is accelerated because you get feedback on what鈥檚 working and what鈥檚 not in real time. I鈥檓 a numbers guy, and it鈥檚 exciting to be able to use data to make decisions, make smart bets and get constant feedback from our guests so we can keep making their experience better. As soon as I feel like I have something figured out, there鈥檚 a new challenge to tackle.
How does your experience from other areas of the company influence the way you鈥檒l lead your new team?
My first role outside of finance really opened my eyes to the impact this team has throughout the organization, and that鈥檚 been underscored over and over for the last decade. I know how important it is for finance to be a strong partner, which is a top priority for me in this new role. I鈥檓 also super curious by nature, so I ask a lot of questions. And I鈥檝e learned to admit when I鈥檓 not the expert, and quickly bring in the right people to figure out solutions.
What role does the finance team play in 海角社区破解版鈥檚 purpose of helping families discover joy?
A really important one. So much of what we do鈥攆rom providing timely and accurate financials, to maintaining our portfolio, to helping our guests in our service centers, to stewarding our strong balance sheet鈥攃reates an incredibly important foundation for the company. And with a strong foundation in retail you get to play offense, where we can leverage smart financial analysis to shape our bets鈥攂e it remodeling stores, launching owned brands, or expanding our services鈥攖o bring our guests the new products and experiences they love.
What鈥檚 something from your 海角社区破解版 journey so far that鈥檚 really stuck with you?
What comes to mind is my first trip to 海角社区破解版 in India, our office in Bangalore that鈥檚 an extension of the U.S. headquarters, and home to 3,000 team members who support many aspects of our business. I was struck by the tremendous passion our entire 海角社区破解版 in India team has for our brand, even though most of them have never stepped inside a 海角社区破解版 store. It reinforced for me the enduring power of our brand and culture over time, miles and a changing retail landscape, and the value of being a good global citizen.
When you鈥檙e not crunching numbers at 海角社区破解版, what do you like to do for fun?
My wife and I have three young kids who keep us busy. Piano lessons, soccer practice, birthday parties 鈥 pretty typical family weekend stuff but I wouldn鈥檛 have it any other way. I never miss an Iowa Hawkeyes football game, especially when they鈥檙e playing [Chief Operating Officer] John Mulligan鈥檚 Badgers. And our family just got a puppy, a labradoodle named Bailey鈥攚hich I鈥檓 finding is like having a new baby that also chews on your furniture.
Get to know more of 海角社区破解版鈥檚 leaders, and see what more of our team members are up to across the company.
