It was a phone call Amy Butte tells us she will never forget. Lifting the receiver, she heard the familiar voice of her father—an accountant who had always championed her career. But this time, his words were tinged with a curious mixture of praise and amazement. He simply couldn’t fathom how his daughter, who had taken only one accounting class, was now the CFO of the New York Stock Exchange. “Finance leadership is more than numbers,” Butte reminds us, explaining that, for her, success hinges on weaving data into a strategic narrative that shapes decisions.
Read MoreThat same flair for bold moves followed her into a pivotal meeting with the NYSE’s new leadership. “How’d you like to be the CFO?” she was asked on the spot, an offer so direct it felt surreal. Butte tells us she immediately saw an opportunity to modernize a centuries-old institution, and within two and a half years—half the time originally planned—she was leading the organization’s transition to a public company. The accelerated timeline tested her agility, forcing her to rethink legacy processes and overhaul entrenched systems. Through it all, she discovered that being an agent of change meant continuously blending operational discipline with forward-thinking ideas.
Today, as CFO of Navan, Butte tell us she summons this same passion for storytelling and transformation. She believes a successful finance leader must illuminate the path ahead, using data, empathy, and vision to steer teams through complexity. “Numbers alone don’t compel action,” she tells us. “It’s how you translate them that truly matters.”
“While CFOs are generally seen as experts, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t also craving data or community to make them smarter themselves…and if you can create a community of CFOs for CFOs, you’re creating connections, and you’re also creating value.”—Amy Butte, CFO, Navan
Made Possible By
CFOTL: Tell us about Navan — what does this company do and what are its offerings today?
Butte: Navan is the travel and expense platform for frequent travelers, right? If you think about a company’s expenses, travel can often be a top-five—or even top-three—line item, so it’s important to focus on it before you travel, not just after. What (Navan) does is make frequent travelers happy. It might sound funny, but we remove the pain points that road warriors and CFOs alike feel. That’s what led our co-founders, Ariel and Alon, to start (Navan). They had no industry background, but they were miserable dealing with traditional business travel (via phone), so they built a ‘tech’ solution from day one. From the start, they used AI and machine learning to address the toughest travel use cases.
Read More“I mean, when you’re out on the road, there’s nothing worse than feeling alone with just a piece of paper to handle everything. (Navan) makes sure road warriors never feel that way. It also makes finance and operations people happy, because we like to save time and money in a controlled environment—no surprises. You can’t even book a trip unless it’s within policy, so auditors and CFOs appreciate that.
“When I joined, I was blown away by how many people reached out, not just to say congrats on joining (Navan), but to tell me, ‘I love this product.’ Now that I actually use it, I have an even greater appreciation for what I call ‘the magic.’ The first time I checked out of a hotel, my receipt appeared automatically (in Navan). Normally, you’d be digging around for a crumpled paper. The first time I took a client to lunch using my (Navan) card, it synced with my calendar and recorded the expense on that specific trip. It’s a kind of magic that removes stress. As a CFO, I love knowing my employees are already in policy before they travel, so I’m not surprised by expenses later on.
Navan | www.navan.com | Palo Alto, CA