Monkeys,
I have been using this forum for 10+ years now and am grateful for all of the contributions others have made throughout the years and all that I have been able to learn. That said, thought it would be helpful to provide insight into Corporate Finance outside of the traditional IB/PE/HF paths that most come to this site for.
Background:
Non-target undergrad, but top state school that sends double digit grads to the street each year and no MBA. Worked in consulting post undergrad in NYC for a few years before calling it quits and moving to the midwest for a girl I had been dating long distance (it didn't work out, but no regrets).
I transitioned into Corporate Strategy at a F500 company in the retail space and was able to work on many interesting projects and initiatives. These ran the gamut from rolling out of in-app eCommerce to providing guidance on driving traditional brick and mortar customers to the digital channel. At this company I spent time in 3 roles going from Senior Strategy Analyst --> Senior Strategy Analyst --> Strategy Manager. Each role had a different initiative/project to tackle. I was very fortunate to get exposure at such a large scale so quickly.
About 2.5 years ago (age 26) I was recruited into my current role as Director of Corporate Strategy and Head of FP&A. I moved across the country yet again and joined a Retail PortCo that was/is in rapid growth mode. During my tenure we have grown Revenue 4X without acquisitions and have successfully taken follow on investments from a premiere GE firm. I have managed all aspects of the finance department and built out our current team. I have had the privilege of working for some extremely well educated people as well as some top-notch PE/GE professionals.
That said, happy to provide any insight or answer any questions about my journey. Hope this helps at least a handful of people.
My time spent currently is a blend of traditional FP&A and a wide range of strategy initiatives/project. Given my lack of a strong background in the former, there are many times where I have had to figure that portion of the job out. Additionally, the business is structured with multiple unrelated business units, so that adds a complexity to the operational model that I hadn't previously experienced.
As far as strategy, it's a blend of leaning on prior experiences and having to complete a research deep dive. My former CEO is ex-Mck and my current CFO is ex-BCG so they definitely have an expectation for me to be able to churn out consulting style decks/analysis with little background. I enjoy the challenge and have had the privilege of working with really smart people so that definitely makes it easier to plug away when I am thrown difficult tasks. I also am naturally am inclined to have an opinion and think it's ok to be 'wrong' so long as you have an educated approach to your thesis, so that makes life a little easier given the uncertainty of things coming my way.
I truly have little to no desire to be a CFO. That said, I see myself ultimately maintaining a focus on strategy (even if that is limiting my upward mobility in the short run) or pivoting to a more operational role. Dream job would to one day be a CEO of a MM company given I don't think I have the pedigree (just being honest with my expectations) to have a seat in a F500 c-suite role.