ICE PEOPLE: Susan Decker

E-businesswoman

Susan Decker

For Susan Decker, chief financial officer and executive vice president, finance and administration, Yahoo! Inc, technology and business strategy have been leitmotifs in her life.

She studied computer science and economics at Tufts University in the US and acquired an MBA from Harvard Business School. For 14 years, she was an equity research analyst.

And then came Yahoo! Says Decker: "In 1997, I used to analyse Yahoo!'s stock while at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and I admired the company greatly for its work and processes. So when it offered me a position, I accepted it."

She joined Yahoo! in June 2004. She is now responsible for determining Yahoo!'s business strategy in global markets and for finance, human resources, legal and investor relations.

So what challenges does she face? "A CFO of an internet company is likely to face two challenges," she replies.

"First, as companies are growing larger, business is getting more complex. Hence companies have to continuously invest in processes, systems and back end support to run a robust network. Secondly, along with the growing business, CFOs have to deal with regulatory environments," she adds.

According to her, a sense of corporate governance has to exist in a company. The regulatory environment also means that CFOs today have to spend a greater amount of time looking at compliance issues.

Though the US-based "Institutional Investor" magazine said that she was the best CFO in the internet industry, she is modest about her achievements and prefers to let her colleagues talk about her.

Her vision for Yahoo! is clear. She says:" The company is not just about technology but one has also to strategise and look for a business opportunity as well to grow the business. This involves not only being glued to technology but being able to predict changes, anticipate and set the trends."

She keeps constant tabs on competitors like Bill Gates' MSN and Google and is almost paranoid about them. "The day we stop being paranoid, someone surely would take away our spot," she notes.

When not being paranoid, she spends time with her husband and children.