Welcome to The 6 a.m. CFO, where finance chiefs share how they jump-start their days and engage with the tasks that are in front of them.
Today, Navan’s CFO, Amy Butte, shares her morning routine.
Be sure to check out the entire 6 a.m. CFO series, and if you’d like to be featured in a future post, please email us here.
Navan
- All-in-one travel and expense solution
- Year founded: 2015
- Number of employees: Over 3,000
- Revenue: Growing at 30% YoY with +70% margins
MORNING ROUTINE
Weekday wake-up time: I am an early riser. On my best days, I am up by 5:30 am.
Morning beverage choice: Coffee! Home brewed with the old coffee pot with 2% milk. It needs to be super hot.
Do you have a pet? Rusty the maltipoo. Rusty is always with me (even if I don’t want him to be).
Non-work-related morning activities: Rusty is the first order of business. Exercise is right after. In fact, if I don’t exercise first thing in the morning, I tend not to do it. Spinning, walking or pilates are my favorite early morning endeavors. I also wake up my son by 7:30 a.m. to make breakfast, set a plan for the day and make sure he gets off to school.
Workday start time: As soon as I can — we are a global business and I like to communicate early with my partners.
How I usually spend the first hour of my day: Exercise, walk the dog and take a quick look at what the day has in store.
Time I send out my first email: 5:31 a.m.! I am agnostic between Slack or Email, although Navan is heavy on Slack.
Best advice for writing an effective email: I focus on the audience and the message. Who am I reaching out to or asking a question? What point am I trying to get across? Sometimes we get lost in the details or the data, no matter how minute. Stepping back to know the objective and even the basics is helpful.
First dashboard I review: My state of the economy tracker! Navan created a daily dashboard that shows all travel activities — spend levels on a daily basis — anything you want to know about travel and expenses is in there, and I can get a daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly snapshot.
How I structure my morning meetings: I am the sharpest in the morning, so I try to find some “thinking time” or “analysis time” first. I was once told to schedule the most difficult tasks first; it makes the day better in the afternoon.
Mid-morning snack of choice: Clementines are very popular. Rusty’s favorite snack is chicken or salmon from the lunch delivery.
Tell us about a recent morning that didn’t go as planned: Surprises are a part of any job. My team knows they can always reach out to me, and I know I can always depend on them. On a more specific note, the recent Heathrow fire comes to mind since when something like that happens, it’s all hands on deck — even for the finance team. No matter what’s taking place at Navan, we prioritize our customers.
Even though we have our normal day-to-day to take care of, a travel disruption like that takes priority, so many meetings or other important issues of the day have to be moved around so that our operations team can support our customers. It’s an additive pressure to our normal business, but it’s so important to get right since our customers depend on us.
INSPIRATION AND LEADERSHIP
Favorite quote or mantra: There’s no crying in baseball!
Favorite leadership lesson: Just because you are successful in one organization doesn’t mean that success will translate easily to another. Companies, like people, are all different. You have to be resourceful and adaptable to continue to succeed.
Something important to know about me that you wouldn’t know from my business bio: I am a Detroit Lions fan. They use the word “grit” for a reason.
Favorite number: 13. It was my favorite number in sports (softball pitcher in college), and my favorite apartment in NYC was on the 13th floor, too.
Most noteworthy items in my workspace: Computer, phone, glasses and Rusty.
Favorite app on my phone that is not related to business: GHIN App. I am an avid golfer. My grandmother used to say, “The best part about golf is that when you are out there, all you are thinking about is that stupid little ball.” It’s great when you can focus on one thing.
The year, make and model of your first car: 1953 Chevy Station Wagon. We called it the Green Machine. It was painted green, plaid seats, red fuzzy dice, three on the tree and no seat belts. One night we fit 20 people in the car.
Most influential/famous person you’ve ever met: Madeleine Albright was on the board of the NYSE. She always asked thoughtful questions, made me feel important and smiled when I asked her the stories of the pins she always wore. I still remember her stories to this day, which just shows how important telling stories is.
Most inspirational person in your life: My dad. He taught me the importance of always showing up — every game, every milestone and even just for dinner. It may not matter what mood you are in, but you need to show up
