The Recycle1 “Meet the Team” is a series of articles that allow our clients and partners to get to know the team behind the brand.
Doug Shafer’s public title may be CFO, but his covert version is operations and leadership ninja. He’s the type that loves to have his hands in just about every project, empowers his team to get their work done, and works to make fast decisions. Doug’s role covers functions ranging from human resources and legal to marketing, finance and IT. Every day is different (that’s what he loves!), and sure, a bit chaotic—but he excels in bringing process and structure to mid-size companies. Meet Doug!
Where are you originally from?
I’m from a town called Normal, Illinois. Yep. The name of the town is Normal. It is the twin city of Bloomington, IL. It is about halfway between St. Louis and Chicago.
But I want to make one thing very clear…I’ve been a Cubs fan since birth. I cried along with many when they finally won the World Series last year. I was most thankful that my 99-year old grandmother was finally able to see it happen.
What do you like most about what you do?
When you are a good financial leader and can exert the necessary influence in a company’s culture, you get to see tangible changes in a company’s profitability. That is pretty rewarding.
What are you good at?
As it relates to my job, I think I’m good at analyzing numbers, understanding how they relate to the business operations, and determining what levers to push/pull to make things better. I believe others would say my best attribute or “skill” is my ability to relate to people, and my ability to boil things down and make financial information understandable or relatable.
Are you married, and do you have kids?
Yes, I’ve been married for 24 years to my high school sweetheart. We have three children, ages 17 to 22. We’re almost empty nesters now.
How do you like to spend your time outside of work?
All my kids have played sports. So, most of my time is spent either coaching or attending their events. But they’re just about gone now so I’m going to have to find something to fill that void soon. We bought a Jeep Wrangler a couple years ago, so we like to take that off-road or just into the mountains for a day trip to explore, and hike. We love the outdoors. We will probably do more of that.
What do you want clients to know about what you do?
Not only am I trying to maximize profit, but a big part of that is about finding efficiencies and minimizing our cost. At the end of the day that in turn reduces the price we must charge to make an acceptable margin. If we are good at that, it should be a competitive advantage for us that flows over to our clients, allowing everyone to win!
To learn more about the team behind Recycle 1, click here.
