Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Ashley Johnson emphasizes that financial planning and analysis (FP&A) should empower leaders to own their budgets rather than simply dictate them. She forbids the question, “Is this in my budget?” and instead encourages leaders to consider their priorities and trade-offs.She believes in a proactive approach to budgeting, where FP&A supports […]
1,007: The Art of Financial Storytelling | Ashley Johnson, CFO, Planet
When she was an international studies major living abroad, Ashley Johnson tells us, she met a U.S. ambassador whose unvarnished advice subsequently led her to divert her career path away from the diplomatic corps of the U.S. Foreign Service. "I had thought that I would be going into the State Department," she recalls. However, a…
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1001: Building Teams and Breaking Boundaries | Julien Lafouge, CFO, Spendesk
Angola might not top the list of destinations to which executives typically flock to build their careers, but for Julien Lafouge, it was the starting point of an extended journey. Back in 2001, Lafouge stepped into a pivotal finance leadership role with Technip, a technology provider to the energy industry. This unconventional geography forced him…
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ON LOCATION: Among the Planning Masses at Perform24
Planful CEO Grant Halloran shares his insights on the current state of AI adoption in the enterprise, emphasizing the need to temper excitement with reality. He highlighted the importance of understanding legal and security aspects, listening to customers, and pacing AI development with their ability to use it effectively. Halloran also discussed the potential of…
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The Mentoring Round | Dan Murphy, CFO, Commercetools
Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Dan Murphy emphasizes the importance of understanding the underlying factors behind key metrics such as net dollar retention. This involves analyzing why certain customers are buying more and why others aren’t, which can reveal insights into product or service improvements.Looking ahead, his priorities include maintaining rigorous execution, structuring the organization […]
995: Embracing Change to Energize Your Career | Dan Murphy, CFO, Commercetools
The way that Dan Murphy sees it, the CFO position demands that leaders always be kept on high alert. This is a mindset that has led him to habitually monitor updates and alerts related to key vendors, including banking institutions. And so it was, in first quarter of 2023, that he spotted a vague tweet…
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986: Blending Finance With Operational Ingenuity | Erin Sawyer, CFO, Certinia
Reflecting on her career choices, Erin Sawyer tells us that one pivotal point stands out—a decision that involved moving her family across the country. This step triggered not only a geographical shift but also a change in Sawyer's professional life, when her work alongside a CEO ultimately fueled her aspirations to become a chief financial…
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985: A World Where Everything Is Negotiable | Sarah Alper, CFO, Pactum AI
As Pactum AI embarks on a pivotal phase of commercialization, the arrival of Sarah Alper in the AI-driven company’s CFO office is by no means a coincidence. Having transitioned from structured finance roles at General Electric to the dynamic environment of UiPath, Alper now brings to the table a blend of experience in operational finance,…
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984: The Building Blocks of CFO Success | Bob Purcell, CFO, Billtrust
Bob Purcell's leap into the unknown was not a misplaced step but a giant stride toward his future as a CFO. Early in his career, he faced a daunting choice: To join a distressed company teetering on the brink of failure or to play it safe. Driven by an unshakable belief in his abilities and…
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981: Bridging Continents: A Finance Leader’s Journey | Jakson Peters, CFO, TourRadar
Jakson Peters's journey from humble beginnings to becoming a global CFO is a tale adaptability, and continuous learning. Born in Brazil, he had initial career expectations far removed from the finance world that had their roots in the start of his working life as part of the family's milk delivery business. This early experience, so…
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979: The Changing Stripes of Finance Leadership | Chermaine Hu, CFO, Episode Six
At the very beginning of our talk with CFO Chermaine Hu, she revealed an irony about the CFO title that we rarely get to expose. To wit: The very title toward which any executive has invested so many illustrious career years conveys ownership of what might seem to be a less than illustrious role—or at…
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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…
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