Shows / CFO THOUGHT LEADER
CFO THOUGHT LEADER
CFO THOUGHT LEADER is a podcast featuring firsthand accounts of finance leaders who are driving change within their organizations. We share the career journey of our spotlighted CFO guest: What do they struggle with? How do they persevere? What makes them successful CFOs? CFO THOUGHT LEADER is all about inspiring finance professionals to take a leadership leap. We know that by hearing about the successes — (and yes, also the failures) — of others, today’s CFOs can more confidently chart their…
Episodes
CFO THOUGHT LEADER804: Optimizing the Returns on a Business Asset | Al Farrell, CFO, Transaction Data Systems
When Al Farrell tells us that finance leaders must never lose sight of the value of a business asset, as well as acquire a strong understanding of how to…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER803: Sharing in a Moment That Mattered | Efrain Rivera, CFO, Paychex
Back in April of 2020, as the consequences of COVID’s arrival in the U.S. sent financial markets reeling, Paychex CFO Efrain Rivera had the temptation “to say…
CFO THOUGHT LEADERGetting a Read on the World's New Realities | A Planning Aces Episode
Steve and Jack talk about the volatile business environment and what it means for business planning professionals. Featuring commentary and FP&A insights from…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER802: Making an Industry Lane Change | Mike Catelani, CFO, Anixa Biosciences, Inc.
When Mike Catelani seeks to identify the objectives and career milestones that have helped to advance him into the ranks of Bay Area biotech CFOs, he mentions…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER801: The Founder & The Future | Ryan Van Hatten, CFO, Prophix
Perhaps few CFO career paths better reveal the advantages a founder-led firm may offer career-minded executives than that of Prophix CFO Ryan Van Hatten. Back…
CFO THOUGHT LEADERThe Hard Truth About Retention | A Workplace Champions Episode
Brett & Jack discuss how growing numbers of businesses are facing an employee retention crisis as they battle escalating workforce attrition and struggle to…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER800: When the Road Rises to Meet You | John Herman, CFO, Movable Ink
Had the opportunity to work in the treasury department at American Express arrived 6 months earlier, there’s a chance that John Herman may never have landed in…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER799: When Metrics Do the Talking | Adam Ante, CFO, Paycor
When Adam Ante first arrived at Paycor in 2017, the seasoned finance executive was tasked with prodding Paycor management to begin monitoring daily performance…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER798: A CFO Links Past to Present | April Downing, CFO, Khoros
It was in the late 1990s when public accountant, savvy networker and future CFO April Downing decided that it was time to leave Dallas. “I had cultivated my…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER797: Achieving a More Perfect Exit | Melinda Smith, CFO, ChaosSearch
Back in early 2014, the management of Paydiant, a 4-year-old mobile payments start-up, believed that it was still several years away from engaging with…
CFO THOUGHT LEADERGetting In Deeper | a Planning Aces Episode
Steve and Jack discuss how successful financial planning teams are always looking to "get in deeper" and bring new insights to the surface. Featuring…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER796: Gene Editing's Next Frontier | Elaine Sun, CFO, Mammoth Biosciences
Having grown accustomed to charting the careers of our finance leader guests from their early professional days up through their entry into the CFO office, we…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER795: The Canary in the Coal Mine | Anisha Sood, CFO, First Choice Health
Back in 2001, as the dotcom bubble imploded and the U.S. economy took a downward spiral, Anisha Sood, a recently hired consultant for Accenture, felt…
CFO THOUGHT LEADEREmployers Dropping Degree Demands - A Workplace Champions Episode
Brett & Jack discuss why a 4-year degree isn’t quite the job requirement it used to be and how finance leaders are reworking their company’s talent equation…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER794: The Customer’s Many Experiences | Will Johnson, CFO, Iterable
Will Johnson can still hear the question that momentarily muted a management dinner and prodded the gathering’s executive diners to thoughtfully dispatch an…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER793: When Timing Matters | Adriana Carpenter, CFO, Emburse
As we seek to highlight the milestones that mark the path to the CFO office, one of our favorite queries is to ask finance leaders to recall from their…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER792: Blazing the Cash-to-Crypto Path| Chris Roling, CFO, Coinme
Reflecting on a finance career that has spanned nine different countries and three decades, Chris Roling says that he may have received his most valuable…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER791: Collaborating With Parts Unknown | Kent Kelley, CFO, Unanet
We have spent many hours in discussion with finance leaders about the intersection of finance and sales as we try to better understand the professional…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER790: The Correct Order of Things | Sarah Blanchard, CFO, Udemy
Back in 2014, when Sarah Blanchard became committed to landing her first CFO position, she kept a key criterion in mind: Her future company had to be…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER789: Always Be Hiring | Jonathan Sides, CFO, Fleetio
Among the many SaaS CFOs with whom we have spoken, few have listed their finance leader priorities for us as simply and concisely as did Jonathan Sides, CFO of…
CFO THOUGHT LEADERHiring for Hypergrowth | A Workplace Champions Episode
Brett & Jack discuss how finance leaders of high growth firm’s are becoming increasingly focused on the ebb and flow of their firm’s talent pipelines…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER788: When the Road Rises to Meet You | Emily Villatte, CFO, Acast
Emily Villatte’s finance career first got rolling along dusty country roads in the Australian bush. With a dual-track master’s degree in engineering and…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER787: Listening to Your Inner Self | Steve Vintz, CFO, Tenable
Looking back on his first CFO role, Steve Vintz recalls waking up one morning and thinking that he might not have a job. The night before, Vintz had told his…
CFO THOUGHT LEADERExpecting the Unexpected | A Planning Aces Episode
Steve and Jack discuss how finance professionals must give more thought to how they communicate “the news” inside their organizations in order to avoid being…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER786: The Purpose-Driven CFO | Hilary Maxson, CFO, Schneider Electric
Hilary Maxson’s path to the CFO office of French multinational and energy automation behemoth Schneider Electric began at a kitchen table in upstate New York…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER785: Let Learning Blaze the Path | Vanessa Kanu, CFO, Telus International
When Vanessa Kanu is asked to provide some professional advice to her younger self she responds quickly and without hesitation: “Be more patient.” It’s advice…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER784: The Levers of Long-Term Value | Brandon Maultasch, CFO, MOLOCO
Last October, shortly after being named CFO of machine learning start-up MOLOCO, Brandon Maultasch decided to forgo yet another welcome coffee to instead…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER783: Making a Career Investment | Sarah Spoja, CFO, Tipalti
It was 2018, and shortly after payables start-up Tipalti had raised its Series C funding round, Sara Spoja recalls, she sat down with Tipalti CEO and cofounder…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER782: When Operations Came First | Lou Arcudi, CFO, Amolyt Pharma
To those well familiar with the career milestones that typically mark the path to the CFO office, Lou Arcudi’s resume at first may appear to be upside down. Or…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER781: The Frequent Flyer | Josh Siegel, CFO, CyberArk
If you were to casually meet CyberArk CFO Josh Siegel for the first time at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), you might quickly assume that he has…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER780: Punching Above Your Weight Class with ESG | Gina Mastantuono, ServiceNow
Back in early 2020, Gina Mastantuono had only recently stepped into the CFO role at ServiceNow when the subject of intangible assets surfaced during a company…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER779: The Graduate | Casey Woo, CFO, Landing
Back in 2017, Casey Woo decided it was time to graduate from early-stage companies. “What I like to tell people is that as an operator you will be…
CFO THOUGHT LEADEREmployee Engagement & the Less Social World - A Workplace Champions Episode
Brett & Jack discuss how learning and development is one of five key elements of employee engagement – and explore reasons why L&D too often gets overlooked…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER778: Finance: Not a Function but a Profession | Russ Porter, CFO, IMA
Looking back on the 28 years that he spent inside IBM’s finance function, Russ Porter notes that his career climb paralleled the evolution of FP&A inside the…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER777: A CFO's Unfinished Business | Isaac Ro, CFO, Sema4
After spending 16 years as an equity analyst (the last nine of which at Goldman Sachs), Isaac Ro could not escape the fact that he was busy and bored. The same…
CFO THOUGHT LEADERThe Move to Better - A Planning Aces Episode
Steve and Jack discuss how the goal of planning teams and organizations should always be moving beyond the accepted practices or tools to something better…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER776: Assessing Risks Beyond the Numbers | Nipun Soni, CFO, BillionToONe
When Nipun Soni tells us that he spent 5 years at Oracle Corp., during which time he helped to perform due diligence on some 40-plus M&A transactions, we can’t…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER775: Back to the Future | Joan Hilson, CFO, Signet Jewelers Limited
Of all the CFO career routes that our finance leader guests have shared with us, very few have have rendered a path as circuitous as the one blazed by Joan…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER774: When How You Tell It Matters | Heather Dixon, CFO, Everside Health
It was a moment of insight that Heather Dixon remembers having not once but twice during the untold number of hours she has spent in examining how divisional…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER773: Serving an Organization of Proactive Decision Makers | Darrell Cox, CFO, Vena
For many organizations, capturing real-time data is no longer a goal but now a reality. However, for those firms determined to accumulate these real-time bits…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER772: Inside the M&A Quarry | Andy Watts, CFO, Brown & Brown
Asked to highlight his experience in mergers and acquisitions, Andy Watts doesn’t need to weigh and measure the many deals that he has helped to execute over…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER771: Embracing Change | Brian Kinion, CFO, MX
Twenty-four hours after Brian Kinion’s first earnings call as a CFO of a publicly-traded frim, his aspirations as a finance chief quickly became deflated as…
CFO THOUGHT LEADERWhen HR Becomes a Borderless Function - A Workplace Champions Episode
Brett and Jack discuss how the leadership narrative benefits hiring, and why department hiring budgets may someday soon be replaced. Featuring the commentary…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER770: When Founders Make a Difference | Nitesh Sharan, CFO, SoundHound, Inc.
When Nitesh Sharan exited Hewlett-Packard after 15 years of diligent career-building, he assumed—like many seasoned finance executives have done—that his…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER769: Beyond the Boardroom | Herald Chen, CFO, AppLovin
When Herald Chen was growing up in a town not far from Pittsburg, he dreamed of someday running the small town’s steel mill. Years later when he was graduating…
CFO THOUGHT LEADERIncreasing the Velocity of Your Flywheel - A Planning Aces Episode
Steve and Jack are joined by friend of Planning Aces Bryan Lapidus, who is today director of FP&A for the Association for Financial Professionals. Bryan…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER768: How Real-Time Data Is Changing the Performance Conversation | Michael High, CFO, Deep Water Gulf of Mexico, Shell
Back in 2012, when Michael High was heading up corporate planning across 30 countries for Shell, the energy company’s CFO made it known that it was time for…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER767: On the Path to Being a $1 Billion Company | Bill Zerella, CFO, ACV Auctions
Bill Zerella’s path to the CFO office began at a company whose customers largely belonged to a bygone era. At the time, Simplicity Patterns was the largest…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER766: Making Decisions with the Customer in Mind | Cassandra Hudson, CFO, EngageSmart
Back in 2008, Cassandra Hudson was interviewing for a senior accounting role at a small tech firm in Boston when the CFO casually shared some “insight” into…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER765: Never Waste a Crisis | Jean Laviqueur, CFO, Coveo
Unlike many of his finance leader peers, Jean Lavigueur has little difficulty in identifying where and when his path to the CFO office began. It was back in…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER764: When Growth Is the Only Constant | Jen Herdler, CFO, Impact Health
When it came time for Jen Herdler to get back into the workforce, she signed up for a refresher course in financial modeling through a weeklong classroom…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER763: Of All the Nerve | Pete Mariani, CFO, Axogen
Like many of his finance leader peers, Pete Mariani credits a senior operational role with helping him to plant both feet on the path to CFO office. However…
CFO THOUGHT LEADERBonus Replay: The Courage of Your Convictions | Joe Wolk, CFO, Johnson & Johnson
About Episodes Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode The podcast featuring finance leaders driving change within their organizations. All Episodes…
CFO THOUGHT LEADERThe Speed of Trust | A Planning Aces Episode
Steve and Jack discuss how building trust may be an FP&A professional’s greatest skillset. Featuring commentary and FP&A insights from Planning Aces: CFO…
CFO THOUGHT LEADERBonus Replay: Driving Future Performance | Harmit Singh, CFO, Levi Strauss & Co
Holiday Replay: When it comes time for Harmit Singh to brief Levi Strauss & Co.’s management team regarding the latest performance results, Levi’s CFO will…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER762: In Step With the Digital Beat | Tania Secor, CFO, R/GA
When CFO Tania Secor looks back at the early years of her finance career, she can’t help but revisit her decision to accept a position with the McGraw-Hill…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER761: Finding Your Operational Cadence | Scott Walker, CFO Clarity Software Solutions, Inc.
When CFO Scott Walker has considered new career opportunities in the past, only a small subset of growth businesses have been able to meet all of his desired…
CFO THOUGHT LEADERHiring is the Beginning of Your Go-To-Market Funnel | A Workplace Champions Episode
Brett and Jack weigh-in on Zoom firing squads, the move to hybrid workplaces and hiring’s enormous impact on your company’s funnel. Featuring the commentary…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER760: Transitioning from Platform-Led to Product-Driven | David Brolsma, CFO, WP Engine
When it comes to FP&A data, WP Engine CFO David Brolsma is an open book. “We make a data visualization tool called ‘Looker’ available to all of our employees,”…
CFO THOUGHT LEADER759: The Making of a Milestone Year | Dave Bernhardt, CFO, SentinelOne
How should a textbook rental company respond when it discovers that Amazon has just introduced offerings that will make the giant retailer its newest and…