Bill Lovette, CEO and president of Pilgrim’s Pride, gave A CEO’s Perspective of Financial Management at the 2011 Financial Management Seminar, sponsored by the U.S Poultry & Egg Association’s Poultry & Egg Institute.
“The most critical job of a CFO is not to provide the answers," said Lovette. "It is to help the team think critically about issues and help them arrive at a solution.” Lovette then presented a series of critical observations on financial management, discussing how strategic choices define a firm's market segmentation and provide the direction to create a sustainable, competitive advantage. “There is no silver bullet," said Lovette. "If you don’t have a competitive cost structure and if your balance sheet is not near pristine, you will not survive. The marketplace will not allow for, or pay for, complexity in your business model.”
Lovette’s presentation was the keynote for the Financial Management Seminar, which also included discussions of export conditions, regulatory challenges and forecast for future commodity prices. Approximately 150 industry finance professionals attended the event.
