Donald Brown

Planner
DISC Type : Sc

Chief Financial Officer at Viridon

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Overview

Donald Brown is the Chief Financial Officer at Viridon, an electric transmission developer backed by Blackstone. A strategic executive with an MBA from Duke University, his experience spans capital markets, M&A, and corporate transformation. Colleagues have described him as a personable CFO.

Outside of his corporate roles, Donald is an active community leader. He has served as a board member for the United Way of Central Ohio, where he focused on supporting families and community initiatives.

He is currently focused on building innovative grid solutions to accelerate the clean energy transition across North America.

Personality Overview

Disciplined

Inflexible

Not Very Vocal

The only way to convince them is by showing them examples and ample proof.  They are always well-planned and adopt a systematic approach. They are heavily focused on quality and prefer doing things the right way, even if it takes time.

Topics They Care About

Clean Energy Transition
As CFO of Viridon, his work is directly focused on developing innovative grid solutions to advance clean energy.
Corporate Transformation
His career highlights a focus on enterprise change, including leading a technology and digital transformation in a previous role.
Talent Acquisition
He is actively hiring for his finance and planning teams at Viridon to support the company's growth in an entrepreneurial environment.

Media Appearances

Donald has no verified media appearances

Work History

8-2025
Chief Financial Officer at Viridon
11-2020
Board Member at Allstate
3-2023 - 3-2024
EVP & Chief Innovation Officer at NiSource
4-2015 - 3-2023
EVP & Chief Financial Officer at NiSource
Vice President Finance and CFO at UGI Utilities, Inc.

Education

1999 - 2001
MBA from Duke University - The Fuqua School of Business
1990 - 1994
Bachelor of Science in Economics from University of Pennsylvania

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 9 Location : Chicago, Illinois, United States Job Level : Leadership Designation : Chief Financial Officer at Viridon
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Insights For Selling To Donald

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Expect them to be vague in response to your questions, ask firmly and pointedly
  • Expect them to be slow and cautious, encourage them to ask more questions
  • Ask them which other stakeholders would be important for this purchase decision

DONT's

  • Don't use phrases like 'do not worry', 'i promise' etc.
  • Don't push them too hard to make fast decisions, give them time
  • Don't rely on relationship building even if they act pleasantly

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Donald is

  • Proof of usage by others in the industry, case studies showing ROI are likely to work the best with them.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Donald

  • Often, they don't say no, or keep going about it in circles.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Donald move?

  • They are some of the slowest movers and take their time reaching decisions.
  • Can Donald take some risk or not?

  • They have very low acceptance of risk even if they do not say it directly.

You And Donald

Personality Compatibility


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