At CFO Selections, we may work in numbers… but we’re in the business of people. Because behind every financial report is a person making hard decisions, and behind every engagement is a human-to-human connection. In this series, we’re shining a light on those stories — introducing the consultants who guide our clients forward and the leaders who bring those numbers to life.
Public accountant. Investment banker. CFO. Former president of the largest Italian car show in the world.
If you’re a collector of Italian cars, you might recognize Tom McDowell from Concorso Italiano. But closer to home, he’s known as a connector of people.
“Have you ever heard the phrase ‘the Seattle freeze?’” Tom asks. “People who are new here have difficulty establishing relationships. It took me years before I finally felt like I was accepted.” Now, he pays it forward. “I’m sensitive to that when I meet people who are new to the community. I talk with them, get to know them a little bit, and introduce them around.”
Tom has been in Seattle for over three decades now, but his storied career stretches even longer (and farther south).
From “Free Stuff” to Financial Stewardship
“I decided I wanted to be an accountant in junior high,” Tom laughs. “Our next-door neighbor was a CPA. He kept bringing home free things for his kids. I figured if I became a CPA, I’d get free things too.”
It’s a charmingly simple beginning for someone whose career would span industries and continents — from the entertainment world of Southern California, to the boardrooms of Seattle investment banking, to the international stage of automotive design — and ultimately to CFO Selections, where he’s spent nearly two decades helping businesses grow and make sense of their numbers.
After earning his CPA, Tom lasted just a few months in public accounting before pivoting to the entertainment industry. “There were some not-so-savory elements in that business. You’d get home and feel like you needed a shower just to cleanse yourself of the day.”
When he and his wife decided to start fresh, they moved north. In Seattle, Tom co-founded an investment bank specializing in mergers and acquisitions. “It was good business experience,” he recalls.
“You got a taste of so many different companies in different industries. You had to learn the key operating levers of each business fast. It wasn’t terribly dissimilar from public accounting, except it was fun.”
Tom and his partners sold the firm in early 2008 (which turned out to be propitious timing) before he decied to retire. Briefly.
“Two weeks later, my wife suggested I might want to go bo back to work,” he laughs.
“It turns out I’m not very good at retirement. But I also didn’t want a job — I’m in a phase of life where there are many things I’d like to do while I can still do them. I needed that flexibility. So I joined CFO Selections.”
A Career of Second Acts
But of course, we were far from his final stop. Tom’s career could fill several lifetimes: CPA, investment banker, and, somewhat famously, the man behind Concorso Italiano, the world’s largest Italian car show. He ran it for 15 years, and calls it a terrific experience. “It gave me a very different appreciation of business than investment banking gave me.”
“You plan for 364 days, and it’s just one day,” he says. “There was a tremendous amount of marketing. I’d have to travel to Europe to meet with automotive designers. There are so many moving parts, and everybody’s a Type A personality. It was draining and exciting. Every year I’d say, ‘Never again.’ And the next morning I’d say, ‘I can’t wait to start planning for next year.’”
That experience — managing chaos, cultivating partnerships, and learning what drives people — shaped how he approaches business today.
The Advantage of Time in the Saddle
Across decades and industries, he’s seen just about every kind of business challenge. “You’re exposed to dozens of companies and sectors of the economy,” he says. “I’m not going to tell you I’ve seen it all. But many problems are fairly common from one company to the next. It just takes time in the saddle.”
For Tom, that’s where the magic happens: helping leaders see their business from a different vantage point. “I have a client in aviation who knows his industry inside and out,” he says.
“But he also understands his strengths, and where he would benefit from outside perspective. He places great trust in me — not because I have tremendous knowledge of aviation, but because I know how to operate a business.”
The Human Equation
But while Tom’s clients span industries, his real focus is people. “The best part of this work is the people I get to meet,” he says.
“You go in to help with financial issues, but the stories behind those issues — that’s what keeps it interesting.”
He’s quick to say that success depends less on the type of company and more on the personality of its leaders. “If their ego enters the room ten minutes before they do,” he jokes, “that’s probably not going to work for me. Life’s too short for that.”
What does work? Humility. “The best clients are the ones who aren’t afraid to make a mistake,” he says. “They’re willing to admit they don’t have all the answers — and neither do I. But together, we’ll get there.”
That collaboration is also what builds trust. “If I just tell them what they want to hear, I’m cheating them,” Tom says. “They’re paying for my experience and honesty. Sometimes they don’t like what I tell them, but the value comes from having those frank conversations.”
“It’s the people that bring you back.”
After decades in business, Tom’s resume is already a mile long — but he is still advising multiple companies, mentoring owners, and, on occasion, talking cars. But whether he’s talking about the car world or the finance world, Tom always returns to the same idea.
“At the car show, people came for the cars, but it was the people who brought them back year after year,” he says. “It’s the same with this work. You come in to help with the numbers, but you stay for the people.”
