Craig Foster’s second CFO role revealed two of three acquired business models were unworkable. He recast expectations, integrated assets into a single viable model, and pursued acquisitions that stabilized operations—ultimately steering the firm toward a merger and salvaging value from a flawed private equity roll-up.
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Now watch the complete episode of CFO Craig Foster, CFO of Pax8
Craig Foster, CFO of Pax8, outlines how AI is reshaping operations and the marketplace Pax8 powers. The company acts as the link between software vendors and 43,000 managed service providers serving 700,000–800,000 SMBs, he tells us. Internally, teams target “20% more with 20% less” by applying AI to support, core accounting, reconciliations, and automation of previously manual projects. Externally, Pax8 is integrating vendor “agentic” modules into its marketplace to deliver SMB productivity. The live issue is pricing: discovering models that share value fairly—consumption, outcomes, or interaction-based—while keeping Pax8 an AI enablement platform for downstream partners. ROI discipline underpins every decision.
| CFO’s Strategy Playbook |
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| • Lead with ROI and measurable outcomes. |
| • Automate routine, redeploy finance to insight. |
| • Price AI fairly to balance value. |