FAST COMPANY: What can a big company learn from a small startup?
BOB ROSS: The way in which people interact. Just to run an operation is normally much quicker because your peer is typically right at the desk next to you--small. You can get in a room together and go over things very quickly, normally trends and ideas you can see faster and act in advance on those. In larger companies, quite often, there can be communication gaps, folks get siloed, and are often very very slow.
Getting Schooled
Robert “Bob” Ross currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer at ideeli, the fastest growing members-only private-sale website, spearheading a range of responsibilities from finance management to overall growth of ideeli.
Prior to joining ideeli, Ross served as the Executive Director and Worldwide Corporate Controller of Urban Outfitters where he was one of the key driving forces behind the creation of their global finance team. Prior to joining Urban Outfitters as head of Finance, Ross served as the Controller of American Appliance, Inc. where his main functions included risk management and private label credit card management for over 35 stores nationally.
Ross holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Drexel University and a Certified Public Accountant degree from State of Pennsylvania.
