Cynthia Devine has what, in Canada, might be called a balanced lifestyle. She keeps fit by running, but has a weakness for Timbits, the small doughnut balls that are the soft succulent core of the Tim Hortons phenomenon. Ms. Devine, 46, is chief financial officer of Tim Hortons Inc., the latest stop in a career dedicated to numbers and food. She is also co-winner of this year’s CFO of the Year award, bestowed upon the country’s most worthy senior financial leaders.
Why a career in the food industry?
There’s a passion and energy around companies that have products you can touch and feel. It’s pretty contagious.
I did almost every finance job there was to do at Pepsi Canada over 10 years. I wanted to continue to learn and grow, and the Maple Leaf Foods opportunity [senior vice-president, finance] came up – a great company as well, with a very diverse product line. It allowed me to learn a lot more about food manufacturing.
So why move to Tim Hortons?
Every company I had worked for wanted to do business with Tim Hortons. At Pepsi, we were trying to do business with them; at Maple Leaf, we were a supplier. I was intrigued. If nothing else, if I applied there, I could learn about the company and that would help me as I go forward.
Then, when I came for the interview, I liked the people; I liked the atmosphere. It was a Canadian company. There was a connection personally with the brand because of the community work and all the things I respected.
Was there a potential downside?
At the time it was owned by Wendy’s. I didn’t necessarily want to work at another company controlled by a U.S. company, but as soon as I came here, I found the feel was different. Tim Hortons was run very autonomously. I was in the right place at the right time. There was an initial public offering and I was able to lead that, and then the spinoff [from Wendy’s].
At the CFO awards gala, the audience was amused when a slide identified you as ‘CEO’ of Tim Hortons. Would you like to be a CEO?
Maybe at some point down the road. For me, it’s all about interesting and challenging work. Just be patient and enjoy what you are doing.
You’re responsible for manufacturing, including coffee-roasting and doughnut glazes … do CFOs usually take direct operational roles?
Not necessarily, but I would call that a bit of Tim Hortons. When I came here, one of the things they said is, “Everybody wears lots of hats.” So while your title is interesting, you have an opportunity to do lots of things. People have bits and pieces of experiences and challenges that make them well-rounded. If you’re worried about titles and those kinds of things, it’s probably not the company to work for.
And as a finance person, I’ve always had a bit more of a slant toward business. I want to be involved in the business; I want to be a business partner. I’m not really just a numbers cruncher.
Do you get involved in strategy?
In our executive team, we all get very involved in strategy. It’s not just a couple of people off in a room by themselves developing strategy.
In some companies, people are exactly the same, and you say, “Okay, that is someone from such-and-such company.” They are cut from the same cloth. Here, everybody brings a unique background and interesting perspectives. So we come up with different viewpoints and it helps make much better decisions.
Isn’t there a distinct culture?
