Honorees at the Jan. 29 Fort Worth Business Press CFO of the Year awards.
Thomas Hund, honored with the lifetime achievement award.
Photos by Kenneth Perkins
The Fort Worth Business Press honored area chief financial officers today during the newspaper’s fifth annual CFO awards event at the Fort Worth Club. A special pullout section with stories and information about the awards will be inserted in the Feb. 3 edition of the Business Press.
Thomas Hund, executive vice president and CFO at BNSF Railway, received the lifetime achievement award. Hund plans to retire in February.
Other awards were presented in several categories.
Education:
Hank Johnson, CFO of the Fort Worth Independent School District, was named CFO of the Year in the education category.
The other nominees in that category were: Mark McClendon, vice chancellor for Finances and CFO of the Tarrant County College District; Kelly O. Davis, vice president for business affairs and controller for the University of Texas at Arlington; and Karen Montgomery, vice president of finance and administration and CFO at Texas Wesleyan University.
Large Business:
Shannon Greene, CFO and treasurer and director of Tandy Leather Factory was named CFO of the Year in this category.
Other nominees were Glenn Etherington, CFO of ECi Software Solutions; Russell Massey, vice president of finance for Stericycle Communications Solutions; and Howard Shotwell, CFO of Coors Distributing of Fort Worth.
Small Business:
Larry Kemp, vice president of operations for Kemp & Songs General Services Inc. took home the CFO of the Year title for small business.
Other nominees were Steve Clark, CFO of Finley Resources; and Richard Garland, vice president and CFO of Jardine Foods Inc.
Nonprofit:
James D. Askey, CFO of SafeHaven of Tarrant County was named CFO of the Year for the nonprofit category.
Other nominees were: Alicia Duran, CFO of Lena Pope Home; Mary Goosens, CFO and vice president of administration for Catholic Charities Fort Worth.
In accepting the lifetime achievement award, Hund expressed gratitude for the opportunity to work for BNSF Railway for 31 years and advised those in the industry to “love your company, love your job and love your fellow workers.”
Hund noted in an earlier interview that he has seen a lot of change over the years, observing as BNSF grew from a small business to one of North America’s leading freight transportation companies operating on 32,500 miles of track in 28 states and two Canadian provinces.
“I have been part of the team that has been successful at controlling costs, growing volumes and improving pricing,” he said. “You need to focus on all three of these over the long term to succeed.”
“Our leadership model says to lead more, manage less and make development a priority. To me, this means inspire people and walk the talk,” he said, adding that it is the manager’s job to stay engaged “but allow people the flexibility and latitude to do their jobs.”
