EMEA Recruitment Podcast #153 - Leading through Trust – Edgar Magyar

Thank you to Edgar Magyar, CFO and Global Client Finance Lead at Publicis Groupe in Zurich, for joining us on the EMEA Recruitment podcast. 

"Go and show the world you're able to do it."

To start the episode, our Founder, Paul Toms, asks Edgar about his relationship with his wife – the two are considered a Finance power couple. Edgar shares how they met in the workplace, and grew to take advantage of many opportunities in various companies and industries. He also explains the benefits of having a partner who can challenge and advise you on your work-related decisions. 

Edgar talks about his management and leadership style, and how this benefits the team. He is a firm believer of trust and suggests solutions without dictation. He adds that leadership positions are offered within his team to people who are trusted and can work well together.

We discuss the strategies that make an effective recruitment process and how high-quality candidates come to be selected at Publicis Groupe. As a hiring manager, you must be clear about the needs of the business and transparent about the business itself. The technical aspects are important, but consider the character traits, cultural fit and the current team – introducing the prospective candidate to the team will benefit both parties in the long-term. Highly motivated teams are built with strong team culture, Edgar believes. 

Delving deeper into Edgar's management style, he shares that coaching is another critical element and team contribution leads to far better outcomes. He also expresses his distaste for being involved in operational processes, as he much prefers designing and fixing processes to obtain the most effective solutions. 

As well as being CFO, Edgar has additional Finance responsibility, looking after the legal matters for two global clients, UBS and Stellantis. His job is never boring and he find it to be a very exciting role.

In terms of time management, he says one can only be efficient when you don't carry problems. He reiterates the need to trust your people, as you cannot manage everything. Make time for decent sleep and exercise, and always make time for your family and friends, as they are the ones that will always be there for you, he says. 

We explore the impact of business intelligence and data. In Finance, there are huge quantities of data, with increasing complexity, that need to be managed. Edgar highlights that Excel is a great tool, but the amount data has become too heavy – data visualisation tools and tools that can automate processes (like Power BI) are becoming increasingly essential to obtain more sustainable solutions. 

We learn about the Executive MBA in Digital Transformation that Edgar completed. He is now putting his learning into action, and developing a global platform that will work to make processes more manageable and leaner, ultimately adding value for the key group clients in the future. 

Listen to the end of the episode to hear about the CFO's 50th birthday celebrations and his friendships that span over the decades.

If you're looking for a particular part of the episode, please use the timestamps below:

01.55: Positives of COVID-19 on Edgar's personal & work life
03:40: A Finance power couple
06:00: Edgar's leadership style
12:50: Recruiting quality people
21:40: Effective management strategies