This episode of CFO Journal 1 2 3! we bring you real-life insights from three remarkable CFOs who confronted crisis head-on. 🔹Sarah Spoja (Tipalti) recalls the intense moments when SVB’s collapse demanded rapid, decisive action, emphasizing the strength of strategic partnerships and proactive fund management.🔹Damon Fletcher (CEO, Caliper) shares his journey through a dramatic market […]
1049: Beyond the Balance Sheet: Leveraging People and Data for Success | David Morris, CFO, Guardian Pharmacy
When it came to the public markets, no one can accuse David Morris and his seasoned C-suite colleagues, Fred Burke and Kendall Forbes, of being impatient. Guardian Pharmacy Services, a company they built from the ground up, recently raised $112 million in an IPO, listing on the NYSE under the symbol “GRDN.” The milestone reflects…
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1,038: Driving Financial Agility in a Global Tech Landscape | Joey Wong, CFO, Asia Pacific (PCSD), Lenovo
In the mid-2000s, the world's attention increasingly began to focus on Asia, attracted not just by the region’s rapid economic growth but also by the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It was within this atmosphere of excitement and potential that Joey Wong made a very pivotal career decision. Having grown up in Los Angeles after her family…
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1,034: From Earnings Growth to Long-Term Success: A CFO’s Strategic Shift | Deanna Strable, COO & president (CFO emerita), Principal Financial Group
When Deanna Strable was approached to take on the role of CFO at Principal Financial Group, she was taken by surprise. Having spent most of her 30-year career in leading business units rather than focusing on finance, Strable initially questioned whether she was the right fit for a position traditionally held by financial experts. “Ultimately,"…
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1,030: Leveraging Global Expertise to Shape ADP’s Financial Future | Don McGuire, CFO, ADP
In 2021, ADP's HR leader reached out to Don McGuire, then the company’s globe-trotting EMEA president, to gauge his interest in stepping into the firm's CFO role. McGuire was surprised, inasmuch as it had been nearly two decades since he had veered off the traditional finance career track. During this interim, McGuire had taken on…
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1,029: A Unique Advantage: When CEO Experience Informs CFO Leadership | Matt Steinfort, CFO, DigitalOcean
While most CFOs climb the ranks through finance-related roles, Matt Steinfort's path ended up taking quite a significant detour—which saw him lead a company as CEO and then unexpectedly step into a CFO role at his next company. Steinfort’s transition from CEO to CFO occurred when he was approached by Dan Caruso, a longtime mentor and successful…
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1,028: Shaping Finance Operations to Support Global Growth | Clemente Cohen, CFO, PG Forsta
Clemente Cohen’s finance career began in the early 1990s inside the Munich offices of Silicon Graphics, approximately 6,500 miles from the Silicon Valley company’s headquarters and some 7,500 miles from his birthplace in Argentina. This transcontinental start marked the beginning of a career defined by global problem-solving, adaptability, and generous helpings of M&A experience. Cohen,…
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The Mentoring Round | Chikako Tyler, CFO, California Bank & Trust
Inside The Mentoring Round CFO Chikako Tyler reflects on a significant transformation in her approach to financial management. Initially focused on revenue and expense containment, she once viewed expenses strictly as costs. However, after managing a sales team, she shifted her perspective, now seeing expenses as investments with potential ROI. This change has led her […]
1,025: From Cost Management to Strategic Investment | Chikako Tyler, CFO, California Bank & Trust
In her role as CFO of California Bank & Trust, Chikako Tyler once found herself facing the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank—as it turned out, not the first financial crisis of her career, but the second. However, unlike with the first—the Great Recession, which forced her to leave a rewarding career in commercial real estate—this…
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The Mentoring Round | Steve Vintz, CFO, Tenable
Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Steve Vintz of Tenable shares key career insights, emphasizing his passion for growth companies and entrepreneurship. Early on, he realized the appeal of smaller, venture-backed companies over large corporations, leading him to a career focused on growth-oriented businesses. Vintz discusses a critical acquisition decision where he advocated against proceeding with […]
1,017: Two Hands, One Vision: A Balanced Approach to Finance | Eric Emans, CFO, Nintex
Eric Emans, CFO of Nintex, tells us that his career has been built upon learning from mistakes and driving an expectations-based culture in finance: "I see the fear of failure as being so detrimental to so many people early in their career. In their mind, failing is often outsized, but most of the time, the…
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1,011: Balancing Agility and Structure for Strategic Growth | Carol Lee, CFO, LogicMonitor
Beginning her career as an analyst, Carol Lee honed her technical skills both in pre-revenue start-ups and a multinational corporation with over $10 billion in revenue. These contrasting environments, she tells us, equipped her with a unique perspective on what it takes to be both scrappy and scalable. CFOTL: Tell us about LogicMonitor … what…
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