CFO THOUGHT LEADER

2016: Building the Operating System for Agentic Automation | Ryan Roccon, CFO, Zapier

At Zapier, the rise of AI is changing more than the automation products customers build. It is reshaping how the company organizes, invests, prices its offerings, and thi

When AI Changes the EPM Decision | David Den Boer, CEO, Column5 Consulting

AI is rapidly changing not only what finance technology can do, but how CFOs should think about the technology stack itself. In this bonus episode of CFO Thought Leader,

1215: Building Finance for the Long Game | Jessica Somers, CFO, Aledade

At Aledade, CFO Jessica Somers is helping finance navigate a business where investment decisions can take years to fully reveal their value. The technology-driven, physi

1214: The CFO Checklist Keeps Growing | Jack Gordon, CFO, Harri

For Jack Gordon, the CFO role at Harri increasingly extends beyond finance—and into the mechanics of how an AI-powered business scales. Harri, a workforce operating syst

1213: When Constructive Tension Yields Sharper Decisions | Martin Uhrik, CFO, Third Bridge

When Martin Uhrik compared the margins of two visual-effects brands at Technicolor, one appeared far more profitable than the other. Uhrik tells us the reported differenc

1212: When Working Capital Rewrites the CFO Agenda | Dan Barzily, CFO, Tipalti

Shortly after Dan Barzily became CFO of Tipalti, a go-to-market transformation altered the company’s working-capital profile. One quarter later, Barzily tells us, the com

1211: Mission, Means, and the Will to Grow | Jonathan Ma, CFO, Sutter Health

Jonathan Ma recalls being at his parents’ home in Nebraska one Saturday when his Morgan Stanley boss called with advice: pursue an opportunity at Sutter Health. After nea

1210: The Best Trade May Be the One You Don’t Make | Shiv Verma, CFO, Robinhood

Six weeks before Lehman Brothers went under, Shiv Verma tells us, he joined a hedge fund as the world felt like it was falling apart. After building structured-credit and

1209: Finding a Larger Voice in the Room | Ross Grainger, CFO, Nasuni

Ross Grainger remembers an early chapter of his career when finance was only one part of the job. After stepping outside a traditional finance path to own and operate a

1208: Quality, Trust, and Scale | Cal Brouilette, CFO, Flatiron Health

Cal Brouilette recalls a sleepless night in Houston, speaking at 3 a.m. with someone from Blackstone about a purchase-and-sale agreement and transition-service agreements

1207: Putting Guardrails Around Aggressive Growth | Jamie Schroeder, CFO, Premium Guard Inc.

Jamie Schroeder’s finance career began on the shop floor at Ford Motor Company. As part of Ford’s rotational development program, Schroeder tells us, he spent a month wor

1206: The CFO as an Architect of Execution | Phil Fracassa, CFO, Magna International

At Timken, it was generally known that Phil Fracassa knew he would become CFO after the company separated its steel business. But first, he tells us, the board gave him a

1205: Giving Every Decision-Maker 40 Analysts | Matt Ostrower, CFO, Link Logistics

Matt Ostrower remembers losing sleep over a decision that carried consequences for employees, lenders, and shareholders. At Site Centers, Ostrower tells us, the manageme

1204: When Capital Conviction Matters More Than Market Timing | Andrew Korn, CFO, EliseAI

Andrew Korn tracks growth first. EliseAI had surpassed $200 million in annual recurring revenue when he spoke with us, and Korn tells us the company had maintained year-o

1203: Making Strategy—and the Money—Move Together | Laura Miller, CFO, Strata Decision Technology

In April 2020, Laura Miller stepped into her first CFO role at Pampered Chef. According to Miller, she was pregnant with her second child, working with a new CEO and join

1202: Allocating Capital in an Age of AI | Samantha Greenberg, CFO, AlphaSense

In the early months of Francisco Partners, Samantha Greenberg sat in a room on folding chairs with the firm’s cofounders and one other colleague, planning the business.

The Weekend CFOs Couldn’t Reach Their Cash

What happens when a company has money—but its CFO cannot reach it? Over one extraordinary weekend, finance leaders found themselves confronting a threat few had anticipa

1201: From Bitcoin Infrastructure to the AI Power Economy | Gary Vecchiarelli, CFO, CleanSpark

In high school, Gary Vecchiarelli received day-old copies of Investor’s Business Daily from a business teacher. Stock prices still appeared in fractions, and the teacher

The Credibility Playbook: How CFOs Restore Belief

What does it take for a CFO to restore credibility? Every finance leader eventually encounters a defining moment when confidence has been shaken—whether by slowing growt

1200: When Finance Owns the Future | Mark Khavkin, CFO, Rula

Mark Khavkin often finds his best ideas somewhere near the Golden Gate Bridge. The Rula CFO tells us that he bikes from San Francisco across the bridge and into Marin Co