Manny Korakis points to McGraw Hill’s growth and value plan as his defining finance moment, when portfolio management replaced pure accounting focus. Finance drove decisions on which assets to acquire or divest, shifting the function toward enterprise value creation and long-term growth rather than record-keeping alone. Now Watch the Complete Episode Featuring CFO Manny Korakis […]
1152: Value Creation Starts with Portfolio and Capital Discipline | Manny Korakis, CFO, Presidio
In his first “60 to 90 days” as CFO of Presidio, Manny Korakis learned that preparation doesn’t cancel pressure, he tells us. “Now the buck stops here,” he tells us, and he “didn’t really appreciate the pace” required until he was living it daily, he tells us. Korakis traces his move into enterprise thinking back…
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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 […]
1114: Building a Smarter Funnel at Speed | Kevin Wall, CFO, Stax Payments
When Kevin Wall first stepped into industry from public accounting, it wasn’t by accident—it was through a client he already knew well. The company, in the midst of an ERP conversion and preparing to go public, saw in Wall someone who understood both their numbers and their needs. “They were familiar with me. I was…
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Inside Hybrid Cloud Growth Strategy | Dilip Upmanyu, CFO, Cloudera
A Finance Strategic Moment While preparing IBM variance reports, Dilip Upmanyu first realized numbers persuade only when tied to the actions that create them. He dissected every P × Q driver, practiced explaining causes clearly in NetIQ earnings prep, and won credibility to recommend improvements—transforming finance from scorekeeper to strategic influencer. Now Watch our Complete Episode Featuring […]
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.…
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Unleashing Innovation: Strategic Insights into AI Adoption
Trintech CFO Omar Choucair discusses emerging roles in AI, emphasizing the critical balance between rapid innovation and risk management. He explains that while 20% of employees eagerly adopt AI tools, many remain hesitant. Key is targeted training and ensuring proper licensing—using enterprise platforms that provide compliance and access to multiple solutions. He stresses that cross-department […]