Jason Comer credits his multi-faceted education, a never-ending curiosity, and his Big Four accounting firm and investment banking experience for his rise to the CFO position at Health Recovery Solutions (HRS).
Comer brought his finance and law degrees to the young remote patient monitoring platform provider six years ago as a financial and legal consultant. Two years later, he was named vice president of finance and legal. He was named CFO and general counsel in 2020.
Earlier in his career, Comer was manager and tax counsel at global investment bank Macquarie Group, where he worked on debt and equity deal structuring, corporate funding and capital initiatives, and regulatory and compliance obligations. He started his career as a tax attorney at Deloitte working in tax consulting and mergers and acquisitions groups across several industries.
Jason Comer
Chief financial officer and general counsel, Health Recovery Solutions
- First CFO position: 2020
- Notable previous companies:
- Macquarie Group
- Deloitte
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
SANDRA BECKWITH: You have an interesting background with a combination of finance and law education and experience. What appeals to you about the combination?
JASON COMER: While I've always been interested in finance, I’m also fascinated by entrepreneurship and specifically, what’s behind the numbers. Adding to my finance education with a law degree helped me better understand the reasoning behind decisions and structuring — the why and what of numbers flowing into the finance side.
That dual finance/legal expertise also offers a gateway to an expanded role with HRS, which really keeps me engaged. In addition, my legal expertise and understanding of the CFO mindset — ultimately, we’re all selling to CFOs — allow me to contribute to other areas of the company, including our sales process and strategy, and to guide contract structuring, among other things.
How did your finance/legal background help you rise to the chief financial officer position at HRS?
COMER: When I joined HRS six years ago, the company was in startup mode, pitching investors without a fully built-out finance department. I introduced Big Four accounting practices and built the necessary financial infrastructure.
I also leveraged what I learned in investment banking about what various stakeholders look for in an investment to communicate our story to investors. This contributed to the successful Series B and C funding rounds that I led. As HRS matured, we added the CFO position.
How we work is often shaped by past experiences. How does your background affect how you do the CFO piece of your job?
COMER: My work as a CFO might differ from others in that I’m often heavily involved in designing an offering or go-to-market strategy. We sell to large enterprise health systems and commercial health insurance companies that are focused on being financially efficient, so we need to understand their financial goals and how they want to buy. My background allows me to contribute to that.
At the same time, we have a small finance department of five, so I work closely with them on our financial and accounting processes, too.
How do you determine who you hire in finance?
COMER: As I build out my team, I'm always looking for the right balance between expertise and a hunger for learning and growing.
I want people to be striving for that next thing. And, I want to help them progress in their careers.
What part of the CFO’s job is more difficult for you?
COMER: Because I’m so interested in all aspects of the business and I’m very hands-on, it can be hard for me to get out of the weeds.
I know from my legal experience how the little details involved with tax structuring of deals or merger and acquisition tax negotiations can matter so much, so it's sometimes difficult for me to pull back from the nitty gritty.
What’s the easiest?
COMER: My work has always involved determining what everyone is trying to get out of a contract, relationship, or partnership, so it’s easy for me to understand counter-party goals, whether we’re talking to a customer, investor, or partner.
Was becoming CFO always the goal? If so, how did it influence how you approached your career? If not, when did you decide to shift to the CFO track?
COMER: It was more of a natural progression.
My innate curiosity while helping entrepreneurial clients scale up earlier in my career exposed me to different aspects of businesses, which in turn allowed me to become more well-rounded than if I had focused on just finance or legal issues.
That set me up well for the CFO position here, where we need leaders to be strong in their area of expertise, but also interested in being involved in multiple business functions.
Would you recommend the path you followed to others in finance hoping to become CFOs?
COMER: Absolutely. Being curious and willing to admit that you don't know everything can expose you to new tasks and experiences.
You might fail occasionally, but at the end of the day, you’ll have a better understanding of how everything fits together. This is important to the CFO role.