061: Sylvester ‘Sly’ Johnson – Success in Accounting in Brand-Name Corporate America

Sylvester ‘Sly’ Johnson, joined us for this week’s episode of Life In Accounting: The Where Accountants Go podcast.

Career Growth

After receiving his Bachelor’s Degree from Notre Dame University, Sly went into public accounting as a staff auditor for Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC), which gave him exposure to several industries. He felt that the public accounting background would give him a good start to later transition into industry, which he did – but only after reaching the Senior Manager level with PwC.

After several discussions about a few roles, PepsiCo offered Sly a corporate auditor role in Dallas on a two-to-three-year job rotation plan, which would allow him to learn more about other aspects of their industry.

After this he accepted a finance manager role with the Food Systems, which eventually spun off and became Yum Brands. During this time, he became responsible for supply chain and he noticed that many of his peers had their MBAs and thus began pursuing his MBA as well.

After completing his MBA, Sly began looking for opportunities that were more aligned with CFO specifications and requirements. He found a role with the Dallas Morning News which allowed him to bring his family to Dallas. A while later he was recruited to assume the role of Comptroller for 7-Eleven.

After 7-Eleven, Sly worked with a start-up as well as another organization going through bankruptcy proceedings before joining Bob Evans, a national restaurant chain based out of Ohio.

More recently though, Sly was recruited to join the well-known, privately held restaurant chain of close to 800 locations – Whataburger in San Antonio.

Sly’s Management Philosophy

Be a good listener. This skill builds credibility, accountability, & decision-making skills.
Take the time to get to know your team. Learning about team members holistically will build camaraderie and strengthen their commitment to each other.
Provide opportunities that will result in success.
Have fun, recognize team members, and celebrate successes.