At AppDynamics, Dan Zhang tackled a critical gap in sales predictability during a SaaS transformation by building an analytics stack and leading early-morning trainings. Her hands-on approach earned her Sales MVP—despite not being in sales—proving that finance can drive frontline impact and unlock strategic value across the business. Now Watch the Complete Episode Featuring CFO […]
Learning That Matches the Job | Tim Vipond, Co-Founder & CEO, CFI
Tim Vipond shares how the Corporate Finance Institute is reshaping finance education to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving, AI-influenced workforce. With over 3 million learners worldwide, CFI focuses on practical, job-aligned learning designed to close skills gaps in modeling, storytelling, and technology. Vipond emphasizes the importance of designing training around real-world job descriptions, […]
Chronicling the Chapters of a CFO’s Rise | Lisa Cummins Dulchinos
During the pandemic, Lisa Cummins Dulchinos realized that doing tasks herself wasn’t the best use of her time as CFO. Encouraged by a peer, she began delegating, gaining strategic clarity. The shift allowed her to better engage with executives, boards, and investors by focusing on the bigger picture rather than day-to-day execution. When Lisa Cummins […]
Scaling Payments with Strategic Precision | Kevin Wall, CFO, Stax Payments
In a meeting, Kevin Wall realized finance was too bogged down in non-strategic tasks to support commercial growth. He reorganized billing and ops functions into other departments, freeing finance to focus on pricing, commercialization, and decision support—ultimately redefining the team’s role as a true business partner driving scale and strategic impact. Now Play the complete […]
Turning Acquisitions into Momentum, Not Disruption | Josh Schauer, CFO, insightsoftware
Josh Schauer helped transform insightsoftware from a fragmented “house of brands” into a unified, vertically structured organization. By aligning products around buyer personas, he and the leadership team created focused business units—clarifying strategy, enhancing go-to-market execution, and reinforcing finance’s role as a driver of enterprise-wide alignment and strategic identity. Now Watch the Complete Episode featuring […]
Building a Smarter Business with Generative BI | Nathan Winters CFO, Zebra Technologies
While leading a supply chain team at GE Healthcare, Nathan Winters realized that credibility in finance hinges on visibility. By consistently showing up on plant floors and in customer meetings, he built trust with operators—making his financial guidance more impactful and actionable. The insight: proximity drives influence. Now Watch the Complete Episode Featuring CFO Nathan […]
Building Value Through Operational Insight | James Redfern, CFO, Reltio
James Redfern, who spent a decade at Morgan Stanley, told us that people management in investment banking was “more loosely defined.” When he later moved into a more operational role, he realized that people—were the key to driving performance. Redfern would make “intentional people management” a core part of his finance strategic playbook. Nearly a […]
When the Role is Earned by Leading | Amanda Whalen, CFO, Klaviyo
In her first CFO role, Amanda Whalen revamped cost accounting, restructured sales incentives, and overhauled P&L reporting—driving a 10% profit increase in one year. The experience revealed finance’s power to align teams, influence decisions, and shape business outcomes—ultimately convincing her to pursue finance leadership as her long-term path. [ssp-player] Now Watch our Complete Episode Featuring […]
46: From Flailing to AI Forward Motion
In this Planning Aces episode, Jack Sweeney and co-host Brett Knowles spotlight three CFOs who are advancing their organizations’ FP&A capabilities through thoughtful AI adoption. CFO Andrea Hecht of CSAA Insurance discusses aligning generative AI with enterprise strategy and efficiency. CFO Matthias Steinberg of MindBridge explores combining machine learning and LLMs in finance workflows. CFO […]
When Conversion Tells the Story | Larry Roseman, CFO, Thumbtack
During the SVB banking crisis, Larry Roseman faced the risk of losing all of Thumbtack’s cash. He responded by diversifying banking relationships, revising covenants, and overhauling investment policies—transforming a high-stakes liquidity scare into a lasting strategy for financial resilience and operational continuity. Now Watch Our Complete Episode Featuring CFO Larry Roseman of Thumbtack Larry Roseman […]
How Long-Life Assets Shape a Growth Strategy | Kent Hoskins, CFO, Concord
A Finance Strategic Moment Kent Hoskins helped redirect Boosey & Hawkes’ focus from low-margin sheet music—50% of revenue but just 15% of EBITDA—to high-value IP. By outsourcing distribution and reallocating resources, the company increased profit margins and revenue, reinforcing Hoskins’ lasting belief: strategy must prioritize profitability, not just top-line growth. Now Watch our Complete Episode […]
The Strategic Conviction Behind a $2.5B Bet | John Rettig, CFO, Bill
A Finance Strategic Moment As CFO of a newly public company, John Rettig championed a bold $2.5B acquisition—nearly half of Bill’s market cap at the time. Backed by strategic conviction and rigorous analysis, he helped accelerate market penetration and proved the value of finance leadership that thinks—and acts—like a CEO. Now Watch Our Complete Episode […]