Building trust through precision: interview with Alina Nechita of Sam Mills International

Hi Alina. Can I get a bit of background about you and how you came to your current role?

Sure. I was previously an auditor and partner with BDO, and I’ve spent 14 years as an auditor in total. I recently decided to shift gears and take on a new challenge as CFO at Sam Mills International. I’ve been in the role for about six months now.

Sam Mills is in the agriculture and food industry, specialising in grain and oilseed milling, with a diverse portfolio that includes pasta, flours, semolina, and other grain-based products distributed internationally. Interestingly, this company was once a client of mine, so I already had a good understanding of the industry and the challenges it faces.

As CFO, what are your main areas of focus right now?

Workforce resilience is a key focus. Sam Mills is located in the northern part of Romania, near the Ukrainian border, where there’s currently a significant shortage of workers. Because of this, a big part of my role right now involves working with HR to establish competitive working conditions and attractive pay packages to draw in workers and encourage them to develop within the company. 

Another big focus is innovation, particularly with our niche products. We’re working with high-protein, low glycaemic index products, and we incorporate organic raw materials into our production. We also produce gluten-free items, such as those made from legumes and corn. So, a big part of my focus is on product innovation, ensuring we offer healthy, bio-based products that align with our consumers’ growing interests in balanced and healthy lifestyles.

That’s interesting. How do you support the innovation process as CFO?

My role involves providing and analysing data, but also challenging the data brought in by other departments, like marketing. I collaborate with the sales team to determine what’s cost-effective and help decide the appropriate pricing for new products. Pricing can be tricky, especially with new products, as there’s always an element of uncertainty about what will work.

Ultimately, we’re focused on ensuring that innovation aligns with our financial goals, as profitability is crucial to achieving our long-term objectives. While we focus on producing safe, healthy food, the financial team ensures that we remain financially sustainable.

Do you see financial planning to be the main value you drive as CFO?

I think that used to be the case, but the role of the CFO has evolved significantly. It’s no longer just about overseeing the financial department – it’s about being a strategic partner across the organisation.

For me, the modern CFO’s value lies in balancing traditional financial oversight with cross-functional collaboration and strategic insight. The CFO is no longer just providing data but translating that data into actionable insights that actively drive decisions across the organisation. For non-finance stakeholders, numbers, trends, and statistics can be difficult to grasp, so making the figures “speak” and enabling informed decisions is a significant part of my responsibility.

Are your ESG priorities directly connected to delivering stakeholder value?

Increasingly, yes. On the environmental side, our stakeholders are focused on our carbon footprint, resource usage, and the sustainability of our supply chain. For instance, we’ve implemented energy-saving systems like cogeneration, EU-funded solar panels, and efficient steam usage to reduce our energy and water consumption. On the social side, they value our commitment to fairness in employment and the impact of our products on people’s wellbeing – such as gluten-free, low-GI, and high-protein food options that cater to healthy lifestyles.

One of the most challenging yet rewarding aspects of ESG reporting is working with local farmers. While gathering accurate supply chain data is difficult, especially for smaller-scale operations, they force us to dig deeper into our data it allows and often reveal unexpected cost saving opportunities all while ensuring that our materials are sourced responsibly. 

What challenges and opportunities do you see in aligning ESG goals with financial priorities?

Aligning ESG goals with financial priorities is both a challenge and an opportunity. As a medium-sized company in the food processing industry, we face constant cost pressures, yet the insights gained from ESG reporting can lead to efficiency gains that benefit the bottom line. For instance, the process of analysing our energy consumption led us to implement projects like solar panels and steam optimisation, reducing costs while also lowering our environmental footprint.

A key challenge is the high upfront cost of compliance, especially for smaller businesses. It can sometimes be a challenge to take on costs for long-term benefits over short-term solutions. However, engaging with external consultants has been valuable for us. Through these discussions, we’ve uncovered new ways to reduce costs, such as optimising our raw material usage or recycling water.

You mentioned balancing short-term goals with long-term performance measures. How do you manage that balance?

For me, a big part of driving value is about finding the right balance between profit and social impact, and between short and long-term priorities. 

Short-term typically focuses on the bottom line and cash flow, which is crucial for a company with small margins. However, there are times when value opportunities require us to sacrifice short-term profits to make long-term investments. For example, we recently invested in new packaging lines to switch from plastic to cardboard and paper. This is a significant investment with short-term sacrifices, but it’s necessary for long-term sustainability. We’re looking at investments with a 5–10-year horizon, so we’re focused on future efficiency, even if it means short-term trade-offs.

Have you faced much resistance when it comes to making big changes?

Every change faces resistance at first, but I believe in the learning curve. People need to see the results to overcome initial inefficiency. 

As a recent example of this internally, we've been addressing high overtime among employees which impacts both profits and their well-being. We introduced productivity and health & safety KPIs to track and adjust workload, but there was significant resistance to tracking time. Despite endless meetings explaining the benefits, it took a month for employees to realise that it improved their work-life balance. Initially, it was difficult, but once they saw it worked, complaints dropped drastically. Change is always challenging, but it becomes rewarding once you show the benefits.

For example, one thing I’m particularly proud of is the bonus scheme we’ve implemented. We’ve developed scorecards that allow employees to track their performance and compute their bonuses daily. They can see the exact metrics being used and how their efforts translate into results. This level of transparency eliminates surprises and creates trust because they don’t have to rely on their manager’s interpretation at the end of the month. They can see the data for themselves in real time.

Ultimately, this all comes back to the data. Reliable data underpins everything I do. If the data isn’t accurate, then any analysis or decisions based on it are flawed. It’s why I stress to my team that every analysis we conduct is only as good as the data behind it. Without reliability, you’re not just misleading others, you’re essentially lying. Ensuring the accuracy of data is fundamental to building trust and achieving sustainable results.

And finally, what do you feel is the most important quality you bring to your role as CFO?

I think one of the key qualities I bring is empathy. As a woman in a leadership role, I’ve noticed that empathy is often a strength that comes naturally and is critical in management positions. It allows me to understand different perspectives and foster collaboration.

That said, I also believe leadership works best when there’s balance. My CEO, for example, is highly pragmatic and business-focused, while I approach decisions with empathy and collaboration in mind. Together, we create a strong balance that drives better outcomes.