PENNYMAC

Robin Boone, EVP of Finance Technology

When Finance Stops Reporting and Starts Guiding the Business

Robin Boone

Real-Time Finance Modernizer

Teams Turn Technology Practical

My professional journey has been shaped by a unique background across diverse industries, each at different levels of finance and technology maturity. I thrive when designing innovative processes, implementing cutting-edge technology and building high-achieving teams to maintain consistent delivery. 

To ensure my teams can seamlessly adapt to upstream shifts with minimal disruption to downstream operations, I remain vigilant about emerging tech trends and the dynamic nature of the business. Understanding that I cannot oversee every detail personally, I focus on mentoring my staff and empowering direct reports to make the critical decisions necessary to propel the organization. My ultimate goal is consistently leveraging technology to produce results with greater speed, efficiency and precision.

AI Needs Operational Logic

The current primary focus is integrating AI into financial workflows. 

While the potential advantages for our Finance departments are clear, developing a comprehensive knowledge base that incorporates our specific operational logic and business assumptions is a gradual process. This foundation is essential for AI to generate precise analyses and responses. To guarantee the accuracy and consistency of this information, we are prioritizing initiatives for data cleansing and standardization.

"It is crucial to adopt a “trust and verify” mindset; while automation and tech tools are powerful, you must validate outputs to ensure the information provided to data consumers is consistently accurate and reliable."

Bring Solutions, Not Excuses

I remember as a young professional an executive told me to never bring excuses, bring solutions and to not lose sleep over things I can not control…find a way to fix it. These comments stuck with me throughout my career and have allowed me to create solutions to finance processes, technology configurations and team structures to promote professional growth in myself and in my teams. This philosophy of accountability and proactive problem-solving has become a cornerstone of my leadership style, especially when navigating the complexities of finance operations. By focusing on improvements rather than dwelling on limitations, I have designed innovative processes and implemented technology that maintains consistent delivery for the organization.

Early in my career, I was a part of a project team implementing a new enterprise data warehouse. I was helping the enterprise team understand our divisional data and working to develop dimensions and use cases for displaying our data at different levels to drive decisions. I realized when the project was completed that spreadsheets are not sustainable when executives need to make quick decisions. The time to curate the data and transform it to a usable format to tell a story was too time consuming and outdated by the time it was published. This realization was a major turning point; it highlighted the critical need to shift teams from being mere data producers.  

From that point on, I always looked to understand data sources and work to implement real-time data delivery solutions in various formats so information is always at our fingertips. My ultimate goal is to consistently leverage technology to produce results with greater speed, efficiency and precision, ensuring that our financial information is always timely and accurate for all stakeholders.

Analysts Become Strategic Partners

It is the responsibility of finance leaders to provide stakeholders with financial data that is both precise and timely. As our professional roles continuously develop, we must utilize technology as a vital instrument for advancement. 

Our objective should be to evolve our departments, moving beyond basic data production to cultivate teams of data analysts focused on historical insights and data scientists who can drive strategic future decisions.

Validation Builds Reliability 

To an emerging professional navigating the intersection of finance and technology, I would strongly advise seeking out a mentor with deep, foundational knowledge of finance. A mentor can serve as a vital sounding board and provide the necessary checks and balances when evaluating or implementing emerging technologies.  

It is crucial to adopt a “trust and verify” mindset; while automation and tech tools are powerful, you must validate outputs to ensure the information provided to data consumers is consistently accurate and reliable. Additionally, I recommend active participation in peer groups both within and outside your current organization. Engaging with these communities allows you to share knowledge, celebrate successful implementations and stay informed on the rapid advancements in technology that continue to reshape the financial landscape.  ​  ​  ​ ​