Barron's China × Futu officially launches the 2023 'Top 100 CFOs of Chinese Companies Listed in Hong Kong and the US' evaluation!

The year 2022, full of changes and uncertainties, has passed, but risks and challenges in international and domestic markets continue. Externally, the prospects of Fed rate hikes remain uncertain, inflation remains persistently high, and the shadow of a global economic recession still hangs overhead like the 'Sword of Damocles.' Although the turmoil in Bank of America shares has temporarily subsided, geopolitical factors are still evolving, leading to profound adjustments in the global landscape.

Internally, domestic consumption recovery is still underway as an interest rate-cutting wave sweeps in. Loose policies are boosting market confidence, while themes such as artificial intelligence, energy, precious metals, and biomedicine rapidly evolve, constantly presenting new characteristics alongside fluctuations in the macroeconomic situation.

Behind this environment, as the most direct participants in the market, Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong and the US undoubtedly faced more new challenges in 2023, while also summarizing new opportunities, experiences, and gains amid cyclical and structural changes. When significant market changes occur, capital often represents the lifeline of a company, sometimes even determining its survival.Corporate financial managers often begin to shoulder more responsibilities, and the evolution of their decision-making roles reflects underlying market trends, demonstrating characteristics that hold significance for the times.

As a partner accompanying Hong Kong and US-listed companies through challenging times, Futu deeply recognizes the critical value of CFOs amidst economic cycle fluctuations—Exploring and analyzing the mission, experiences, and role significance of corporate CFOs and finance teams is highly referential and forward-looking, helping companies navigate uncertain cycles more effectively.

In 2022, Futu, together with the Chinese edition of Barron's, initiated the 'Top 100 CFOs of Chinese Companies Listed in Hong Kong and the US' evaluation. The event received active feedback and support from nearly a hundred CFOs and garnered widespread attention from industry professionals.In 2023, we will once again collaborate to launch the 'Top 100 CFOs of Chinese Companies Listed in Hong Kong and the US' evaluation! Registration for the event has officially started, and the results will be announced by the end of August 2023.

Looking at last year’s evaluation results, the total market value of the 100 companies on the main list was 11.3 trillion yuan, and their total net profit for the fiscal year 2021 reached 1 trillion yuan, both accounting for nearly 30% of the total market value and net profit of all companies within the scope. This indicates that the companies where the selected CFOs work are leading in key metrics such as scale and profitability. In terms of industry distribution, it covered 10 primary and 20 secondary industries according to Wind (WanDe), including financial services, new energy, real estate, consumer goods, technology, and more.

Following the release of the evaluation results, we organized several CFO dinners and interviews, providing CFOs with a platform for communication while delving deeper into discussions about the changes and emerging characteristics of corporate financial management. The goal was to summarize and form a more comprehensive analysis of the CFO role, with topics such as digitalization, sustainability, capital security, and the integration of business and finance becoming central themes.

Regarding evaluation settings, this year we will further refine and optimize. On top of the main list and the three special focus sub-evaluations – 'Outstanding IPO Case of the Year,' 'Outstanding Finance Team of the Year,' and 'Female CFO of the Year' – we have added‘CFO with the Most Growth Potential of the Year.’、"CFO of Special Annual Focus"Two sub-evaluations,The "Most Growth-Potential CFO of the Year" is aimed at CFOs under 40 years old, recognizing outstanding CFOs in emerging fields and sectors who are adept at seizing opportunities, demonstrating innovation and an enterprising spirit. The "CFO of Special Annual Focus" targets excellent companies in industries that have yet to go public, selecting financial managers with rich professional experience and great potential for development, while also focusing on future leading companies and prominent enterprises in their respective tracks.

During last year’s evaluation process, we received strong support from numerous financial and non-financial experts and academics, coming from academic institutions, policy research areas, the Big Four international accounting firms, as well as exchanges, law firms, etc. Throughout the entire judging process, experts from both academia and industry exchanged ideas and held thorough discussions, ensuring a comprehensive and objective evaluation while sparking much resonance and reflection.

This year, we planto add 2-3 new judges, further ensuring fairness, objectivity, and authority in the evaluation. We will also expand our outreach efforts,attracting a wider pool of excellent CFOs from Chinese companies to participate in the evaluation, allowing us to explore more deeply the role characteristics, responsibilities, and significance of CFOs in modern Chinese companies.

Regarding evaluation dimensions, this year’s assessment continues to consist of four components: corporate financial indicators, non-financial indicators, expert scores, and public awareness. The evaluation of financial indicators comprehensively examines two main categories: scale and efficiency. Non-financial indicators reflect the soft power of CFOs, focusing on their outstanding contributions over the past year in supporting company growth, ensuring business safety, asset protection, maintaining supply chain security, and other aspects.

The advent of the 'VUCA era,' characterized by uncertainty, instability, and complexity, has placed an even more critical role on corporate leaders, especially CFOs. Beyond financial management and leadership, they must also oversee business operations, strategic forecasting, and planning, working alongside CEOs and chairmen to drive corporate strategic transformation, innovation, and development, jointly building long-term value for the enterprise. Through the 'Top 100 CFOs of Chinese Companies Listed in Hong Kong and the US' evaluation, we believe that this will bring together the strength of more managers. By summarizing, reflecting, and exchanging ideas, it will help Chinese companies navigate global capital markets with resilience and momentum.

The following are the evaluation criteria:

I. Scope of Evaluation

◆ The CFO evaluation is aimed at the following evaluation subjects:

1. Senior financial executives such as Chief Financial Officers, Financial Directors, and Vice Presidents of Finance of Chinese companies listed on the Hong Kong and US stock exchanges;

2. Currently holding the position of Chief Financial Officer (or equivalent financial management role) for more than three years;

3. During the evaluation period, neither the individual nor the company has engaged in poor business practices or caused adverse social impacts.

II. Evaluation Setup

◆ Main Evaluation

Barron's Chinese Edition: Top 100 CFOs of Chinese Companies Listed in Hong Kong and the US

◆ Sub-evaluation

Outstanding IPO Case of the Year:An IPO is a milestone event for any company's development. It can be considered a comprehensive assessment of a CFO’s overall capabilities, including their financial expertise, teamwork skills, communication and coordination with institutions, and even crisis management and response abilities.

Outstanding Financial Team of the Year:Building an outstanding financial team is as important as the personal achievements and leadership of an excellent CFO. We highly value the CFO’s ability to lead and coordinate the team, as well as the stability, continuity, and structural rationality of the financial team they lead.

Female CFO of the Year:“The shift of the times aligns perfectly with female characteristics.” This sub-evaluation focuses more gently on the innovative decisions, transformations, and value created by female financial leaders in the digital economy era, while paying attention to and witnessing the strengthening and guidance of women’s rights and female leadership in the workplace.

Most Promising CFO of the Year:Targeting CFOs under the age of 40 (born no earlier than June 1, 1983), this award recognizes outstanding CFOs who excel at seizing opportunities, demonstrate innovative vitality, and possess an enterprising spirit in emerging fields and industries.

CFO of Special Focus for the Year:Targeting financial strategy decision-makers with over three years of cumulative experience as CFOs in listed companies, currently working for non-listed companies. Focusing on future industry-leading companies and outstanding enterprises, we select experienced financial strategy decision-makers from excellent companies with significant growth potential.

III. Evaluation Process

Registration phase: June - July

Evaluation phase: July - August

Publication phase: End of August

IV. Submission Materials Instructions

(Please read carefully and submit materials according to the requirements)

All CFOs who intend to participate in the 2023 Barron's China "Top 100 CFOs of Chinese Companies Listed in Hong Kong and the US" evaluation must submit their application materials. The submission materials are divided into three parts.

The first part is the [Applicant's Commitment Letter + Application Form]. All applicants should scan (see below) to download, complete, and submit. Specifically, the commitment letter should be printed, signed by hand, scanned or photographed, and then submitted.

The second part [Special Focus Sub-evaluation Materials] should be written and submitted by the candidates based on their individual or team strengths related to the sub-evaluation aspect (please limit the word count to within 3000). The file format must be a PDF exported from Word; no other formats will be accepted.

For the third part [Supplementary Materials], candidates are required to submit one business photo (white background) and a resume. Acceptable file formats include doc, docx, pdf, jpg, png, etc.

Download link for evaluation materials:

◆ Evaluation Regulations

◆ Registration Form

All evaluation materials must be emailed as attachments to service@futuie.com by 6:00 PM on July 31st. The email should be named in the format 'Name-Company-CFO Elite 100 Evaluation Materials,' and individual files should be named as 'Part x - Name.'

Scan the QR code to fill out the registration form for the selection. Further updates on the evaluation activities and details about the judging panel will be announced later. Stay tuned.

*Note: The information collected from the evaluation materials will be used to understand your intention to participate, announce evaluation results, and for contact purposes. By filling out and successfully submitting the information, you agree to authorize the organizer to legally collect, use, and protect your information according to these materials.

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