Mary Jeffries, CFO Starkey Hearing
The brilliant mind of Mary Jeffries, CFO of Starkey Hearing, is the business version of a Swiss Army knife. Over her career, she has held positions as CEO, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Strategy Officer, Board member, Chairman, and CFO. She has a history of success leading complex multimillion-dollar enterprises and start-ups with an ability to set a vision and see both the big picture as well as the details. Mary is not only well respected, but well liked. Her admirable career made Scouts Talent curious to learn more…
If you could try a different job for a day, what would you choose?
I would be a successful musician. I have no musical talent and I admire those who do!
What advice would you give someone starting out in your industry?
With any industry, I would spend time to really understand the product and the customer no matter what your level or position. This may seem obvious but often people just stay within their discipline and don’t take the time to learn the broader view.
What is your mantra?
Be direct, kind, respectful, honest, and trustworthy. It is always the right thing to do even if it might not be the popular road to take.
How do you get yourself out of a slump?
Get outside and bike, hike, run, walk with husband, daughter/son, sister/brother, or a good friend. The activity and these people keep me grounded on what is really important.
What companies or leaders do you admire?
I admire many leaders for their various accomplishments. I particularly admire Ruth Bader Ginsburg, former Supreme Court Justice. She was a trail-blazer and strong advocate for gender equality and women’s rights but was not radical in her approach. She was a consensus-builder. She was open and had very close friends who had very different legal views such as Antonin Scalia, which I believe made her leadership and decision-making stronger.
Who has been most instrumental in your career?
My partners at Mona (Dave), Meyer (Scott), McGrath (Denis), & Gavin (Sara), which became Weber Shandwick when sold to IPG. We created a very successful and prosperous fast-growing company with an amazing culture of winning together, full of like-minded people. We sadly lost Denis, but to this day we connect with each other and many who we worked with and share such amazing memories and success.
How has your strategy or approach to business changed due to the pandemic?
Throughout my career, I have worked remote for businesses with offices and HQs all around the world. We always made a point to get together in person. Hence, I was a road warrior. The pandemic brought us the tools to do this remote work much more efficiently, but the need to have the human connection is still important. Now, we must be more thoughtful on how we maintain that human connection. We support remote work, but I ask people to come on camera (even with bad hair or exercise clothes –which is just fine by me), spend time early in the remote-meeting with personal conversation and we have days and specific meetings where we ask people to come into the office.
What is your go-to celebration meal, drink, or tradition?
On our deck or patio on a nice evening with friends. My husband is an amazing cook, and he makes it special!
