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 […]
1,043: Career Redefined: A CFO’s Move from Corporate Promise to Start-up Leadership | Aira Pineda, CFO, Scrubbed
As Aira Pineda stared out from her new office at a seemingly endless rice field, a voice inside her asked, 'What are you doing here?" Only a year or two earlier, Pineda had been among the young urban professionals populating the bustling Philippine offices of accounting house KPMG. She had excelled quickly, so much so…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:48:10)
Shaping ADP’s Global Strategy: Don McGuire’s Unique CFO Journey
This story originally appeared on Forbes.com 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 CFO role. McGuire was surprised, as it had been nearly two decades since he had shifted away from the traditional finance track. In the intervening […]
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…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:58:21)
1,022: The Power of Lean Thinking | Todd Patriacca, CFO, BVI Medical
Todd Patriacca was more than a dozen years into his finance career when two things happened that accelerated its trajectory. The first was that he found a mentor—or, rather, that his future mentor found him. The second was that he became immersed in Lean culture. Starting his career at Arthur Andersen, Patriacca spent nearly 10…
Listen to the Episode Below (1:01:42)
1,008: Managing Change and Ensuring Stability | Erica Gessert, CFO, Upwork
In the throes of the Great Recession, Erica Gessert faced one of her first tests of leadership. As the head of investor relations for Virgin Mobile, she found herself navigating the collapsing financial sector. Key banks that were integral to the company's operations began to crumble, and the economic landscape was fraught with uncertainty. Keeping…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:41:54)
A CFO Helps Cardinal Health Find Its Value-Creation Groove
This story originally appeared on Forbes.com Back in August 2022, when Cardinal Health, Inc.’s finance chief, Jason Hollar, succeeded CEO Mike Kaufmann as the healthcare giant’s top executive, among the immediate challenges facing new CEO Hollar was filling the company’s CFO vacancy. At the time, an activist investor with an eye toward management change had […]
977: Unlocking Rep Performance for Sales Success in Tech | David Freeman, CFO, Starburst
Joining Intel Corp. in 1999 as a recent college graduate, David Freeman began his finance career as part of the tech giant’s plus-size finance team that supported various business groups. Looking back, Freeman finds that few aspects of the tech giant’s business were more influential in shaping his early career years than the company’s direct…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:47:55)
961: Finding Healthier Alternatives and Profits | Greg Robbins, CFO, Odyssey Wellness
Greg Robbins began his career inside the realm of Big Six accounting houses, an experience that he tells us laid the foundation for a career in financial operations and strategy. However, he credits much of his leadership style to his time at Red Bull, where he learned that real development comes from hands-on experiences, insightful…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:36:46)
The Mentoring Round | Michael Kennedy, CFO, MDA
Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Michael Kennedy tells us that while he had anticipated a significant workload at MDA, the reality was far beyond his initial expectations. This is a common experience for many CFOs when they transition into roles that demand organizational transformation. Leaders tell us they often underestimate the scale of the tasks […]
957: Mission-Centric Finance: MDA’s Transformation Story | Michael Kennedy, CFO, Muscular Dystrophy Association
When Michael Kennedy first stepped into the CFO office at the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) in 2018, he was surprised to learn that the association was spending $8 million annually on office space across the country. “Why were we in these offices?” asks Kennedy, voicing the question that helped to kick off the first of…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:55:11)
The Mentoring Round | Zhi Li, CFO, Customer.io
Inside the Mentoring Round, CFO Zhi Li shares a lesson he learned within the first 60 days of becoming a CFO – the importance of delivering bad news promptly and transparently. He confessed that he initially focused more on the positives, but with time, he realized the significance of owning up to the negatives. This, […]