At Digital Insight, Hardy shifted focus from product-line P&Ls to total-offering value, bundling implementation/training to cut churn and deepen product adoption. The move boosted annual growth from 12% to 16%, improved retention, and drove higher bookings—directly increasing enterprise value at exit. Now Watch the Complete Episode Featuring CFO Matthew Hardy of Bonterra Matthew Hardy, CFO […]
1119: Driving Mission-Driven Growth in the SaaS World | Matthew Hardy, CFO, Bonterra
When people Google Bonterra, they often see 2021 as its starting point. That year, lead investor Apax joined with Vista, holder of Social Solutions, and Insight Partners, holder of EveryAction, to unite those businesses under one brand. But, as Matthew Hardy tells us, the company’s history stretches much further back—“We have customers that are 20–25-year-old…
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Ep 47: The Prove-It Mentality: Rethinking ROI in the Age of AI
In Episode 47 of Planning Aces, Jack Sweeney and resident thought leader Brett Knowles explore the evolving role of FP&A through the lens of three forward-looking CFOs. Dan Zhang (ClickUp), John Rettig (Bill), and Josh Schauer (insightsoftware) share how they’re driving enterprise agility, leveraging AI to eliminate inefficiencies, and rethinking capital allocation. From Zhang’s battle […]
Balancing Profitability and Expansion in SaaS | Andrew Casey, CFO, Amplitude
At ServiceNow, Andrew Casey learned that transformation succeeds through disciplined change management, not speed. By focusing on three major initiatives—comp plans, territory design, and customer success—he drove customer‑centric growth while reinforcing the right behaviors. This “rule of three” approach now guides multi‑year transformations at Amplitude, aligning teams, processes, and metrics for sustainable ARR expansion. Andrew […]
1118: Partnering for Growth: Finance Meets Customer-Centricity | Andrew Casey, CFO, Amplitude
Andrew Casey remembers a moment when colleagues truly looked to finance for leadership. At ServiceNow, a then‑$400 million company with little go‑to‑market infrastructure, the team faced a long list of missing elements: no functioning comp plan, no partner ecosystem, and no clear strategy for scaling sales. “Whenever people said they didn’t know how,” Casey recalls, “I…
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Building a Business with AI at the Core | Dan Zhang, CFO, ClickUp
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 […]
Why Finance Teams Must Learn Faster Than Ever | Tim Vipond, Co-Founder, CEO of CFI
When Tim Vipond was asked to help rebuild Newmont Goldcorp’s corporate model, the scale was daunting: “20 tabs across… each tab being many hundred rows deep,” he tells us. The model had to account for the intricate economics of mining—from extraction to refinement—and it all had to tie together in a single consolidated NAV model.…
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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 […]
1113: The Strategic Leap from Finance Partner to Business Architect | Josh Schauer, CFO, insightsoftware
When Josh Schauer joined Longview, a Toronto-based software company, he had no idea that a transformative chapter of his career was just a few years away. In 2020, Longview was acquired by insightsoftware—a turning point that brought both uncertainty and opportunity. “It’s kind of equal parts fear and optimism,” he tells us. “You wonder: Am…
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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 […]
1110: When Leadership Mattered | Amanda Whalen, CFO, Klaviyo
Amanda Whalen’s first CFO role began with a question. “You’re not a finance technical person,” her company’s president told her, “but you’re the strongest leader on my team. Will you be willing to be the CFO and help me transform the finance function?” She accepted. Over the following year, Whalen tells us, her team tackled…
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