WOMEN IN FINANCE Robin Campana

Founded in: 2002 About the Business: Acumera works to manage security, network visibility and automation services for multiple industries. Their services, remote visibility dashboard, robust data security and simplified compliance services allow their clients to focus on growing their businesses.

While some teens struggled to budget or keep track of money, for Robin Campana, debits and credits have always come easy. Now, she is the only woman on the Acumera leadership team, leading the entire finance department of the company.

“From a very young age, I was always great with numbers,” Campana says. “My first job began in my early teens filing for my dad’s company in Houston, Texas. Over the years, into high school and college, I worked my way around full-cycle accounting. Experiencing full-cycle accounting while you are taking college courses was invaluable. I was able to apply what I was learning to real transactions.”

In July 2019, a San Francisco digital company bought the marketing company where Campana worked as VP of finance. While she could have stayed, she missed the autonomy of working as a senior financial executive. It was time for a new adventure.

Then in October 2019, when Bill Morrow took on the role of CEO of Acumera, he looked for a senior financial executive to join him at the company. Having worked with Campana at CSIdentity in 2008, Morrow knew who to hire.

“Bill knew that I could handle the due diligence and present at the investor meetings that were on the horizon for Acumera,” Campana says. “I am very happy to be working with him again. He always motivates his teams to achieve their very best. The future is very bright at Acumera with Bill at the helm.”

Empowered women empower women. In 2010, Kendel Martin, the then president of Financial Executives International (FEI), empowered Campana to keep going in finance. Martin invited her to sit at her table and introduced her to FEI board members and other key members and sponsors. Campana admits making connections in this way helped her find her way to even more opportunities in the finance world.

“If she had not reached out in such a welcoming way, I seriously doubt that I would have ended up joining the board in 2016 and then becoming the first VP of diversity and inclusion in 2018, creating a new board role for the chapter,” Campana reveals. “I used my experience being warmly welcomed by Kendel as an example of how to make all guests and new members feel [the same].”

Even in her first job out of college, Campana was the first woman in the senior executive meetings. She says her father influenced her work ethic and mindset, instilling in her the belief that she could do anything she set her mind to.

“I was certainly capable of doing anything a man can do,” Campana says. “My father told me that I should always make sure that I am able to take care of myself. He said it was absolutely fine to choose to have a partner in life but always be able to pay my own bills and keep a roof over my own head at all times.”

At each of her early career transitions, Campana quickly rose to senior leadership levels because she was never intimidated by anyone, regardless of their gender. She attributes this mindset to her father, too, saying she learned her leadership skills from him.

“My father was and is my role model to this day,” Campana says. “I wanted to lead and manage teams just like I watched him do. I wanted to be a leader just like him.”

As someone who never wanted to specialize in one particular area or industry, Campana says working in finance allows for that flexibility. Over the years, she’s worked in many industries, from nonprofits, to setting gas prices in the marketing department at a fuel jobber, to a couple of tours in advertising and marketing firms, to the managed network service provider where she works now.

She’s even expanded past finance to start writing. In July 2018, she received an invitation to join Forbes Finance Council as a published author, where she shares her financial experience and knowledge with others. Campana says she typically finds more time to join expert panels than writing full articles; she hopes to make more time in 2022 to write, as she finds it fulfilling.

When giving advice to someone looking to work in the industry, Campana says it’s crucial to practice presenting early and often. Getting this experience early makes the pressure less intense.

“Look for opportunities to get in front of colleagues,” she encourages. “If you can interview well and sell yourself with confidence, you will typically stand out from the competition.”

Learn more about Robin Campana and her work at Acumera at: linkedin.com/in/robincampana financialexecutives.org/Network/Chapters/Austin/Home.aspx forbes.com/sites/forbesfinancecouncil/people/robincampana

robinscrystalroses.com (“For those that want to see my crafty side.”)