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ISS CFO honored "CFO of the year"
ISS rang the bell at NASDAQ
An independent professional jury has picked Group CFO of ISS Heine Dalsgaard as CFO of the year 2014. The nomination follows a thorough selection process initiated by the Danish newspaper Berlingske.
At an event with several hundred Danish CFOs participating,Berlingske Business announced, that Heine Dalsgaard, Group CFO, ISS A/S, has been named CFO of the year 2014. Every year since 2012, the newspaper has nominated the best Danish CFOs in cooperation with PFA Pension and SAS Institute.
Berlingske highlights that the requirements and expectations are constantly being raised for the modern CFO. It is no longer enough for a CFO to manage a spreadsheet and put the magnifying glass on the right numbers. Increasingly, the CFO must master communication and be able to speak in clear language as well as maintain a close dialogue with both employees and the world around the company.
Heine Dalsgaard, Group CFO, ISS
A/S,: “I am both delighted and very proud of this acknowledgement, particularly on behalf of ISS and all my colleagues in the ISS finance organisation. Although this award focuses on the role of the CFO, I think it is just as much an acknowledgment of the company and the team around the CFO.”
“I don’t think it is a coincidence that the judges have looked towards ISS in 2014. In the recent year, ISS has been very busy in the financial domain. We have worked hard to launch an IPO, we have refinanced our debt and continued the execution of our strategy which has resulted in several successful divestments. These are all activities that have required team spirit and hard work within ISS and these are activities, which have been noticed outside ISS. This applies especially to our IPO where 20,000 investors from Denmark and abroad showed confidence in our company by buying shares in ISS.”
The CFO of the year is selected based on a four-step process:
- Berlingske Research identifies a list of 50 CFOs of the largest and most prominent companies in terms of revenue.
- The list is then distributed to the Berlingske Business' expert panel of senior partners in major legal services, accounting and consulting houses, head-hunters, equity managers , CEOs and professors.
- The executive search firm Odgers Berndtson interviews the three candidates receiving the highest number of points. A written assessment of each candidate is prepared.
- Finally the Jury selects the winner.
The jury consist of: Peter North Overgaard, CFO of Berlingske Media, Chairman Jesper Brandgaard, CFO of Novo Nordisk, winner of CFO of the year 2013, Lars Frederiksen, Chairman of Matas, and Per Bank, CEO of Danish Supermarket.
ISS opened the trading day at the NASDAQ Stock Exchange in New York City. In his opening remarks on ISS, Bob Greifeld highlighted ISS’ successful IPO, its effectiveness and innovation. “You are the epitome of a NASDAQ listed company,” he said.
“We are here today thanks to the great efforts of our more than 520,000 colleagues around the world,” said Group CEO Jeff Gravenhorst.
“We are indeed pleased to be back on the stock exchange and proud to stand here today. I take our successful IPO in March as a vote of confidence in ISS, in my colleagues, and my management team. It illustrates our position as leading global service provider with the ambition of becoming the world’s greatest service organisation,” Gravenhorst added.
‘Investors want us’
ISS Chairman Lord Allen of Kensington, said: “Following eight years under private equity ownership, ISS is now again a publicly traded company. Investors want us. Initially almost 20,000 institutional and private investors bought shares in ISS, and although our Headquarters are in Copenhagen Denmark, our new owners are indeed very international – exactly as it is the case for our business.”
The Group CEO and Chairman pushed the orange NASDAQ button to mark the opening of the trading day while approximately 50 ISS executives and uniformed employees from the local organisation were cheering and clapping.
The Consul General of Denmark in New York, Ambassador Jarl Frijs-Madsen was also among the guests at the bell ringing ceremony.
"It is a pleasure to celebrate the listing of ISS which is the biggest Danish employer globally with more than half a million employees and a company with a stable and strong financial performance," said Jarl Frijs-Madsen.
‘Makes me proud’
The ceremony was broadcasted on CNBC, Bloomberg and a number of other TV stations as well as social media and on the giant screens on Times Square. Here, ISS’ corporate movie and the slogan ‘ISS adds the human touch to the stock exchange’ was also shown in several feet high letters. The entire group of executives and employees gathered outside, after the ceremony, for photos and interviews.
“It was a great and fun experience. It makes me even more proud of working for ISS,” said a smiling Sandra De Jesus, cleaning assistant with ISS USA, after the ceremony.
ISS is listed at the NASDAQ Copenhagen Stock Exchange.
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