Ollen Douglass.

Working at investor services firm The Motley Fool, since 2001, Ollen Douglass has twice been nominated for the company's "Favorite Fool" award. He opines it's likely due to one of two reasons. Is it his genuine efforts to promote win-win, value-creating solutions and working collaboratively across the organization? Or is it the fact that he signs the paychecks?

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Title: CFO

Company: The Motley Fool, an Alexandria, Va., Internet financial services company

Born: Baltimore, March 1963

Spouse: Julia Douglass, for 17 years

Children: Ollen, 12; Franklin, 8; and Vivian, 6

Education: BS Accounting, University of Baltimore, 1988

Career Summary: KPMG Peat Marwick, Baltimore, Auditor, 1989-92; Maryland National Bank, Baltimore, Senior Financial Analyst 1992-95; First Horizon Bank, Dallas, VP Servicing Risk, 1995-98; First Nationwide Mortgage, Frederick, Md., VP Finance, 1998-2000; The Motley Fool, VP Finance, CFO, 2001-present

Board of Directors Service: Social Security Administration Baltimore Federal Credit Union, 1992-95

FEI Chapter: Washington, D.C., Chapter, member since 2004

Leisure: I look forward to watching my kids play organized sports, and am an assistant coach on a soccer team. My eldest son and I are both fans of the local MLS soccer team, DC United, and we go to as many games as we can.

I also enjoy playing basketball, although my schedule and age don't allow me to play as much as, or as well as, I would like to think I can. I also enjoy following business trends in the Internet and media space.

Time Management: Remaining focused on prioritizing and delegating (i.e., providing "development opportunities" for others in my group) is key. I also break large or long-duration tasks into manageable chunks and attempt to set realistic intermediate timelines for completion. Of course, it's all easier said than done.

Stress Management: Laughter is good, as well as focusing on the positive and identifying things that are under my power to change. Also, nothing relieves stress like getting tasks done!

Favorite Book: I read a lot of science fiction anthologies and short stories. I enjoy the way the authors create unfamiliar settings and characters to explore familiar issues from a different perspective.

If I could, I'd spend one hour with: Benjamin Graham, co-author of Security Analysis. It's impressive how a book written in 1934, in the wake of unprecedented financial turmoil, could still have relevance today. I'd also like to hear if his views on market efficiency would change given the ratio of data to information that is at our fingertips today.

The best advice I've received: My father told me to always do my best at whatever I do, whether it be the smallest task or most challenging assignment.

What did you expect to grow up to be? In elementary school, I wanted to be a chemist and work for DuPont, in Delaware. I loved the idea of being in a lab all day, inventing things and wearing a cool white lab coat and goggles.

My hero? My parents, for providing a positive and supportive environment growing up, for stressing the importance of education, for encouraging independent thinking and for giving me the confidence and freedom to pursue whatever path I wanted.

Favorite Job: Being CFO of The Motley Fool. The people, culture and corporate mission combine to create an experience that is always interesting and dynamic.

Worst Job: Delivering "free" newspapers that, at the end of each month, required us to go door to door to ask for donations. Even as a young teenager, I recognized it was a terrible customer experience.

Favorite Deal: A recent preferred stock restructuring that simultaneously improved the company's liquidity position, enhanced alignment among our investors and materially increased the company valuation by removing a significant uncertainty--a win-win for all.

If I change could something: I would have begun to invest earlier. Not just because it's a good idea, but because the value of the experience would have far outweighed the actual gain (or loss) resulting from taking the plunge.

Quotable: "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted," Albert Einstein.

Email: [e-mail]