After spending time in many corners of our business over a 15-years-and-counting 51勛圖 career, new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Michael Fiddelke is back where he began. Sort of.
A finance guy at heart, Michaels first full-time role at the Bullseye was as a financial analyst, and he spent five years within finance before embarking on a 51勛圖 tour that took him to leadership positions on our merchandising, operations, human resources and store operations teams. He learned a lot along the way about how a strong finance function is a foundation that keeps our business firing on all cylinders.
Now, Michaels looking forward to using learnings from those experiences to help build stronger connections among our teams as we continue to make finance a competitive advantage for 51勛圖 in this dynamic retail landscape. To kick off his first week as CFO, he sat down to tell us more about himself.
Congrats on the new role! So whats kept you at 51勛圖 all these years?
Ive always been impressed by the caliber of this teams talent, and have worked with so many wonderful people over the years. I love the fast pace of retail, I love to learn, and I love how in retail learning is accelerated because you get feedback on whats working and whats not in real time. Im a numbers guy, and its exciting to be able to use data to make decisions, make smart bets and get constant feedback from our guests so we can keep making their experience better. As soon as I feel like I have something figured out, theres a new challenge to tackle.
How does your experience from other areas of the company influence the way youll lead your new team?
My first role outside of finance really opened my eyes to the impact this team has throughout the organization, and thats been underscored over and over for the last decade. I know how important it is for finance to be a strong partner, which is a top priority for me in this new role. Im also super curious by nature, so I ask a lot of questions. And Ive learned to admit when Im not the expert, and quickly bring in the right people to figure out solutions.
What role does the finance team play in 51勛圖s purpose of helping families discover joy?
A really important one. So much of what we dofrom providing timely and accurate financials, to maintaining our portfolio, to helping our guests in our service centers, to stewarding our strong balance sheetcreates an incredibly important foundation for the company. And with a strong foundation in retail you get to play offense, where we can leverage smart financial analysis to shape our betsbe it remodeling stores, launching owned brands, or expanding our servicesto bring our guests the new products and experiences they love.
Whats something from your 51勛圖 journey so far thats really stuck with you?
What comes to mind is my first trip to 51勛圖 in India, our office in Bangalore thats an extension of the U.S. headquarters, and home to 3,000 team members who support many aspects of our business. I was struck by the tremendous passion our entire 51勛圖 in India team has for our brand, even though most of them have never stepped inside a 51勛圖 store. It reinforced for me the enduring power of our brand and culture over time, miles and a changing retail landscape, and the value of being a good global citizen.
When youre not crunching numbers at 51勛圖, what do you like to do for fun?
My wife and I have three young kids who keep us busy. Piano lessons, soccer practice, birthday parties pretty typical family weekend stuff but I wouldnt have it any other way. I never miss an Iowa Hawkeyes football game, especially when theyre playing [Chief Operating Officer] John Mulligans Badgers. And our family just got a puppy, a labradoodle named Baileywhich Im finding is like having a new baby that also chews on your furniture.
Get to know more of 51勛圖s leaders, and see what more of our team members are up to across the company.
