IDG News Service — Name: Venkat Prabhala

Age: 52

Time with company: 3.5 years

Education: Bachelor of Science degree from San Jose State and an MBA from Santa Clara University

Company headquarters: Santa Clara, California

Revenue: less than $60 million

Countries: U.S., India, Japan, South Korea, U.K., Spain

Number of employees total: 120

Number of employees the VP of Finance oversees: 4

About the company: Stoke provides mobile broadband gateways to carriers. The company website is http://stoke.com.

1. Where did you start in finance and what experiences led you to the job you have today?

I have over 20 years of business management and financial experience and have had a history of working with companies who have been acquired. I started at a Colgate subsidiary, MedaSonics. I then went to Star Medical, which was acquired by Coherent. As the director of finance at Certicom, I played an instrumental role in their Nasdaq IPO. After that, I was corporate controller at P-Cube, where I took a hands-on role leading the company's accounting and financial management team until its acquisition by Cisco in 2004. Most recently, I served at Swan Labs, introducing sound fiscal practices that played a major role in the success of the company's acquisition by F5 (FFIV). At Stoke, I have been able to apply my leadership skills and financial experience in helping to build the company from the ground up.

2. Who was an influential boss for you and what lessons did they teach you about management and leadership?

Richard Brounstein, CFO at MedaSonics and Certicom, had a major influence on my career. He showed me the value of profound financial modeling skills in bringing companies to successful outcomes, either IPO or acquisition.

3. What are the biggest challenges facing CFOs today?

It is a challenge to support the immediate, tactical needs of a growing company while putting in place the resources that will help meet long-term strategic objectives. There is a constant need for prudent financial management, to identify the most essential areas for investment, and balance the "nice to have" with the "must have." Those choices are not always obvious.

4. What is a good day at work like for you?

A good day at work is when we either win new business or we develop a new solution. When you work in a startup, this type of breakthrough gets the adrenaline going.

5. How would you characterize your management style?

I ask people to deliver the best possible, highest-quality work that they are capable of because this provides them with the best possible rewards. We work hard, and we enjoy the results.

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