Are you the ‘turkey’ or ‘stuffing’ at work? This CFO neuroscientist has a way to find out

Han is the CFO and COO at Cambrian Bio, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a pipeline of therapeutics to treat diseases that come with age. The Harvard Medical School-trained neuroscientist is also a part-time finance professor at Columbia—and a close observer of workplace behavior.

“We’re humans,” Han told me. “We’re more than bots that are providing a function. So there’s a bit of a personality aspect to teamwork.” And what position you serve in has a lot to do with your personality, she said.

Han wanted to share a fun and “refreshing way” to demonstrate how every employee can bring something positive to the table, and that even includes a person who may have an off-putting personality. So she compared it to the components of a satisfying meal, which led to a Thanksgiving personality assessment. When I saw her post about it on LinkedIn, I became intrigued (and a little hungry!)

Here’s a summary of Han’s assessment of personas represented by a traditional Thanksgiving dish:

Turkey: The high-maintenance star. This person is the centerpiece of an organization or project. They need a lot of attention and care, but they can be the deciding or even risky factor of success. Although they can be finicky, and not well-liked by everyone, “it’s the person that everyone knows you need,” she told me. But a turkey can’t stand alone either, she said. 

Stuffing: The connector. They know how to work well with the superstar turkey. “They synthesize for the team and soak up any extra work in a pinch,” according to Han.

Mashed potatoes: The reliable one. This person is dependable year-round. “You might not notice them, and sometimes you might not appreciate them, but that’s the go-to person,“ Han said. 

Gravy: The problem-solver. They complement everything and are flexible team players who can resolve conflicts. “Some may say it’s just sauce, but without it, people notice something’s missing,” she said.

Cranberry sauce: The creative thinker. They are colorful and different and bring an unexpected “zing” to projects, according to Han. They brighten up the team, even if they’re often underestimated. 

To find out if you’re like a green bean casserole or yams with marshmallows, and what dish Han thinks best represents her personality, you can check out her LinkedIn post here. 

In 2020, Han joined Cambrian Bio, headquartered in New York City. The company manages a number of drug programs led by top scientists, for example, Amplifer Therapeutics. During a conversation we had in May, she explained how her career path led to finance from neuroscience.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Han shared why she is thankful. “As I turned 40, I did have a health scare,” she told me. “I’m thankful for my daily resilience.” And that includes good overall health, she said. 

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

The next CFO Daily will be in your inbox on Friday, Nov. 29. Enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday.

Leaderboard

Janesh Moorjani was named CFO at Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK), effective Dec. 16. Moorjani brings over 20 years of experience. Moorjani has served as CFO Elastic NV, a search AI company, since 2017. He assumed the additional responsibilities of COO in 2022. Before Elastic, he served in executive and leadership roles at Infoblox, VMware, Cisco, PTC, and Goldman Sachs.

Clio C. Crespy was named EVP and CFO at California Resources Corporation (NYSE: CRC), an energy and carbon management company, effective Jan. 1. CRC’s current CFO Nelly Molina will be stepping down at the end of the year. Crespy most recently was senior managing director of investment banking, global energy and power at Guggenheim Securities, where she also led the sustainability practice. Previously, she was a managing director at Evercore.

Big Deal

Deloitte’s “2024 Black Friday-Cyber Monday Survey (BFCM)” finds that this year, even as consumers plan to spend more, value appears to be a high priority. Consumers are expected to spend a record $650 during (BFCM) shopping events (Nov. 28-Dec. 2), up 15% from last year, according to Deloitte. 

Consumers, on average, plan to spend about 56% of their holiday budgets during the BFCM period, up from 47% in 2023. Another finding is 53% plan to use credit cards (up from 35% in 2023), and 29% will leverage buy now pay later services. Overall financing and credit card usage are highest among millennials (72% for each). The findings are based on a survey of 1,200 consumers. 

“We continue to see the week evolve as a hybrid event, but online retailers are taking the top spot for the preferred format for the first time among those surveyed,” Brian McCarthy, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP said in a statement. 

 

Going deeper

In the latest installment of the Wharton business journal “Future of Finance” series, Professor Itay Goldstein is joined by Tobias Adrian, financial counselor and director of the International Monetary Fund. They discuss the regulatory challenges posed by the rapid adoption of AI in finance.

Some of the topics include the emerging risks AI introduces to the financial sector and the balance between innovation and stability in global financial markets.

Overheard

“The basis of competition has shifted—and the prize for those that rethink their business model accordingly is enormous. But here’s the catch. Our research also finds that only 10% of companies qualify as personalization leaders.”

—Mark Abraham, managing director and senior partner at BCG and David C. Edelman, a fellow at Harvard Business School, and a former CMO of Aetna, write about customer personalization in a Fortune opinion piece titled, “Here’s the formula companies like Netflix, Uber, and Spotify will use to capture $2T in growth over the next decade.”