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Wednesday, March 17, 2010
The Mover
Mall Networks CFO Cambray has a record of operational success
By Lynette F. Cornell, Special to Mass High Tech
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Even in the best of markets, joining a startup can be risky. Mall Networks Inc.’s new CFO Karen Cambray, 43, is not deterred, however. She has been joining startups for over a decade, riding their rollercoasters of risks and rewards.
“There are all kinds of challenges in these environments,” said Cambray. “You’ve got to be creative.”
Those startup challenges include limited resources, little cash, and finding leverage when making deals with big companies. She is proud of the big deals she’s put together, but also of those she’s walked away from.
Her role as CFO of Mall Networks, a developer of software-based loyalty shopping programs, involves more than managing finances and negotiating deals. She is also responsible for identifying trouble spots and developing answers to those problems.
While working as CFO at Bedford-based Groove Mobile Inc., she analyzed the cost of the company’s decision to outsource its music file storage. She discovered the company could save money by building its own on-site storage facility. The lesson learned, she said, was to continually re-evaluate the current model and if the data supports change, to make it quickly.
She considers herself a business person, constantly seeking to understand the operations of a company and not just its finances. When joining a startup, she evaluates the company as a whole, tailoring her management of operations to the company’s specific needs.
She said she is passionate about learning new markets and new technologies. Her career spans a wide range of technologies: software, services, mobile, affiliate marketing, manufacturing and consumer devices.
“One of the great things about being a CFO is that my skills are needed across pretty much all technologies and domains,” she said.
Her interest in accounting grew from a desire to understand how businesses worked. She figured the best way to learn was to gain an understanding of the finances, because that is what all business comes down to.
After earning a degree in accounting from Merrimack College in 1988, she began working as an auditor at Arthur Andersen, one of the “big five” accounting firms at the time. After two years, she became a financial manager for medical products firm Millipore Corp. in Billerica, where she stayed eight years.
After a few more financial management jobs, she landed at Groove Mobile and helped it close a $15.5 million equity financing. In March 2008, she negotiated its $14.5 million sale to Livewire Mobile Inc. of Littleton. Most recently, she served as CFO and senior VP of operations for Chelmsford’s Zeemote Inc., a developer of wireless controllers for mobile devices.
For Cambray, the key to success is to stay focused and to push herself farther than she previously has — a mind-set she has honed as an avid runner and golfer.
To aspiring accountants, she advises that they find a good team, really understand the business, and seek out a good set of mentors.
Lynette F. Cornell is a freelance writer in Manchester, N.H.
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