Robert Decusati - The Herringbone Pattern

Robert Decusati knows how to build a successful long term career as a finance professional, because he’s done it. He offers the following advice to those embarking on a finance career:

Consider the skeleton of the herring. It has a straight central line (the spine) but leading off that to right and left is a series of lateral bones. A successful career follows the herringbone pattern: you start at the bottom (the base of the spine) and you progress towards the head, but as you go you take diversions on some of those lateral pathways to pick up business knowledge to augment your career “toolbox”. Each time you return to the central path you are that much better equipped – that much more competent – because of the extra knowledge and experience you’ve picked up.

Robert has followed his own advice to great effect. After graduating, he joined Cytec Inc. as a junior accountant, but by the time he left he had focused for a while on cost accounting and then taken responsibility for procurement and planning in a small plant. His next move was to Rubbermaid where he progressed from Controller to Director, Production Inventory Control, taking on responsibility for a $22 million restructuring program on the way.

As Director, Finance and Administration at Fuchs Systems, Robert Decusati designed and implemented a restructuring plan that returned the company to profitability. Further moves gave him the confidence and the skillset to buy a fabrication company where he used the widely varied experience he had to restructure the company and sell at a profit.

Robert DeCusati - Civil War History Junkie

Robert DeCusati has lived throughout the United States working as a finance manager. DeCusati has lived in two hotbeds of Civil War history, Richmond, Virginia, where he currently lives, and Knoxville, Tennessee. Knoxville was the site of a crucial battle during the Civil War that DeCusati loves to learn about.

Knoxville was the object of a long and bloody campaign by both sides during the Civil War. Both sides coveted the city’s railroad station that linked Confederacy’s east and west sides. The two primary generals during the Knoxville Campaign were James Longstreet on the Confederacy side and Ambrose Burnside on the Union side. Burnside came to occupy Knoxville and eventually hold it under Confederacy siege in the end. One of the decisive battles of the campaign occurred near where Robert DeCusati and his family lived near Knoxville in Campbell’s Station.

Robert DeCusati loves to think about the brave men who fought and died an hundred and fifty years ago in the places where he has lived and visited. Throughout his travels, DeCusati has always been drawn to the history of the places he has found himself, especially in Richmond, where he now lives, and Knoxville.
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Robert DeCusati - Many Career Options

Robert DeCusati had several career options when he graduated with a BS degree in Finance from Fairfield University. Throughout the course of his career as an accounting and financial professional, advisor, and manager, he found himself in positions with increasing responsibilities. These promotions created opportunities throughout the United States. Bob noted that those who sign up for a corporate career may face difficult relocation choices at various times as you progress up the ladder and those choices often have significant impacts for family and relationships. . Other than the financial manager avenue that Bob DeCusati chose, there are other career options for those seeking to enter the financial sector workforce:

• Financial Planning. For those who love strategy and building financial portfolios to help clients achieve their financial goals, financial planning is an excellent career option. You can get started in many companies, including banks, mutual fund management companies, insurance companies, and securities firms.
• Broker. Another name for a financial advisor, brokers work with individual and institutional customers of particular organizations to provide for them the financial help and services they need to manage their portfolios and more. You will need strong interpersonal communication skills and an unusual ability to clearly articulate complex financial products and ideas to customers on a regular basis.
• Claims adjuster. Most people equate claims adjusters with insurance companies, but banks and large retail companies also employ claims adjusters to ensure that clients’ claims match the company’s eligibility standards. They prepare documentation and reasoning behind the denial or approval of customer claims as well, so a meticulous eye for detail is required.

Robert DeCusati has worked his way up from an entry level job as a financial management trainee to a manager of finance.
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