The Source for CFO Thought Leadership

AI adoption

1116: The CFO Who Thinks in Full Color | Dan Zhang, CFO, ClickUp

When Dan Zhang joined ClickUp in 2021, she stepped into a company intent on unifying how the world works. Two years later, she entered the CFO office—just as ClickUp’s strategic bet on AI was beginning to reshape its platform and its future. ClickUp is not just a place where work is tracked, Zhang tells us—it’s…
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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 […]

1111: Inside the M&A Playbook: Why People Come First | James Redfern, CFO Reltio

Nearly a year into his CFO role at Reltio, James Redfern still feels like he’s catching up. “I’ve made some progress, but I’m definitely not where I... need to get,” he tells us. That steep learning curve was exactly what drew him to the company. Redfern didn’t find the Reltio opportunity through recruiters. Instead, it…
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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 […]

1109: Building Finance Teams for Scale, Speed, and Smarts | Larry Roseman, CFO, Thumbtack

When the Silicon Valley Bank crisis erupted in early 2023, Larry Roseman was already well-acquainted with market upheaval. A member of the CFO class appointed around 2020—just as the pandemic began—Roseman had weathered previous storms. He began his career amid the dot-com collapse, then advanced through the 2008 financial crisis. “Scar tissue helps,” he tells…
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1107: When Finance Leads with a CEO Mindset | John Rettig, CFO, Bill

What sets John Rettig’s CFO journey apart from most is not just its length—spanning more than two decades—but its unusual symmetry. His CFO career roughly divides into two decade-long tenures: first helping scale a digital advertising firm from $15 million to $250 million in revenue, and now serving as CFO of Bill, where he’s helped…
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When Finance Drives Strategic Change | Aaron Alt, CFO, Cardinal Health

Facing rising costs and regulatory pressures, Aaron Alt led a critical analysis of a retailer's in-store pharmacy operations. The detailed P&L review revealed the unsustainable costs, prompting a strategic decision to partner with an external provider. This move maintained customer traffic while offloading operational risks, illustrating finance’s role in strategic transformation. Now Watch the Complete…
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Ep 45: Redefining Efficiency: The Three Dimensions of AI ROI

In this episode of Planning Aces, co-hosts Jack Sweeney and Brett Knowles spotlight the FP&A strategies and AI adoption journeys of three CFOs—Gillian Munson (Vimeo), Dan Fletcher (Planful), and Chad Gold (FullStory). Each finance leader discusses how AI is reshaping their planning processes, from accelerating automation and revenue generation to transforming cross-functional collaboration. Brett introduces […]

1104: Navigating Cardinal Health’s Growth Journey | Aaron Alt, CFO, Cardinal Health

As Cardinal Health nears its second anniversary since the company’s first investor day under CFO Aaron Alt’s leadership, steady progress has been made in its ambitious transformation. Alt reflects on the company’s trajectory since his appointment, saying, “We’ve deployed several billion dollars in acquisitions to drive our strategy.” This shift highlights the company’s focus on…
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Achieving Strategic Optionality Through Operational Rigor | Chad Gold, CFO, Fullstory

Sensing 2021’s frothy market, Gold ran a dual track—pursuing fresh capital while quietly courting strategic buyers. Years of relationship‑building and rigorous records paid off when Vista Equity acquired Salesloft, delivering liquidity without ceding control and validating his mantra that finance should anticipate peaks and “make the news.” Now Watch the Complete Episode with CFO Chad Gold […]

1100: Lines, Not Dots: Turning Optionality into Outcomes | Chad Gold, CFO, Fullstory

Imagine an accounts‑receivable clerk clicking through four different systems just to finish one routine task. Chad Gold sees that bottleneck instantly. Fullstory’s newly launched Workforce product maps every mouse‑stroke of such employee journeys, then surfaces friction points so companies can “make them more productive, so they can do even more value‑added things,” Gold tells us. CFOTL:…
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ON LOCATION: AI on the Frontlines – Live Insights from Planful Perform25

Broadcasting from Planful’s Perform 25 conference in Miami, CFO Thought Leader presents frontline finance insights in an on‑location special. CEO Grant Halloran rejects the narrative that generative AI replaces people; instead he calls it the only viable antidote to a looming three‑million‑professional accounting shortage and collapsing CPA pipeline. Halloran outlines a 30‑second, company‑wide forecasting experience that lifts…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:54:43)
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