HISTORY
Established in January of 2004, The CFO Round Table was the brainchild of Kevin Mitchell.
Founders
Kevin Mitchell was asked to sponsor the FENG organization (the financial executives’
networking group) in 2002. This organization assists CFOs in transition.
He began vigorously supporting the Atlanta chapter: posting job opportunities; finding complementary
office space to hold chapter meetings; assisting in organizing quarterly events and coordinating additional
sponsors to contribute food and beverages for those events. His most significant contribution has been
successfully helping many transitional CFOs find their new positions.
Roundtable Inception
Kevin Mitchell saw the need for financial executives to stay connected well after
their transitional period was over. He started asking CFOs what the ideal networking event would look like.
Their input became the seeds for the structure of the organization:
· Lunch meeting
· Flexible attendance standard
· Sharing of best business practices
· Confidentiality
· Low annual membership dues or Fees
It was decided that the meetings would be held at 12 noon on Friday. Each group would be filled with approximately fifty CFOs. Realizing that financial executives are busy, this would insure a good turnout
while creating a flexible attendance protocol. The members could come when their schedule permitted,
as frequently or infrequently as they chose. In an effort to keep the meetings intimate, attendance would
be limited to the first 20 responders.
The first meeting was held in January, 2004. Today there are over 300 members, consisting of four
groups that participate in one meeting per month. As the organization evolved, additional social
events were introduced, including:
· Wine Tasting
· Golf Outing
· Christmas Gathering
These events have been well received and well attended by the members. Sponsorship has provided for
the cost of most of these functions. Attending one of these functions gives participants the opportunity to
meet other members outside their respective groups.
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