10 Qs: Stoke.Com Finance VP Venkat Prabhala
FINANCE Q&A: In the high-growth field of mobile data, managing finance for a small player among giants takes special finance skills.
[CFOworld and IDG News Service produce 10 Qs -- interviews with CFOs or other finance exectuvies -- usually drawing them from technology companies.]
Over a career of more than 20 years, Venkat Prabhala often has found himself involved with companies that were either about to be acquired, or had just been acquired. As vice president, finance, for Santa Clara, Calif.-based Stoke Inc., he now heads up finance for a provider of mobile broadband gateways to carriers -- a small player in a field often dominated by giants. Stoke's focus is on overcoming limitations for its mobile-operating clients with new approaches that may replace "legacy approaches and architectures."
- Name: Age: 52
- Time with company: 3.5 years
- Education: Bachelor of Science degree from San Jose State and an MBA from Santa Clara University
- Company headquarters: Santa Clara, California
- Revenue: less than $60 million
- Countries: U.S., India, Japan, South Korea, U.K., Spain
- Number of employees total: 120
- Number of employees the VP of Finance oversees: 4
1. Where did you start in finance and what experiences led you to the job you have today?
I have over 20 years of business management and financial experience and have had a history of working with companies who have been acquired. I started at a Colgate subsidiary, MedaSonics. I then went to Star Medical, which was acquired by Coherent. As the director of finance at Certicom, I played an instrumental role in their Nasdaq IPO. After that, I was corporate controller at P-Cube, where I took a hands-on role leading the company's accounting and financial management
team until its acquisition by Cisco in 2004. Most recently, I served at Swan Labs, introducing sound fiscal practices that played a major role in the success of the company's acquisition by F5. At Stoke, I have been able to apply my leadership skills and financial experience in helping to build the company from the ground up.
2. Who was an influential boss for you and what lessons did they teach you about management and leadership?
Richard Brounstein, CFO at MedaSonics and Certicom, had a major influence on my career. He showed me the value of profound financial modeling skills in bringing companies to successful outcomes, either IPO or acquisition.
3. What are the biggest challenges facing CFOs today?
It is a challenge to support the immediate, tactical needs of a growing company while putting in place the resources that will help meet long-term strategic objectives. There is a constant need for prudent financial management, to identify the most essential areas for investment, and balance the "nice to have" with the "must have." Those choices are not always obvious.
4. What is a good day at work like for you?
A good day at work is when we either win new business or we develop a new solution. When you work in a startup, this type of breakthrough gets the adrenaline going.
5. How would you characterize your management style?
I ask people to deliver the best possible, highest-quality work that they are capable of because this provides them with the best possible rewards. We work hard, and we enjoy the results.
6. What strengths/qualities do you look for in job candidates?
