From Middle Class Blue Collar Roots to CFO of Snowflake, Inc.: A Journey of Hard Work, Negotiation & Trust

As the chief financial officer of Snowflake, Inc., I've built a career on bold decision-making, trust-building, and a relentless drive to achieve - with lessons learned from my own startup experiences and leadership journey.

1. Mike Scarpelli is the CFO of Snowflake, Inc., a cloud data platform with over 7000 employees and $2.7 billion in revenue (fiscal 24).
2. He grew up in a middle-class blue-collar family, paid his own way through college, and developed a strong work ethic from his early jobs.
3. Scarpelli started his career at Coopers and Lybrand, working on a special project for Gucci during his time in Milan.
4. He emphasizes the importance of hard work and putting in the effort to let your work speak for itself.
5. Scarpelli believes that if you're concerned about work-life balance, becoming a CFO might not be the right choice for you.
6. He left PwC to join HPL in a corporate development role, where he discovered and dealt with a CEO committing fraud.
7. The experience of dealing with the fraudulent situation at HPL was difficult, but it taught him valuable negotiation skills.
8. Scarpelli is a strong believer in making vendor relationships and negotiations a win-win for both parties involved.
9. He joined Data Domain as an early employee, built the company, and eventually sold it to EMC.
10. Scarpelli then helped ServiceNow go public and worked there for eight years before joining Snowflake at Frank Slootman's request.
11. He values trust and opinionated individuals who can bring solutions to problems, a lesson he learned from working with Frank Slootman.
12. Scarpelli doesn't micromanage and believes that if he has to do an employee's job, there's no reason for the employee to be there.
13. His leadership style evolves as companies grow, moving from a hands-on role to more of a coaching position.
14. He emphasizes teaching people to fish rather than doing it for them, showing maturity and patience over the years.
15. Scarpelli prefers financially motivated feedback in quarterly bonuses, which he believes foster regular, hard conversations about performance.
16. One of the biggest mistakes startups make is title inflation, which can create conflict within a company.
17. Founders should be present and available for their teams, promoting in-person, real-time collaboration to foster learning and growth.
18. Scarpelli isn't a fan of remote work, as he has observed decreased productivity on Fridays and Mondays since the shift to remote work due to Covid-19.
19. Making oneself accessible to employees is crucial for creating a learning environment and showing care for their careers and development.
20. Scarpelli values mentorship and coaching, understanding the importance of having someone who cares about your growth in a company.

Source: EO via YouTube

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