SVP Corporate Finance & Chief Accounting Officer
Cox Communications, Inc.
Biggest Professional Accomplishment
ERP Project (2004-05) that kicked off our overall finance transformation, resulting in highly integrated accounting and finance teams that produce results faster and more consistently than ever before.
Largest Challenge in 2011
Revamping our Resource Allocation process for Atlanta operations to ensure it adds value. We have a vision of how to be more dynamic in resource distribution and more predictable in project timing, scope and funds management.
Word of Advice to Fellow CFOs
Help your organizations understand that the difficulties of the past few years (i.e. the Great Recession, burst of the housing bubble) are part of the economy’s natural cycle. We will recover our stride as a country by staying focused on the journey, not the destination.
Favorite Sport, Hobby or Passion Outside of Work
My wife and I love to travel. In fact, we will be returning to Yap Island (Micronesia) – 31 years after serving in the Peace Corps there.
Favorite Movie or Soundtrack
This is a toss-up between The Big Chill and The Wizard of Oz. My grandkids love the latter…and both have great music and stories of life’s lessons.
Must Read
Undaunted Courage. The book captures the Lewis & Clark expeditions and is so unbelievable and compelling it almost reads like fiction. Those were some brave and tough guys!
Proudest Moment
Staying true to my values in challenging times. If you lose the path to your core, I think you are truly lost.
Best Vacation
Tough choice, but the one that stands out is a Christmas/New Years trip to Finland with friends and family from Finland. We skied above the Arctic Circle under the lights (there is no sun that time of year) and met the real Santa Claus at his North Pole workshop.
Guiding Force/Inspiration
Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tsu. A spiritual guide on the way to live your life with purpose and compassion.
Fitzsimmons on the CFO Roundtable Program
The CFO Roundtable is great! I’ve been a member since the beginning and think Cushman & Wakefield, particularly co-founders John O’Neill and Chris White, started a wonderful program. The meetings really bring relevant and timely conversation to a group of diverse finance leaders who seem to appreciate the forum as a discussion venue to share ideas and mutual concerns.
Bill has been a CFO Roundtable attendee since the program’s Atlanta inception in June 2005. He participated as a panelist in the March 2009 session titled “Cost Cutting Strategies in the New Economy” alongside Bryan Marsal (CEO, Lehman Brothers and co-CEO, Alvarez and Marsal), Gary Shell (EVP and CFO, EMS Technologies) and Greg Thompson (CFO, Georgia Gulf Corporation).
BILL FITZSIMMONS
SVP CORPORATE FINANCE & CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER
COX COMMUNICATIONS
Bill Fitzsimmons is SVP Corporate Finance and Chief Accounting Officer for Cox Communications. He is responsible for overseeing all aspects of accounting, financial planning and analysis, including oversight of accounts payable, property accounting, financial systems, general ledger, tax, budgeting and forecasting, internal reporting and analysis, and program cost accounting.
During his ten year tenure in this role, Bill has led an internationally recognized ERP conversion project to Oracle Financial Systems, led the CCI Sarbanes-Oxley compliance initiative when Cox was a NYSE public company, managed a complex three year carve out audit for properties sold as part of the privatization effort of Cox, and initiated a significant standardization effort for the accounting and finance groups of Cox. He recently served as interim co-CTO of Cox Communications while an executive search was underway.
Previously, Fitzsimmons served as Vice President of Financial Operations for Cox’s San Diego cable system during the launch of telephone, internet and digital video services. He joined Cox in 1993 as Director of Finance for the Pensacola and Ft. Walton Beach, Florida systems.
Prior to joining Cox, Bill was with Time Warner Cable in a variety of roles and locations, where he served 11 years. A graduate of Merrimack College in Massachusetts, Fitzsimmons holds a B.S. in Business Administration and a M.B.A from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He also completed Harvard University’s Executive Management Program. Bill and his wife, Marilyn, also served in the Peace Corps on the island of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia.
Fitzsimmons is past chair of Media Financial Management and currently he serves on the Finance and Operations Committee for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association.
