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Episodes | CFO THOUGHT LEADER

1080: Reframing Your Drivers of Growth | Jason Lee, CFO, Faire

It was a moment of “shock and awe” that Jason Lee says shapes his strategic mindset. Soon after joining Square, he discovered a major partnership with Starbucks that was quietly bleeding millions of dollars and threatened Square’s financial runway. “We had to swarm the problem,” Lee tells us. The team renegotiated terms and preserved the…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:58:17)
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1079: Staying Ahead of Growth: How Finance Powers Proactive Scaling | Brandon Sullivan, CFO, 2X

The moment 2X secured private equity backing in March 2023, CFO Brandon Sullivan knew expectations would shift overnight. “There’s gonna be a press release,” he remembers thinking. “Our new PE partners will open up a treasure chest of relationships for us—we need to be ready.” In anticipation, Sullivan and his team ramped up hiring, ensuring…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:50:31)
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1078: From Black Box to Control Tower | Stuart Leung, CFO, Flexport

Stuart Leung had occupied the CFO office at Flexport for only a few months when he realized the supply chain management company’s growing margin pressures stemmed not from a single root cause but from many. From pricing misalignment to invoice errors, Leung had compiled a lengthy list of snags. Along the way, he began empowering…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:56:29)
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1077: Unleashing Innovation: Strategic Insights into AI Integration | Omar Choucair, CFO, Trintech

Trintech CFO Omar Choucair is increasingly turning to AI as a strategic advantage—building teams, refining data “plumbing,” and automating time-consuming processes. His strategic mindset, honed by years of thriving in unpredictable environments, drives him to embrace AI as a catalyst for operational efficiency and transformative growth. Choucair tells us that his approach centers on leveraging…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:46:58)
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1076: Where Finance Meets Factory Floor | Gabi (Bressack) Gantus, CFO, Mytra AI

It was an impromptu meeting Gabi Gantus will never forget. One day at Tesla, the company’s then-President of Automotive, Jérôme Guillen, pulled her aside, whispering about a decision Elon Musk was leaning toward. Guillen—who led the automaker’s push for production scale and supply chain agility—believed a different path could better serve the company, but needed…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:45:27)
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1075: Mastering Recurring Revenue: The Next Chapter Unfolds | Kevin Rhodes, CFO, Extreme Networks

Kevin Rhodes recalls one of the earliest lessons in his finance career. “I wanted to understand the business,” he tells us, describing his decision to ride along with a Waste Management truck crew. Clipboard in hand, he meticulously recorded stop distances, tonnage collected, and time spent at each location. By the end of the week,…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:42:33)
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1074: Balancing AI Innovation with Post-IPO Expectations | Bill Koefoed, CFO, OneStream

It began with a tense stretch of weeks that Bill Koefoed tells us he won’t soon forget. As OneStream’s CFO, he was juggling the details of going public when a small AI startup called DataSense caught his attention. “We didn’t even have a formal corporate development function,” Koefoed explains, but he threw himself into researching…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:43:01)
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1073: AI, Agility & Ambition: The Making of a Data Center Powerhouse | John Wilson, CFO, Sabey Data Centers

It was a puzzle that John Wilson simply couldn’t resist. Intel had long sold processors to the federal government on a commercial basis, but the rising importance of High Performance Computing (HPC) demanded a new approach. Undeterred by the maze of federal acquisition regulations, Wilson volunteered to stand up a dedicated government unit, a move…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:55:21)
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1072: Numbers, Narratives, and Navigating Change | Amy Butte, CFO, Navan

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…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:43:36)
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1071: Empowering Finance: Lessons from the Automation Edge | Ashim Gupta, CFO, UiPath

Ashim Gupta, who has evolved from a pre-IPO CFO to now serving as both CFO and COO, is busy redefining the role of finance in driving growth and innovation. Initially focused on strict financial discipline, Gupta’s responsibilities have expanded to integrate long-term growth initiatives with day-to-day operational execution. In our discussion, Gupta explains that funding…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:40:33)
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1070: From Finance Leader to Entreprenuer: A CFO’s Journey to the CEO Office | Damon Fletcher, CEO, Caliper

Like many seasoned finance executives, Damon Fletcher saw Snowflake as a game-changer in cloud-based data management. While a senior finance executive at Tableau, he championed its adoption, recognizing its ability to scale analytics and streamline enterprise data operations. But he also discovered a challenge familiar to many finance leaders—the hidden costs that come with cloud…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:42:24)
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1069: Driving Value Through Agile Finance Leadership | Lior Maza, CFO, Priority Software

Early in his career, Lior Maza chose to immerse himself in smaller, venture-backed startups rather than large enterprises—a move that exposed him to a range of responsibilities, from fundraising and recruiting to crisis management. “When you’re in a small team,” Maza tells us, “you end up doing everything, and that’s where the agility mindset really…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:57:07)
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