New Chairmen Share A Unifying Goal.

Young, Millar seek closer ties between chapters and national organizations in the U.S. and Canada.

On the Agenda: Inclusion

Jeffrey Marshall

David Young, a Californian who is celebrating his 20th year with FEI, is as concerned as any CFO with GAAP. But there's another gap that he wants to address during his 2001-02 term as chairman of FEI -- a disconnect he senses between FEI chapters around the country and the national organization.

"While continuing to grow and strength en our membership, I would like to have the chapters feel more a part of the national organization," says Young, CFO of Adaptec Inc., a high-tech data storage firm in Milpitas, Calif., that distributes storage solutions that move, manage and protect critical data and digital content.

"Communication is key, and there are no easy answers," he adds. "As a group, we have worked on this, and the Web has been a wonderful tool. But for some reason, when you go to a chapter meeting, you get the flavor from the members there that national is somehow different. I don't know why."

Young says that in some cases, business practices may be at issue. The concern over pro forma earnings isn't a worry for many established companies and their members from FEI, including some national technical committee members, he notes -- but it is a huge issue in his area in Northern California, where young, high-tech firms have often released earnings focused on their pro forma numbers.

The 57-year-old Young has been an FEI leader since becoming president of the Orange County chapter in 1989, and he preaches involvement. "When I speak at chapter meetings, I urge people to get involved. You'll help the chapter, and you'll help achieve what nation al wants to accomplish."

Expanding FEI's international reach -- and building on the 2000 name change to "international" -- is another key priority, but Young acknowledges it will be a long-term project. "We need to really set the right groundwork to start the changes that are necessary over a decade or longer, to make it really meaningful. What we've got to do is work through the details and put a plan in place. It's got to be clear and succinct. And it will take a while" -- so long, he thinks, that such a plan may eventually be implemented by others not yet in leadership roles with FEI national.

The new chairman says a personal goal of his is to serve on corporate boards as an audit committee member -- in keeping with FEI efforts to position members as financial experts for such service. "When you look at qualifications of people with supposed expertise, you have to ask, 'do they really have what was intended?'" he asks. "Folks will start to realize the importance of this campaign if the SEC clamps down. If it turns out that this was just a gesture, then that's different." Another unrealized goal is to serve as chief operating officer or CEO "of a growing corporation."

Young has spent most of the past generation as a CFO in a series of high-tech firms, though he served two years as president of a family owned firm in the packaging and chemicals industry, Blower Dempsay, and five years as president of his own financial consulting firm, Young Associates.

Asked what he did there, he says, "You name it, I did it." He says the firm worked on areas ranging from bankruptcies and systems installations to accounting problems, and he even spent six months as the acting CFO of a client company.

In that time, of course, he has seen the finance profession change dramatically, "from a drain on an organization to a provider of timely information that greatly assists in running the company. ... The rudimentary accounting practice of most corporations has grown into a first-class partner in providing information that is timely in the decision-making process, and business in the Internet economy has really just begun."

New tools like eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and the evolving eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) will bring even more immediacy and access to financial reporting, and companies continue to pursue the idea of the "virtual close." Says Young: "I was thinking about what we do here, with what amounts to a three- to five-day close. When I called our people in and asked about a virtual close, I got the normal feedback that you might expect -- some pushback that 'our systems don't allow us to do this, we're not sufficiently interconnected.' And it isn't easy, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth working on."

Californian by Choice

The new FEI chairman, an Indiana native, has a close connection with Houston, where his two daughters live with their families. But he considers himself a Californian, having decided in the 1970s, when his first job at Container Corporation of America brought him to the state for a stint, that he wanted to live there. Actually, that first job took him to a number of places, including Philadelphia and Cleveland, as well as Indiana and California, and gave him exposure to the workings of a large company. When he returned to the Golden State, he decided "that's where I wanted to be, even though I was a Hoosier."

He's a confirmed travel lover, and has done a lot of boating -- "more sailing than power-boating," he says -- and confesses to enjoy golf, though he laughingly declines to reveal his handicap. "Golf is an interesting sport, but I really don't have enough time to pursue it at this point."

Young says he learned very early, with two paper routes as a young boy, the values of responsibility and accountability. "I still think a Midwest work ethic exists," he says. "I can't remember when I didn't have a job or wasn't responsible for something, and I think that's important. Any time you can get a youngster doing something productive, you will have something better down the road."

The Young File

Name: David A. Young

Title: Vice President and CFO

Company: Adaptec Inc., Milpitas, Calif.

Career Path: 1969-1978, Container Corporation of America, Controller; 1978-1984, MSI Data, VP and CFO; 1985-1990, Young Associates, President; 1990-1992, Alpha Micro, VP and CFO; 1992-1994, Blower Dempsay, CEO; 1994-2000, Datum Inc., VP and CFO; 2000 -- present, Adaptec Inc., VP and CFO.

FEI Positions: Orange County Chapter President, 1989-1990; Area Director, 1990; 1990-present: Area Vice President, Treasurer, Director-at-Large and Vice Chairman

Education: BS, Accounting -- Indiana University, 1966

Spouse: Connie Young -- married for 35 years

Children: Jennifer, 34; Jacqueline, 33. Three grandchildren -- two boys, both 7 years old, and a girl, 3. Both daughters reside in Houston with their families.

Interests: Golf, Travel and Boating

Millar Keys on Humility, Teamwork

Ellen M. Heffes

Early on in his profession, Dereck Millar learned an important lesson from a manager/mentor at then Touche Ross that's stuck with him for his 36-year career thus far. "When you start to feel important, put your finger in a pail of water and then remove it. If you leave an impression in the water, you are very important." The humbling message for a beginner dealing with major issues, says Millar, has remained with him, as a reminder to always keep perspective.

As a young chartered accountant and management consultant, Millar and the other new recruits became involved with the firm's clients, some of Canada's biggest corporations. He says it was a great place to work and that Touche Ross treated them "like family." Yet, his manager continually reminded the young staff of that message. "You can get carried away with your own self-importance," says Millar. "Throughout my career -- and my life -- I always remember the context of that message."

Millar's career in finance and management has evolved over the years at Canada Post, where he now has responsibility for risk management, investment, banking, cash forecasting and other types of treasury matters -- with a group of 11 people. He says he enjoys immensely the treasury role he's carved out for himself, especially since, being investment-oriented, it's inextricably tied to the markets, making every day different from another. "You don't know what's going to happen. It changes hourly and daily."

Although 100 percent owned by the government, Canada Post has more latitude and flexibility [than the U.S. Postal Service] to raise money, for example, in the debt markets in its name. Millar manages a portfolio of investments that exceeds $1.2 billion. "The cash flow of the organization exceeded $13 billion last year, excluding investment activity," he says. It's a business with revenues that exceed $6 million and that owns several subsidiaries such as a courier company and an e-business.

At this stage in his career, Millar says he's "reasonably happy," yet he leaves the door open to some future possibility to further "balance between where I am today andwhere I think I might be."

He certainly knows where he wants to be when it comes to FEI leadership. It would seem that he's been on a track to the top since he joined in 1989. Millar says he considered joining FEI as a way to expand his peer network and make some contribution. He'd been familiar with the organization, having been invited to functions and he knew many of the members. "It was a small group of about 25 members," he recalls. In Ottawa, a city of about 600,000, Millar says he found "people I could relate to," and decided to join.

Then, he pondered his contribution. "I don't join things to warm a chair or fill up my resume." Involvement with FEI has met and exceeded his goals, proving to be a great source of personal satisfaction and has certainly expanded his professional network. He says his network is his continuing education, since he can always pick up the telephone to learn how others handled situations, by asking peers, "What do you think?"

In addition to FEI membership, Millar has also contributed countless hours of volunteer time in leadership roles for organizations such as the United Way, the YMCA, the Learning Foundation (a high-tech and high school link), his church and other professional associations. In fact, he notes, another value that was instilled in him while working with Touche Ross: "We're lucky, so give back to your community."

Millar met Louise, his wife, in Winnipeg while she was going through training as a registered nurse. "We were fortunate that Louise could be a homemaker. I see the stress that our children have trying to balance two career families; so Louise and I help them as much as possible." Besides his strong family interests, Millar has sports interests that change with the seasons. In winter, as a true Canadian, he's devoted to hockey. His brother was a professional hockey player, and as a youth Millar says he himself played at a "high level." As an adult in Winnipeg, he was involved doing advance scouting for a World Hockey Association (WHA) team that is now part of the National Hockey League.

In summer, the green grass draws Millar outdoors to play golf. He's been playing golf for about 17 years. On his golf game, Millar says, "It's a great sport -- as long as you don't take it seriously."

One thing he does take seriously is his leadership role with FEI. If he could accomplish one thing as chair of FEI Canada, Millar says, he wants to enrich the FEI membership experience for the members. In fact four of the five items on his "to do" list sup port this major goal. The four involve working with the new board of directors and FEI Canada staff to:

* Establish a closer and more effective relationship between the 11 chapters and FEI Canada.

* Harness the resources of both chapters and FEI Canada to benefit all existing members and to attract new members.

* Strengthen the overall relation ships with strategic partners.

* Improve communications between chapters and FEI Canada, among chapters and between chapters and their members.

* Improve communications between FEI Canada and FEI U.S.

Millar's optimistic about realizing his expectations, especially with the strong board and significantly changed new governance structure in place that he and committee members from the Canadian chapters helped to organize. A major goal of the new structure is to eliminate the isolation of the chapters from the national organization.

"I will enrich the FEI membership experience for members," says Millar, who concedes his goals are "doable, but a stretch." Yet, he says, "I am lucky. I know the people sitting on our board, and I know I'll have their support. That's why I can be so deliberate and aggressive with my goals."

The Millar File

Name: C. Dereck L. Millar

Title: Corporate Treasurer

Company: Canada Post Corporation

Career Path: 1965-71 Chartered Accountant and Management Consultant (with then) Touche Ross; 1971-72 Assistant to Vice President Finance, National Grain (now Cargill Grain); 1972-83 Company Internal Auditor and Treasurer, The T. Eaton Company

FEI Positions: Joined Ottawa Chapter, 1989

Chapter Level: Program, Member ship, Treasurer, Secretary

FEI Canada: Board of Directors, Vice President, Vice Chair

Education: Chartered accountant; executive development programs at the University of Manitoba and Harvard Business School 

Spouse: Louise

Children: Michelle, Kyle, Robin

Grandchildren: Matthew, Jeremy, Sarah

Interests: Family No. 1, Hockey and Golf