More than most, CFOs know that being aware of the challenges affecting both their business and their customers’ businesses is pivotal to creating reliable forecast models. So, for Rimini Street CFO Michael Perica, things like tariffs — though Rimini Street is a software support and services company — matter.
Perica’s experience as a CFO in the manufacturing and technology sector gives him the ability to discuss not only the potential secondary impact and required risk assessment that come with new economic policies but also the importance of ad-hoc communication and how to manage it in a virtual work environment, his tips on working alongside a passionate CEO, ERP transition insight for new CFOs and more.
Michael Perica
CFO, Rimini Street
First CFO Position: 2008
Notable previous employers:
- EnerSys
- Alpha Technologies
- Channell Commercial Corporation
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
ADAM ZAKI: You’re nearly four and a half years into the job, the longest CFO tenure of your career. What are some reasons you’ve stayed, and what are some things happening in 2025 that you’re looking forward to working on?
MICHAEL PERICA: From a cultural perspective, I am enjoying this CFO job more than any other CFO position I’ve had, and that’s why I’m still here. In my two prior CFO positions, I ran very large ERP systems and wanted options. I didn’t even know they existed until I got a call to come to Rimini Street. If I had known there was a publicly traded company offering ERP alternatives at the time, I would’ve definitely considered the product and being the CFO here. I believe in what we do.
We are on the cusp of realizing our potential. We’ve just launched a major partnership with ServiceNow to modernize more quickly and economically compared to going down the vendor ERP modernization roadmap. We’re excited to have a productive 2025 as an organization, and things are in place now to continue moving in the right direction.
Manufacturing companies are some of your biggest clients. How would you advise their CFOs to navigate potential tariff-induced disruptors to their business in a proactive way?
PERICA: I would advise them to step up as a leader and form a task force. This isn’t just because of the new presidential administration, but if you’ve been building products for a while, you know these things come in cycles. Managing your supply and demand characteristics within political situations is vital to success. For me, I just don’t see how a company can have a proper and holistic business analysis, as well as a proper deployment of capital unless the initiative is CFO-led.
This also depends heavily on your internal financial and R&D capabilities, which can be complex. In my previous role, I dealt with over 100,000 unique item numbers the business was sourcing, using to build products, and moving across the globe. During the first wave of the new administration in 2016 and its approach to China, I was reactive rather than proactive. I learned from that mistake and now know the importance of making the business approach proactive and flexible to adapt to political decisions quickly.
Is there a specific area of the company where CFOs can focus their collaboration to overcome tariffs or geo-economic factors?
PERICA: No. Most CFO collaboration doesn’t work unless it’s enterprise-wide. I can’t stress the importance of collaboration enough, particularly between forward-looking finance and the FP&A component of the CFO’s team.
If they aren’t collaborating up and down, being true partners throughout the business, setting up meetings, getting invited to meetings and actively participating, that’s a red flag. Collaboration cannot be function-specific. It needs to be company-wide and a strategic initiative for the organization to benefit from it.
What tips would you give for a successful ERP transition, especially to a CFO who is new and wants to overhaul their finance team’s tech stack?
PERICA: As a new CFO, many finance teams will lobby you for modernization, and I think it’s important to identify the reasons behind it. Explore your technology options. My advice is to identify appropriate uses of capital that will generate a return, while also considering alternatives like a hybrid approach to modernization.
More often than not, it’s elements of the system that need more advanced software. Knowing the alternatives can give CFOs more confidence in finding an economical and quick path to modernization while utilizing next-generation technologies. Make sure you don’t upgrade systems just because the vendor says it’s required.
Once the finance team commits to a specific type of software, every pitfall under the sun is possible. Many of these projects go over budget and take longer than expected. That’s why it’s essential to have a clear business objective for ERP modernization, rather than doing it simply because the system is aging.
This is partly why I’m so excited about 2025. The next generation of technologies that will help modernize tools within these systems is going to excite a lot of CFOs.
Your CEO, Seth Ravin, founded Rimini Street. How did you foster that relationship during the ebbs and flows of the business while balancing the passion of a founder-CEO with being a proper skeptic and realist in the decision-making process?
PERICA: Communication is one of the most crucial skills for any CFO, and it’s especially vital with the CEO. I consider myself a partner to my CEO. We have a responsibility to the board and shareholders, and we communicate constantly.
It was a bit easier when we were in the office every day. Now, we work in a hybrid model, but I think CFOs, especially those at publicly traded companies, should sit down with the CEO for at least 30 minutes daily in an unstructured, ad hoc format to discuss findings, initiatives, improvements, direction, and two-way feedback. That’s something Seth and I do well now.
Regardless of whether you’re working at a founder-led organization, it’s essential to talk about where the company needs to go, where it’s underperforming, and how the finance team can help move it forward. These are conversations every CFO should have with their CEO regularly.
You mentioned the challenges remote work brings to ad hoc communication. How do you make it work?
PERICA: I try to set the tone. I avoid relying too much on email communication. I always have my camera on during virtual meetings and I make it known I prefer live conversations. That’s how I’ve been able to communicate effectively in a hybrid model. In the past, I’ve been in meetings with 20 or more people, and I was the only one with my camera on. As a leadership team, we’re showing that this type of communication can work, and I think we’re doing it well in our hybrid structure.
