Bringing new plays to the FEI game plan: FEI's 2012-2013 chair is committed both to executing the organization's current strategies and bringing innovative thinking to her role.

• Author: Ladd, Scott
• Position: FEI Leadership

Marsha Hunt didn't envision becoming chair of Financial Executives International when she first started out on her career path more than 25 years ago. But she hadn't initially expected to become an accountant, either. Her early professional interest was law school and a legal career.

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Her undergraduate studies at Bucknell University, however, led her to accounting. It was a good academic decision, she says, as well as a good career plan. Today, she serves as vice president-controller and principal accounting officer of Cummins Inc., headquartered in Columbus, incl. Cummins is a global leader in power technologies, operating in more than 190 countries, with a global workforce of about 44,000 and revenues in excess of $13 billion.

Hunt has been chosen as the 2012-2013 U.S. board chair of FEI, after a year as vice chair that exposed her to the challenges--and rewards--of advocating on behalf of financial executives and the finance profession. "FEI has always been something special to me. It's been a very important part of my life," she says.

"I've been very proud of the respect and esteem afforded FEI by regulators, standard setters, high-profile sponsors and the media," she says. "I believe it is a milestone in one's career when the level of responsibility to qualify for membership in FEI is achieved."

During her year as chair, Hunt says she expects to help advance FEI's strategic objectives and looks to make organizational improvements and enhancements where possible. She notes that FEI fly-ins to meet with legislators and regulators in Washington, D.C., "are very important," and that the move toward a more global organization--by virtue of the launch of the chapter in Japan earlier this year--is a key sign of FEI's expanding influence.

"The more we understand about other parts of the world, the more we will understand the economic environments in which we operate," says Hunt. "FEI's global activities enhance our brand recognition and also relevance to our members."

Of FEI's role in shaping U.S. public policy, Hunt concedes that "it's not possible to have any influence if we are not at the table. Our efforts to be at the table on a variety of business topics--not just accounting standards--cannot be underestimated."

Her immediate goals are strategic. "I want to continue the work to clarify the collaborative roles between staff and the volunteer board," says Hunt. "With the governance structure changes approved in May, fiscal 2013 will be an important year to "execute and ensure the Action teams and Communities of Interest are well understood and established."

Hunt notes that, "We are in an interesting generational time, with three distinct generations of members, all of which engage in business and with FEI in different ways. To grow our membership, we need to work even harder to appeal to all qualified individuals in our profession and continue to refresh our communications."

To do this, she says, "we need an organization that embraces change and encourages and welcomes new ideas." As for how to improve U.S. chapters, Hunt says that acknowledging changing demographics and how executives conduct their business--"to better understand the way people work"--could help in building increased organizational engagement. She explains that in her time as a financial executive with Corning Inc. in Upstate New York, she was about 90 miles from the nearest FEI chapter.

"That's why I'm excited about our Communities of Interest," says Hunt. "Virtual...