Pillsbury's Whelan Named Top CFO

Nashville—The Nashville Business Journal has tapped Sean Whelan, chief financial officer of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, as the winner in the category of large private companies (more than $250 million annual revenue) in its 2013 CFO Awards. The award presentation, during a banquet in downtown Nashville, featured a surprise video appearance by Pillsbury partner Jim Rishwain.

“As our firmwide global chief financial officer, Sean plays a vital role in executing Pillsbury's operational strategies and in overseeing our finance and accounting functions,” Rishwain said. “Sean is tireless and incredibly committed to his work.”

Whelan, who also serves as chief administrative officer of Pillsbury’s global operations center in Nashville, led the project team that evaluated the restructuring of Pillsbury’s back-office operations and that recommended the consolidation of core functions from around the country to a new shared services center in Nashville. He earned his MBA from the University of Chicago and holds BS and BA degrees from the University of Maryland.