From the Editor.

This is my first issue as Editor-in-Chief of Financial Executive, and I'm delighted to have the opportunity to shape a magazine that speaks to such an accomplished group of financial decision-makers. Every new editor comes in with a unique set of experiences and ideas, and over the next few months you can expect to see some changes in content and design -- the latter area being the province of our new art director, Laura Avello.

A great deal has been written -- too much, perhaps -- about the New Millennium, but the arrival of the 21st Century has brought into bold relief just how quickly new ideas, and information in general, is reshaping business practices. Skilled financial executives, capable not just of making the numbers work but of helping guide their businesses as they grow, will be in more demand than ever.

The emergence of the New Economy, with its dizzying array of dot.coms and Internet infrastructure providers, has underscored just how quickly things are changing. New business models are being spawned, but not all will be winners: Just look at the boom and developing bust of Internet retailers. The financing of new e-businesses, with the crucial roles of venture capital and stock options, has created new processes and new worries for corporate financial managers. Stocks zoom up and down, at times seemingly untethered to common sense or anything sturdier than whim. Companies that meet their targets may find themselves lashed by the market for failing to deliver on "whisper numbers." What financial manager doesn't worry about how suddenly perception can move from reality?

I plan to use this space to talk about new developments and trends in this evolving world of finance and to spotlight two or three of the stories in an issue, to discuss their implications and why we chose to assign them. Two articles in this issue offer a good starting point.

Gregory Millman's cover story on superior CFOs, their strategies and their successes, is -- let's face it -- a bit arbitrary on its face. Others might arguably have been chosen. But the seven who are spotlighted are indicative of the changing nature of top finance jobs -- besides processing numbers and making budgets, today's top CFO is involved in strategic partnering in the overall management of the business. That means that while solid financial skills remain a given, advancement depends more than ever on communications skills, finding effective mentors and an ability to identify the right business models.

And Sharon O'Shea's article about new leadership notions points out quite tellingly how executives in companies as varied as Shell International and Veritas, the software maker, have looked at their internal processes and realized that they needed either to change their culture or preserve it in the wake of a merger. O'Shea's article underscores a shift in values from the old, hierarchical way of leading companies to one in which words like intuition, trust and consensus hold sway. Not every company has bought into those values, of course, but the roster is growing every week. In an investment world that values growth, excessive control can be an anchor. Financial managers need to be part of a corporate team that formulates new thinking and unleashes potential.