As he nears the end of his first 100 days at Nintex, Burt Chao is doing something many new CFOs resist: listening more than talking. Understanding the business, its people, and its real growth potential comes before dashboards or directives, he tells us.
Chao describes Nintex as a company with a “long and rich history” of helping organizations automate mission-critical work, but one now entering a new season. That evolution centers on orchestration—whether AI-enabled, agent-based, or rooted in RPA—while remaining clear-eyed about identity. Nintex, he explains, will not “become an AI company.” Instead, it aims to help customers leverage AI deliberately, embedding it where it strengthens the foundation of their operations, he tells us.
Read MoreThat emphasis on fundamentals shows up quickly in how Chao evaluates performance. In today’s environment, “there’s no more important number than growth,” he tells us. Margins, profitability, and even rule-of-40 metrics only make sense once leadership understands what growth is possible and how it can be accelerated. Benchmarks matter, but only as tools; every business must be understood on its own terms, he tells us.
That discipline has shaped some of the most challenging moments of his career. Chao recalls “shrink to grow” decisions—walking away from investments that still produced revenue but no longer delivered the best return. Those moments are rarely spreadsheet problems alone. They are emotional, cultural, and deeply human, requiring influence rather than authority, he tells us. For Chao, that balance—grounding strategy in numbers while leading people through change—defines the modern CFO role.
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CFOTL: We’re catching you somewhere near the end of your first 100 days at Nintex, so I realize this may be a bit unfair. Still, tell us about the opportunity that clearly excited you enough to take on this role. What is Nintex about today?
Chao: Nintex is a company with a long and rich history—relative to technology companies, of course—of success, growth, and partnering with organizations to help them achieve their goals. The next season for Nintex builds on that foundation but looks a bit different. We’re focused on orchestration—whether that’s agent-based, AI-enabled, or built on RPA—and on being a trusted partner that helps customers navigate that complexity. What really excited me is that Nintex is rooted in history yet actively figuring out how to engage with AI in the right way. We don’t aspire to become an AI company; instead, we want to help other organizations leverage AI thoughtfully, while also embedding it within our products where it adds value. With more than 1,000 team members around the world, the focus is on evolving the company so it remains relevant—not just as an investment vehicle, but as a strategic partner that helps customers decide where to go next. Most customers may have a “moonshot factory,” but our role isn’t to fuel the moonshot—it’s to strengthen the foundation so those ambitions are sustainable. That combination of people, history, and customer partnerships is what truly drew me in.
Read MoreCFOTL: As you near the end of those first 100 days, what numbers are you most focused on to make sure the business is performing the way you expected?
Chao: In today’s environment—and really over the last three to five years—there’s no more important number than growth. Not every company grows at the same rate, and not every company has the same growth opportunity, but understanding the realistic envelope of growth for your business, and how to accelerate it both organically and inorganically, is critical. Once you have conviction and alignment with the rest of the leadership team around growth, then the other metrics—margins, profitability, rule of 40—start to make sense. Without that clarity, you’re essentially guessing at what those numbers should be. Benchmarks and comparable company analysis are useful tools, but every business is different, so you have to truly understand your own. In the first 90 days, that means listening more than talking. Ultimately, growth—whether revenue, profitability, or cash flow growth—is the most important thing for a CFO to help define. It’s not just about where you’re growing today, but where you can grow at current investment levels and what incremental investment could unlock next.
Nintex | www.nintex.com | Seattle, WA