There have been a lot of comments about the CFO and CHRO of Phillips recently. I wanted to start a thread to consolidate views on these two as I have recently interviewed with both and considering a senior role at Phillips 66.
Can you help me by laying out your concerns as there are some pretty significant accusations on this board about both of them.
What should I be aware of as I would be working closely with both of them.
@b98 and over 10k views in a thread dedicated to him. Clearly this is striking a nerve for many. Unfortunately, Mark has no spine.
@b96 see my post.
I like your style, you beat me to it by a couple of mins-
@b1k a good add (that likely also belongs on the pulse survey post relative to Ethics) is this:
Given what has just been released about an NVIDIA C-Suite leader having multiple inappropriate affairs internally, and the company’s multiple public statements and rapid actions about it-the fact that PSX continues to do nothing about years of such behavior from it’s longest tenured C-Suite leader is appalling.
NVIDIA is reportedly looking externally for a replacement. So should PSX.
The fact that a firm in that particular sector (AI) seen as a moral sewer presently can now claim the ethical high ground relative to addressing C-Suite behavior - over and above what an old-school company like PSX does about it’s issues - sort of says it all.
Share- and stake- holders; ask the tough questions. Demand the tough actions. Please. It’s long past time to do so.
Given this Executive’s years of developing a so-called transformational strategy and agenda that has yet to produce differentiated performance versus true peers (2026 is proving that out in spades) - the decision should be even easier to make. So do it.
So Nvidia is set to fire their CEO for an affair but our CFO…
Any other good gossip on the CFO or any of his direct reports? Any embarrassing or cringe worthy details you would like to share with the group?
@a32 maybe so. But who isn’t out of some of the folks names’ tossed around here - including any of the departed?
@a22 he is a pompous self promoter who thinks he hides it well. He is perfect for the ELT
@630 - yeah; Hughes would be a solid move. Be more like peers + integrated players instead of the PSX model of finance only folks. Get someone who has run a large enterprise - scale business and understands the push/pull, impacts and value drivers the Street cares about.
As long as you have enough functional expertise around them, it’s fine. PSX doesn’t do anything. exciting transactionally, anyway. Chems & Midstream assets, share buybacks, the odd asset buyout. Rinse & repeat. Not a bad thing at all, but not financial wizardry by any stretch of the imagination.
@7wx still waiting MFer
@8rv 🙄
@8j2 I wrote the other post that initiated the post you responded to. You pretty much nailed what I observed - maturity there isn’t an age issue, it’s a judgment issue. Gossip and innuendo exist everywhere but discretion absolutely needs to be part of the equation when choosing to engage in such discourse. I can think of two situations involving high profile people/sudden changes that I had true and full knowledge of where the “cabal” that you mention (that he was part of) passed on speculation that wasn’t even remotely close to correct relative to how the situations unfolded, and why. I’m talking about things beyond simple idle speculation.
At some point, you just should refuse to participate - it inevitably gets back to the wrong place, they know where it comes from - and it’s directly and ruthlessly assessed relative to one’s potential. Look at the folks asked to run significant parts of the company particularly from a P/L perspective + representing the company externally. Discretion is almost always the better part of valor at GM/MD and above.
I stick by my previous observations as well from a business perspective. No lack of talent for sure, but a narrow and blinkered approach to S&BD + T from my perspective; feel free to disagree, I do know that at times the powers that be put guardrails around those efforts which can stifle creativity if one doesn’t figure out a way to overcome it.
He also wasn’t / isn’t unique from a peer group perspective relative to the points that have been made (obviously).
@82y Having access to Kevin and Mark and having their trust are two very different things. Being the loudest voice in the room doesn’t make you the most mature or credible. From what I observed, discretion, judgment, and knowing when to keep his mouth shut weren’t exactly his strengths. He was practically the president of the gossip club, surrounded by a boys’ club that seemed to spend more time criticizing the company than constructively moving it forward. Apparently, visibility can get you a seat at the table, but it doesn’t guarantee you get to keep it.
@86a 🦗
@82y 🍿 👀 🍿
@64b curious about what made him immature in your view versus the others on Kevin’s team. He always seemed to have access to Kevin and Mark and spent a lot of time in front of employees speaking to the strategy and transformation of the company. It appeared he had the trust of management until he apparently did not.
@7az name 5 good ones
This might stirr the pot but I like the CFO He is who he is unlike some of the other leaders at Philips No one knows the numbers better than him He won’t be CEO but given his $$$ he doesnt need to be Hes made some wrong decisions on people but the good ones outweigh the bad ones
@6yy yes, that’s likely who it is.
Curious who put that post up about being “CFO ready”; in the “well - liked Transformation guy” post at one time earlier this year his LinkedIn profile said exactly the same thing (I.e. CFO ready).
@6jg Has to be CT, per his current bio on LinkedIn. Former GM, Business Transformation S&BD.
Over 6k reads and still active. This thread certainly striking a nerve with many. Maybe some truth in all of this that many are seeing? Why can’t a CEO and Board see it? Or do they not have a plan for succession and are scrambling in the background to find someone?
@63q Who is the Transformation guy everyone liked? I thought it was JZ, but since he is already a CFO elsewhere, can't be. I have been puzzling over who you are referring to for days!
@63q agree the thought that it’s time for change but not the person. Just because his LinkedIn profile says “CFO ready” doesn’t mean that he is.
He needs more seasoning & maturity and needs to develop more of an open mind outside Chemicals - let him serve at a smaller cap company first. Needs to run something large and material first outside what he’s always done - which he should have a chance to do where he went.
Company needs not to make the same mistake it made with the present CFO in stretching someone who had a narrow skill set into the role, then letting them build a kingdom with a wall around it, then linger forever.
They should bring back either JZ (he was definitely CFO ready, and has since done it at two other companies) or EO. Both could handle it and were definitely being groomed - until the present CFO’s jealousy popped up and they were exiled until they left.
@630 EXACTLY! We should bring back the transformation guy that was well liked by many in the org. He is CFO-ready
@5y9 with the news, I also hope that Kevin’s time is coming to a close. The only problem: he has exited all of his potential successors. There is NO ONE capable on his staff of being a public company CFO. All of his good people were pushed out. So where do they go from here? A logical next move would be for them to move M@rk Hugh3s to CFO and give Chandler some competition for the CEO title.
With the news today, I absolutely believe that this post is real.
@5cm The leadership at corporate across the board is deplorable and toxic by their own actions. They tell you one thing and do another. Where are the real people leaders at?
K3vin is a washed up hack. Time to retire. His expiration date was about 5 years ago. No energy, sleeps through meetings, and manages through sound bites. He is also a terrible manager and developer of his people. Time to wake up Mark and make a change. We all see it. At what you pay him, you could hire two other qualified CFOs.
@47r true. The former treasurer and Auditor was close friends with the CFO. She advised him and was a confidant during his first divorce. Again, this CFO does what is easy, feels good in the moment, and is not interested in developing the people around him. The board knows it and has spoken to him about it, but they and the CEO don’t take action as it is hard and makes them look badly.
So many issues with this company and it will end up catching up to it.
@398 Have great respect for her. Along with many other folks. I still don’t understand how her career stalled for so long in upper middle management in Finance. She was clearly always highly competent, developed her people, and made no waves.
For her to have been passed over for General Auditor in the first place the first time for the faded former part - time model (at least in her own mind) who loved to hear herself blabber (loudly) endlessly while delivering zero value was completely laughable.
As another poster said and I agree with; it’s hard to understand how the CFO’s controller selections could be so solid after EO left, and how the first two Treasurer selections after JZ left could have been such a joke (the aforementioned former model) who was even worse and less productive in that job - with more bad decision-making than any other role she had - followed by an individual who literally couldn’t complete a sentence at times and who none of the other functions nor businesses (openly) had an ounce of respect for.
Just bizarre decisions-which the company paid a price for- and both were “retired” out of those jobs in a blink.
There is real truth to the thought that the CFO either surrounds himself with marginal execs who are tail-kissers who are not a threat, and marginalizes, exiles or pushes out those with true talent. I guess you can somewhat hide / work around a poor or totally tactical treasurer yourself with one’s own relationships as a CFO. The outside world has to see a competent Controller; hence more competent selections.
The CFO is 100pct about himself.
M@rk, I know you read this. You are a disgrace. Do the right thing for once and get rid of this CFO and CHRO. They are ruining this company and impeding progress.
This post won’t die. More than 4k views and lots of comments. One might think these observations deserve the attention of management and the board. The time for the CFOs exit is NOW
With all the negatives on this post, there is a shining star in the CFO's organization, the Controller. She is a no- nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is, ethical person. She values the employees that report through her organization and treats everyone with respect. She has high expectations and makes sure praises are given when due.
@33t This.
The comments are beyond legitimate. People very close to the situation, either now or recently.
@34x and you are already so happy with you choice to go elsewhere you are constantly checking a post to my made weeks ago at a company you turned down. Maybe you would be a good fit at the company in leadership…Big ego, little competence
@30h I had another process progressing before PSX made contact, but follow up after first contact with the CFO and CHRO did not happen quickly and I needed to make a decision. The comments here were just helpful in cementing that decision.
@30h while it is probably not a legit original post, the comments are so legitimate they must be posted by either a direct report or someone SGL19+ that is close to the CFO. Most know these things about the CFO and his team. The comments are extremely accurate.
And over 3k have tuned into this thread as this is resonating with people.
@30h no, it’s real. Trust me
A few things are strange about this. 2 months for an SVP job isn’t slow. It’s a multimillion paycheck so you should be the right person.
And you posted 3 weeks ago and you have taken a new job but are still posting and commenting on another companies layoff site. it does lead to some suspicion of the accuracy
@2kn my original post was not a joke.
I had interviews with the CFO and CHRO for the position of SVP, Corporate Strategy and Development. An executive search firm reached out to me about the role nearly two months ago. I have since taken a role with another company given how slow the process was taking.
@2qt yes, was in treasury earlier in his career.