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Episodes | CFO THOUGHT LEADER

1097: The Mutual Advantage in a Cyclical Market | Kevin Ingram, CFO, FM

For nearly ten years, Kevin Ingram knocked on S&P’s door, arguing that FM’s A‑plus rating undervalued its balance sheet. Other agencies, such as Fitch, already had the mutual insurer at AA. Each visit, Ingram presented fresh data; each time, the agency hesitated, wary of revising a long‑standing mark. Last summer, six months after FM dropped “Global”…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:41:52)
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1096: Why Usage Beats Revenue in Video SaaS | Gillian Munson, CFO, Vimeo

When Gillian Munson pictures a Vimeo customer, she doesn’t start with a filmmaker, she imagines an insurance company executive or a corner grocery store owner uploading a training clip into Vimeo’s ever thirsty player, and hitting publish without ever surrendering control—or ad space—to a third‑party network. That simple embed workflow, she tells us, explains why “eight…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:49:23)
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Ep. 44: Built for Turbulence: Finance Planning in Motion

This Planning Aces episode we explore how finance leaders navigate volatility without drifting into political cross‑currents like tariffs. Prologis CFO Tim Arndt explains why e‑commerce triples warehouse demand and how real‑estate strategies must adapt. Genworth CFO Jerome Upton shows how disciplined leverage and balanced product exposure turn rate uncertainty into opportunity while guarding against inflationary claim spikes. Flexport…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:42:39)
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1095: Turning Volatility into Cross‑Border Opportunity | Bea Ordonez, CFO, Payoneer

Bea Ordonez still recalls the whirlwind of her first CFO post: a raw fintech start‑up where, in two short years, she recruited “over a hundred people,” built the processes they would follow and decided what kind of culture would bind them, she tells us. Immersing herself in every workflow taught her that finance leadership begins on…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:47:23)
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1094: Mapping Revenue Levers for Next‑Gen Data Businesses | Dilip Upmanyu, CFO, Cloudera

Back in the 1990s, Dilip Upmanyu sat in a room filled with servers as he pieced together a homegrown database of costs and SKUs. His employer at the time couldn’t tell which products paid the bills; by dawn, the young financial analyst could. That improvised profitability model, he tells us, still informs his investment mindset today.…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:41:53)
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1093: Anime Economics: Serving Fans, Driving Returns | Travis Page, CFO, Crunchyroll

A little more than a decade ago, Travis Page was hauling gear off a tour bus, criss-crossing the country with indie bands. One late night, sweat-soaked and exhausted, he noticed fans waiting in the rain simply to glimpse their favourite artist. Passion like that ought to power a business, he thought. That backstage epiphany still…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:35:30)
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1092: Balancing Mission, Margin, and Market Share | Steven Miller, CFO, Warby Parker

It was Friday the 13, in March 2020, and Steven Miller was staring at a suddenly irrelevant budget. Hours earlier Warby Parker had shuttered every one of its 280 stores to protect employees and customers. “Remember that plan we just approved?” he asked the leadership team. “Forget it.” In its place he introduced PAR—Pause, Adjust,…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:47:20)
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1091: Making Finance the Force Multiplier | Chris Greiner, CFO, Zeta Global

It was a morning commute Chris Greiner had made hundreds of times before. Living in old Shanghai and working in the city’s sleek business district, Greiner’s daily drive to the Jin Mao Tower often stretched well beyond an hour. But on this particular day, his driver told him they’d arrive in just 30 minutes. Puzzled…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:38:50)
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1090: Broadening the Field: Turning Risk into Reach | Jerome Upton, CFO, Genworth

Jerome Upton still remembers the silence that descends just before a game begins. As captain of a college team, he’d scan the huddle, gauge nerves, and ask, “What does winning look like today?” “That’s where I learned the power of shared goals,” Upton tells us. Years later, the Genworth Financial CFO opens staff meetings similarly—then gives…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:46:32)
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1089: Reinventing Operations for Lasting Impact | Brian McClintock, CFO, Fusion Connect

He was sixty days into his new role when Brian McClintock tells us he realized the company’s monthly “profit” was actually a million-dollar loss. As the CFO reviewed the financials, he discovered that each rosy figure concealed a troubling truth. For many executives, panic might have followed. Instead, McClintock’s response underscored a key principle: remain…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:45:11)
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1088: Driving Growth with a Builder’s Mindset | Naeem Ishaq, CFO, Checkr

It was a first meeting Naeem Ishaq tells us he’ll never forget: stepping into the Chief Product Officer’s office at Salesforce, he began pitching a bold new pricing model. Yet the officer cut him off, bluntly telling him to “figure out the (numbers) first, then we can talk strategy.” Ishaq admits the numbers he had…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:52:29)
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1087: Why Finance Needs a Seat at Every Table | Tony Jarjoura, CFO, Gigamon

It was the kind of boardroom moment that separates finance professionals from finance leaders. Tony Jarjoura, now CFO of Gigamon, found himself surrounded by audit committee members as a dense, highly technical tax strategy unraveled before them. Despite having pored over legal memos and internal reviews, the room still looked puzzled—until Tony spoke. In just…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:50:35)
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