Season two of Brothers, Battles, and Bounty kicked off with a special guest: Tom Byers, Chief Financial Officer of Trendler, who has been with the company for more than 13 years. In this candid conversation, Tom joined the Gfesser brothers, Andreas, Martin, Stefan, and Anton (in spirit from Mexico!), to talk about family business dynamics, leadership, and the reality of juggling many roles in a growing company.
You can watch the entire conversation of Season 1, Episode 15, of Brothers, Battles, and Bounty here:
From Accounting to HR
Tom came to Trendler after years of working in private equity-backed companies, where his focus was primarily on finance and corporate strategy. When he joined Trendler as CFO, he expected to stay in that lane. But like many who work in a family-owned business, he quickly discovered that the job description was far broader than any single title suggested. As Andreas pointed out, “As a family business, a lot of us have to wear many, many hats. You were hired as CFO, but in your downtime, you’re also working on HR—just to mention a few other things.”
Instead of resisting, Tom embraced the challenge. He explained that stepping into unfamiliar areas like HR gave him a chance to stretch his skills and see the business from new perspectives, “From a career perspective, it’s provided a fantastic experience… HR has its own professional requirements, mentality, personality in order to be successful. Taking that on gave me job satisfaction in a way that goes beyond finance—it integrates you with all levels of the organization.”
For Tom, this crossover work wasn’t about simply “filling in the gaps.” It was about strengthening Trendler’s foundation by building systems, developing people, and creating a more connected workplace. He saw how HR touches every part of the company, from hiring and training to culture and retention, and how important it was to get it right.
One of his proudest contributions has been mentoring Areli, who started in HR three years ago and has since grown into what Tom calls “a very valuable resource within the organization.” The brothers agreed, crediting Tom’s leadership for not just keeping the HR department running but elevating it into a true asset for the company.
This willingness to step beyond finance into areas like HR, IT, and operations is a hallmark of both Tom’s leadership style and Trendler’s family-business culture. It reflects the mindset that everyone, no matter their role, contributes to the bigger picture and that success often comes from being adaptable enough to say, “Yes, I’ll take that on.”
Public vs Private: Choosing the Right Path
The discussion also dug into Tom’s career journey, starting in public accounting before moving into corporate roles. Public accounting gave him a strong technical foundation, but he quickly realized that the work often felt repetitive and transactional. As he explained, the model was designed for efficiency, not creativity, “Public accounting is a lot of cookie-cutter stuff. Every 12 months, you take a checklist, slap it on a company, and run the audit. But corporate is much more personal. You’re not pigeonholed, you interact with finance, accounting, HR, IT. The job satisfaction and breadth of experience are enormous compared to public.”
Making the leap to private industry exposed Tom to a wider range of challenges and allowed him to build deeper relationships within each organization. He was no longer just reviewing numbers from the outside, he was influencing decisions, solving problems, and helping to shape strategy. That shift, he said, brought a level of ownership and fulfillment that public accounting rarely offered.
This broader perspective also prepared Tom to thrive in a family-owned business like Trendler, where collaboration across departments is essential and leadership is often about balancing tradition with forward-looking strategy. His time in both worlds gave him the technical discipline of public accounting and the adaptability required to guide a dynamic, growing company.
A Personal Touch
The conversation also revealed more about Tom’s background and the experiences that shaped his leadership style. Born and raised in Chicago, he originally pursued engineering before pivoting to accounting, a move that gave him both an analytical foundation and a practical business perspective. During his MBA studies, Tom also found himself in a teaching role as a graduate assistant. an experience that proved pivotal, “I learned to recognize people’s motivations and guide them based on their motivations, not my own preconceived convictions. These days they’d call that emotional intelligence.”
This lesson stuck with him. Teaching wasn’t just about communicating information; it was about learning how to connect with people, understand their unique drivers, and help them succeed on their own terms. That people-first mindset carried into his professional life, where Tom has consistently emphasized mentorship and collaboration. Colleagues describe him not only as a financial leader but as someone who listens, invests in others, and works to build bridges across departments.
At Trendler, this approach has made him more than just a CFO, he’s become a mentor, a problem-solver, and a connector who ensures that finance, HR, operations, and leadership all move forward together.
Omi Gfesser: The True Favorite
Of course, no episode with the Gfesser brothers would be complete without a little humor. In one lighthearted exchange, the brothers teased Tom, asking him to reveal which one of them was his “favorite.” With perfect timing, Tom sidestepped the trap, “It’s so obvious, it’s Omi Gfesser!”
The moment drew laughs all around but also highlighted the deep respect Tom has for the family’s matriarch. He described their mother who, alongside their late father, built Trendler from the ground up, as “an absolutely great soul” who has always treated longtime employees as if they were part of the family.
Her warmth and dedication, Tom noted, set the tone for the entire company culture. It’s not just about business results; it’s about creating a place where people feel valued, respected, and connected. For Trendler, that ethos of family is more than a marketing phrase, it’s a lived reality, rooted in the example Omi Gfesser set from the beginning.
Beyond the Balance Sheet Lessons
The conversation with Tom wasn’t just filled with stories, it was packed with insights on what it takes to lead, grow, and sustain a family-owned business. From navigating multiple roles to prioritizing people and values, the lessons shared apply not only to Trendler but to anyone balancing leadership, family, and long-term vision.
- Wearing multiple hats builds resilience. Expanding beyond a single role can provide unexpected growth and satisfaction.
- Mentorship multiplies impact. Developing others ensures leadership is sustainable.
- Focus on the business, not the conflict. Alignment around mission and values helps family businesses avoid destructive disputes.
- Emotional intelligence matters. Guiding people based on their motivations builds trust and long-term loyalty.
Never forget your roots. Honoring the founders and treating employees like family strengthens culture and brand identity.
As Tom put it, looking back at Trendler’s journey, “It amazes me how it always comes around to what’s good for Trendler.”
You can watch the entire conversation the Gfesser brothers have with Tom here:
For more episodes of Brothers, Battles, and Bounty, check out Trendler’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TrendlerInc.