2010 Canada's CFO of the year[TM].

• Author: Heffes, Ellen M.
• Position: INTERVIEW - Interview - Company overview

For the 9th year, Financial Executives International Canada, in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Caldwell Partners, has selected Canada's Chief Financial Officer of the Year. And, for the first time in the award's history, the search resulted in a tie.

CYNTHIA DEVINE

As chief financial officer of the Tim Hortons chain of restaurants, Cynthia Devine oversees the finances of an enormously successful enterprise, with nearly 4,000 locations in Canada, the United States, Ireland and the United Kingdom. But there's one location of which she's particularly proud: The one in Afghanistan.

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When military leaders asked their troops what would make them more comfortable being so far from home, they reportedly said, "bring us a Tim Hortons." And Devine's company responded: "We'll make it happen."

Naturally, shipping coffee and donuts into a war zone was not without its challenges. But Devine says, it's all worth-while. "It's one of the most popular locations on restaurant row in Afghanistan and an important part of the military life for Canadians and other military personnel stationed there," she says.

Devine, a CA and FEI member, is used to confronting business challenges head on and turning them into successes. It's that professionalism that has earned her the recognition as Canada's CFO of the Year 2010. It's an honor, she says, "to be recognized by such a respected group within the Canadian financial and business landscape."

Following turns in her career as senior vice president of finance of Maple Leaf Consumer Foods and as CFO of Pepsi-Cola Canada Ltd., Devine has served since 2003 as CFO of the iconic Oakville, Ontario-based Tim Hortons' brand, the fourth-largest publicly traded restaurant company in North America.

In the quick-service sector, Tim Hortons emerged from the recession quite well, she says. Its system-wide chain sales in 2009 reached $5 billion and consolidated company revenue was $2.2 billion, as it serves approximately 40 percent of the share of QSR traffic.

Since Canadian hockey legend Tim Horton launched a small coffee and donut shop in 1964 (as a concept to sustain him beyond his hockey days), the business has grown exponentially in popularity, customers, service offerings and revenues, but without Horton, who was killed in a tragic automobile accident in 1974.

There are about 1,800 corporate employees and most of the locations are operated by franchisees (99 percent of the outlets), with corporate stores used primarily for training or transitional purposes. The company controls about 80 percent of the real estate assets.

Best known for its typical standalone, drive-through locations that feature premium coffees and fresh baked goods, Tim Hortons also carries breakfast sandwiches and soups and sandwiches. The brand is widely recognized in Canada, and less so in the U.S. Tim Hortons caters primarily to the morning and lunch crowd.

In an effort to increase traffic at the slower times of the day--beginning in late-2008 and through last year--several of the U.S. stores began a test with the ice cream retailer Cold Stone Creamery.

"It makes a lot of sense since the ice cream business is complementary to our product offerings, and the restaurants are currently busiest in the morning and at lunch time, while ice cream is mostly an afternoon and evening snacking occasion," says Devine. This concept "allows us to leverage that real estate and bring in...