How Juan Lopez, CFO of MycoWorks, is thinking about capital allocation in 2023 and beyond

The Allocators

Dive deep into the world of finance with our debut episode of The Allocators podcast. Hosted by Sheret Ross, Co-CEO of Cardata, this first episode features an engaging conversation with Juan Lopez, the CFO of MycoWorks, who brings a wealth of experience in audit, mergers and acquisitions, integration, and strategy from his current role, as well as his previous roles at AB InBev and General Electric.

Juan shares invaluable insights on the complex world of finance, including the key considerations for developing a successful capital allocation strategy, debt reduction strategies, his take on interest rates, and the essential factors to consider when selecting a supplier beyond just pricing.

Highlights
(00:33) Juan’s background and experience in finance
(01:41) What to prioritize in capital allocation
(03:23)Are there more opportunities available in M&A today than a year ago?
(04:06) Are valuations strong or declining in the biotech community?
(05:42) Setting targets for debt in capital allocation
(08:02) The process of MycoWorks’ last major supplier purchase
(13:48) Other elements to look for in a supplier besides pricing
(15:03) What is keeping Juan up at night in the finance world?
(16:33) Juan predicts next year’s interest rates

Quotes

‘How I think about capital allocation is we need to think about it in a dynamic way. It's not something you set in stone in January and then just put it in a drawer, and then everybody's gonna follow it as robots. We need to remain flexible.’

‘If you are able to invest and you have a large amount of cash, and you can do sweep type of strategies where you move money around to high yield accounts, money market accounts or other private debt, or some maturity, you can get into short term debt still gives you some liquidity, you can get a good 4 or 5% return on on that cash.’

‘I think in 2024, we will start to see interest rates going lower. I'd say that the long term rate that we are using in our financial models to forecast the next six to seven years, it's four or four and a half percent.’

Learn more and connect with Juan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juanlopezrodriguez/
Website: https://www.mycoworks.com
Learn about the host, Sheret Ross: https://www.cardata.co/team