Although Cindy Yao spent the first two-thirds of her finance career working for companies known for their consumer products — Kodak, Corning Incorporated and Bausch & Lomb — it was the manufacturing piece of each business that resonated with her the most.
Ready for a new challenge after Bausch & Lomb was acquired in 2013, Yao left her position as corporate treasurer and vice president to indulge her interest in manufacturing in a much bigger way by joining the Markel Food Group. She was CFO and executive vice president of one of the country’s largest automated bakery equipment providers for 10 years.
Yao left Markel and joined HF Foods Group in May 2024 as CFO just before the SEC announced it had settled fraud charges involving the organization’s former CEO and CFO. The company is a leading marketer and distributor of food and non-food products to primarily Asian restaurants and other food service customers throughout the U.S.
Cindy Yao
CFO, HF Foods Group
- First CFO position: 2013
- Notable previous employers:
- Markel Food Group
- Bausch & Lomb
- Corning Incorporated
- Kodak
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
SANDRA BECKWITH: You joined HF Foods as CFO last year shortly before the SEC announced a fraud settlement involving the CEO and CFO. What made you the right person to take over as CFO in that situation?
CINDY YAO: I believe it was my leadership capability, broad experience with finance and accounting and team- and relationship-building skills. I have almost three decades of experience with both mature and highly structured companies as well as those that are more entrepreneurial.
I’m also Asian, and because HF Foods is an Asian food service distributor, my cultural awareness and bilingual language ability made me a perfect fit.
I wanted to join the company because of its potential. The management team had already started many transformational projects that included new KPIs and facility and fleet upgrades, and I wanted to be a part of that.
You took on this role as the company looked to move forward from a difficult period. What challenges did you face that you wouldn’t have encountered in a more conventional situation?
YAO: My biggest challenge when I walk into any new situation is to try to understand the capabilities of the people on the finance team. In this case, I’m looking at that with our new leadership’s growth plans in mind. Do we have the right people? Where do we have gaps?
I’m learning more about who we hired for a specific reason such as the Workday platform implementation, which people are the general talent that will help me sustain and grow the company, and what new blood we need to infuse into the business.
Other than technical ability, what do you look for in an employee when making hiring decisions?
YAO: When we hire people, we first have to look at our company’s personality, right? Our competitive advantage is our ability to foster deep and long-term relationships with a diverse customer and supplier base. That means relationships and collaboration are among our corporate culture pillars.
So, when I hire people here, I want to make sure they not only have the technical ability but are also open-minded and willing to go above and beyond to help and collaborate so our customers are happy. That type of cultural fit is extremely important for us.
Looking back on your entire career, what do you think was the most pivotal moment … or what “aha” has had a significant impact?
YAO: I was asked to co-lead and co-sponsor the IPO process at Bausch & Lomb. Through this experience, I realized how finance is woven through every part of the company.
Every fact, every story — all the information we put into the Form S-1 — is provided or validated by the finance people. Everything we do eventually falls on the three financial statements: income, balance sheet and cash flow.
Was becoming CFO always the goal?
YAO: When I was younger, all I wanted was to be a ballerina. Or a journalist. However, I ultimately chose accounting for practical reasons and consider myself very fortunate because I soon discovered I love it.
My experience in all areas of finance and accounting prepared me to be a well-rounded CFO, but I didn’t realize I was ready to be a CFO — and that I wanted the position — until I went through the IPO experience at Bausch & Lomb. That made it clear that my experience with every finance discipline would help me to be a good CFO.
What advice would you give to others in finance hoping to become CFOs?
YAO: In recent years, the CFO has been given more and more responsibility. You certainly need to sharpen your pencil and acquire accounting, tax, treasury and technical knowledge.
But most importantly, I think you need to intentionally and purposefully make sure you have certain leadership attributes. These include understanding that you can’t always lead with your head. You have to lead with your heart, too.
