Even S Class drivers try to pretend they're driving something better

"WilliamsSW" (williamssw) 04/18/2018 at 23:55 • Filed to: DOTS, Ampersand

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Plate frame also says AMG.

Bonus picture of R32 with a space saver tire. License plate says “FPANDA”. Which is what I do for a living.

Thanks to the rain on the windshield for fooling the auto focus

LOREM IPSUM > WilliamsSW 04/19/2018 at 00:20

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He could have pulled the zero, at least.

Urambo Tauro > WilliamsSW 04/19/2018 at 00:21

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You do what to pandas for a living?!?

random001 > WilliamsSW 04/19/2018 at 06:16

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Doesn’t AMG make an appearance package, kind of like ///MSport, that is just the exterior bits for regular Mercs? Or am I confused about that?

WilliamsSW > random001 04/19/2018 at 06:59

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Sort of, I think. But they don’t put the badge on it.

WilliamsSW > LOREM IPSUM 04/19/2018 at 07:00

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That would have made more sense

WilliamsSW > Urambo Tauro 04/19/2018 at 07:02

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The pay is low but the benefits are great

*FP and A

random001 > WilliamsSW 04/19/2018 at 07:28

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Ah, cool. I don’t know much about dem der german cars...

WilliamsSW > random001 04/19/2018 at 08:32

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Tbh I think they are starting to do that but this car is a few years old

404 - User No Longer Available > WilliamsSW 04/19/2018 at 08:36

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I swear I saw an S 320 AMG while I was in Hong Kong. But S-Classes aren’t that common these days, everyone drives Tesla S/X.

rillweid - Now with more TRD and less TDI > WilliamsSW 04/19/2018 at 08:46

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I get it now and that’s a great license plate.

Discerning > WilliamsSW 04/19/2018 at 08:56

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Yu can do well in an FP&A role. You just need to be in the right position on the right team. Some companies don’t value their FP&A as much as others and they get shafted. Others rely heavily on those teams (think retail and production indistries). But if you work for a massive organization and your one of countless SFA’s, the company is likely going to pay below the industry average.

random001 > WilliamsSW 04/19/2018 at 09:09

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Tavarish?

WilliamsSW > 404 - User No Longer Available 04/19/2018 at 09:23

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Wouldn’t surprise me at all. BMW 328 M cars are common around here.

WilliamsSW > rillweid - Now with more TRD and less TDI 04/19/2018 at 09:25

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Yeah but the panda thing is funny as hell too.

404 - User No Longer Available > WilliamsSW 04/19/2018 at 09:25

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Well if they are on the front quarter fender, that’s actually factory.

Earlier M-Sport package cars have it in the fender, where base cars have “Sport”,”Luxury”,”Modern instead. They got rid of that in the NA cars after 2013, but still put them on in foreign markets.

I have “Sport” on my 2012... been contemplating removing it since it’s a bit salt crusted and damaged, but fear it will leave a UV mark in that 6-year old paint.

WilliamsSW > 404 - User No Longer Available 04/19/2018 at 09:48

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Nah I’m talking about people adding trunk badges. I like the M sport, but hate it when people add fake crap

WilliamsSW > Discerning 04/19/2018 at 09:55

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Nailed it. Are you in finance too?

Most of my experience is in PE owned manufacturing companies. The one exception is a distributor where I helped build an FPA function.

I strongly prefer manufacturing, and know myself well enough that $1-1.5b in sales is about as big as I want to go.

I’m also old enough to be well beyond the SFA role, but that can be a great stepping stone.

WilliamsSW > random001 04/19/2018 at 09:56

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Nah the car was running lol

Discerning > WilliamsSW 04/19/2018 at 11:09

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I’m in FP&A as well, yes. In a leader position with a large corporation. Always done larger corporations (10-15B), but I’ve stuck with groups that lead decision conversations and partner closer to the COO than the CFO.

How do you like working for a smaller corporation? I’ve considered making the switch now that I’ve completed my MBA.

I thought I’d be moving closer to operations roles after finishing it, but I find myself still deep in the FP&A realm.

WilliamsSW > Discerning 04/19/2018 at 12:51

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I like working for smaller corporations a lot - you are closer to the business itself and can more get directly involved in decision-making earlier in your career, generally speaking.

Plus, in the private equity world, companies tend to run fairly lean - less politics and backbiting, from what I have observed. However, as you point out, you have to evaluate corporate culture carefully going in.

Getting PE-backed experience always looks great on a resume, too - private equity values FP&A highly in all of my experiences. And those companies will certainly look closely at FP&A people from bigger companies - as long as you can demonstrate operational knowledge and a hands-on approach (not delegating / hiring consultants for everything). You have to get comfortable with change, though - we close on the sale of this $1B business in a couple of weeks, which is probably going to result in me leaving not long after.

Is ops where you want to move to, long term? Happy to chat further if you like - I finished my MBA in 2000 myself, and have been in FP&A and/or business development since 2001, really. VP of FP&A at least as of today. ;)