Sometimes you just know when a decision is the right one, and in the case of Mark McCaffrey, CFO of the domain host and online service provider GoDaddy, a 21-year career at PwC ended in 24 hours. Shortly after he told his longtime employer he was looking for a new gig in 2021, McCaffrey had a conversation with GoDaddy’s CEO that led him to make a decision at a moment’s notice.
His career journey not only provides an interesting case study on opportunities after a lifetime in public accounting but also highlights the importance of recognizing opportunity, identifying emotional leadership and developing the confidence needed to bet a career on a gut feeling.
Mark McCaffrey
CFO, GoDaddy
First CFO position: 2021
Notable previous employers:
- PwC
- California State University
- BDO Seidman
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
ADAM ZAKI: You had a comfortable career before deciding to leave PwC but then hit it off with the CEO of GoDaddy and decided to take the CFO job pretty suddenly. How did this all come about?
MARK McCAFFREY: I like talking about this because it was a good reminder of the things we should all always adhere to as professionals. I think it’s really about embracing being uncomfortable and being able to use those moments to control your narrative. This, I believe, helps fuel a passion for different areas that may not have been considered.
I worked at PwC for 21 years and had a great career there. The leadership I interacted with there was tremendous. But I was getting to the point where I was comfortable and ready to act on the vision I always had of a life outside the firm. I had a really honest conversation with the leadership there and let them know I was interested in doing something else. Tim Ryan (who also recently left PwC after nearly 20 years) was supportive and made the process much smoother.
I didn’t plan on leaving PwC for a long time. I had a long succession plan in place that gave me plenty of time to find a role. However, as soon as I started the process, I was on the phone with Go Daddy’s CEO Aman Bhutani, who was just starting the search for a CFO. I remember turning to my wife after hanging up the phone with Aman and saying, “I’m going to work for this guy.”
“It’s really about embracing being uncomfortable and being able to use those moments to control your narrative.”
Mark McCaffrey
CFO, GoDaddy
So I did. I went to work for him 24 hours after I told PwC of my intentions to find a new role. My wife thought I was kidding. But I told her I was serious, and it was because of an interaction I had with Godfrey Sullivan, the former CEO of Spunk. He is just such a good person and CEO. And I said, “Remember I told you if I ever found that type of CEO I was going to? Well, I found the CEO and I want to do this.”
Was there anything about the role itself that attracted you other than the CEO?
McCAFFREY: I felt the company had the passion for its customers that I liked as well as the idea of being an underdog. That kind of mentality resonates with me. But from a technical perspective, I had worked on the Adobe account for several years at PwC and was able to see their transformation from a products company into a service company. I felt this is where I could provide value to the GoDaddy’s ecosystem.
Here was this company moving from the domain business to a one-stop shop for the entrepreneur, and that transition takes multiple years, experience and hard decisions.
Also, the board of directors here has been a tremendous group since day one. Our board has always been committed to this journey, and after meeting with them, it drove home the point that this position was a no-brainer for me. It was admittingly a bit uncomfortable leaving somewhere like PwC after such a long time, but the passion from the board reminded me of the narrative I wanted the second half of my career to be.
Your stock price has gone up significantly this year. What role have things like efficiency and strategic planning on the finance team played in this success?
McCAFFREY: I always say you cannot control what your stock price is, but you can control what you do for your customers, what you do for the services you’re providing and the efficiency of your operations and communication with investors. We use the term “ruthless prioritization” a lot now internally to make sure that we are doing exactly what we need to be doing, and we are doing it in a way that is most efficient. That is something leadership across the board, including us in finance, are committed to.
We’ve been able to drive efficiencies and consolidate our technology stack, making our systems seamless. We also have rolled out AI offerings to our customers and have done so because our efficiency allows for smooth rollouts. We have over 21 million customers, and we get over 1.2 billion data signals from our customers every day. We have so much data that allows us to get great insight into our customers, and when we combine that with efficiency, it is effective.
This has resulted in a lot of free cash flow. Now, the story of our free cash flow has been there for years, but I think what people are focusing on today is our compounding cash flow year over year that continues to grow, and it’s because our customers continue to see value in our services. Our retention rates are 85%, and as we grow and that remains consistent, it creates value that our organization has been able to enjoy up to today.
There’s this idea of a digital detox being beneficial to those who may be experiencing burnout. Would it be possible for someone like you to unplug from technology and still be productive?
McCAFFREY: I think it goes back to being able to control your narrative. I would have a really hard time disconnecting from technology without risking the potential of not being looped in on important information or losing control of my narrative. I think a balance is really important.
“Good leaders can enter other people’s world and provide leadership rather than bringing the people around them into their world. That is what I consider great leadership.”
Mark McCaffrey
CFO, GoDaddy
There is always a time we need to unplug and recharge ourselves. But if you do it drastically, you’re taking yourself out of the places where you might pick up on important signals or you may put yourself in a situation where you can’t react or address a challenge.
Also, all of my kids are in their 20s and 30s, so if I did that, I would probably disconnect from my family too. This needs to be an individual choice based on a balance. The digital world can take some people over if there are no boundaries on it, but at the same time, I think disconnecting doesn’t necessarily guarantee you will be able to do what you’re doing or accomplish what you’re trying to.
Whether it’s personally or professionally, when you meet someone and say to yourself, “Wow, this person’s got it,” what’s the “it” to you?
McCAFFREY: The ability to be an emotional leader. Some people understand titles and authority, and yes, that is part of leadership, but real leaders are true leaders who know how to emotionally lead. They know how to inspire and connect with people. There’s a concept that I use all the time: as a leader, you have to enter into “their there.” Good leaders can enter other people’s world and provide leadership rather than bringing the people around them into their world. That is what I consider great leadership.
The emotional connection part is super important because that is what inspires people to do great things. When you see a leader who understands how to be an emotional leader, regardless of their title, that’s what is noticeable.
It’s about being inspirational regardless of having the authority to do so or not. In this world of online connection, video meetings, and fewer in-person meetings, I think this is even more critical for today’s leaders, and it’s something I’ve always noticed in people
