Melanie King
CFO
The Hagerman Group
My professional career started in Public Accounting with Ernst & Young (E&Y) directly following graduation from Purdue University with a degree in Accounting. My focus at E&Y was in audit for manufacturing and construction clients. After five years, I had an opportunity within construction and left public accounting to become Controller of an Electrical & Mechanical Contractor. From there, I joined The Hagerman Group as CFO. The Hagerman Group is a Commercial General Contractor based in Indiana. We also self-perform concrete and masonry contracts.
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What is one of your guiding leadership principles?
I’ve always considered teamwork to be one of the most important leadership principles. It is critical to me that my team knows that they will be supported, and I have found that the best ideas come from the individuals that do it everyday. I feel that the relationships that we have with each other make us a stronger team and better at adapting to change.
With disruption being a key theme of the past year, where do you see your role as a CFO going in the next 1-2 years?
I feel that the CFO role will be the one to drive change that benefits the whole organization in the coming years. Because of our position, we can innovate across several departments. Strategic thinking will also be critical as we continue to grow and operate in today’s environment.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the role as a CFO?
Learn to delegate tasks that keep you in the details unnecessarily.
Tell us 3 fun facts about yourself.
- I have a daughter who is a swimmer, so I spend countless hours by the pool, but I myself am a poor swimmer (I’m hoping that she will coach me someday).
- I’ve done the longest zipline in the US and Canada (over 2 km long).
- Tacos are my favorite food group.
What is the value of participating in a professional community through Evanta?
I really enjoy being able to take the time and meet other CFOs in the community. Evanta makes it easy to get all of us in the same room, and the time spent networking and learning from each other is invaluable.
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