The Source for CFO Thought Leadership

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994: Balancing Top-Line Growth and Bottom-Line Results | Naresh Bansal, CFO, Menlo Security

Ask any CFO about their career-building years, and they will likely attribute their success to their adaptability and ability to render strategic insight. This tendency was recently amplified for us when we heard about the experience of Naresh Bansal, a seasoned finance executive who during a pivotal chapter early in his early career discovered that…
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993: Building Resilient Careers: Lessons From an Expat CFO | Hilary Norris, CFO, GTreasury

A little more than 15 years ago, Hilary Norris had landed her "dream job" at a tech company in sunny California—a perfect alignment of her professional goals and personal life. However, the idyllic scenario was disrupted when the company was acquired, a common turning point that often spells uncertainty for existing executives. Facing a potential…
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991: Transforming Investment Wisdom Into Management Strategy | Jeff Bray, CFO, Semperis

Long ago, the power of focus was a lesson that Jeff Bray learned early in his career while transitioning from the role of analyst to that of portfolio manager. He recalls a strategic moment when he realized that narrowing his investments from many down to just three to five key areas would greatly amplify his…
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989: The Homecoming: A Tale of Growth, Leadership, and Return | Jeremy Johnson, CFO, Dayforce

Back in September 2021, Jeremy Johnson, senior vice president of finance at Ceridian (now Dayforce), decided that it was time to test his mettle—a step that would lead him to returning from a long personal journey with a leadership perspective somewhat different from what he had expected might be the case. Determined to challenge himself…
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Ep 33: Driving Value Beyond the Balance Sheet

This episode our Planning Aces emphasize the importance of leveraging one's breadth of experience, stepping beyond traditional FP&A roles, and focusing on execution to bring significant value to organizations. They also emphasize the evolving nature of finance professional interactions and the idea that strategic insights can serve as catalysts for organizational change, prompting shifts in…
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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 […]

988: The Quest for Sustainable AgTech | Bob Houghton, CFO, Pivot Bio

In the heart of a bustling paper mill, where the scent of fresh pulp intermingled with the hum of machinery, Bob Houghton kicked off his finance career. Fresh out of college and a number of states removed from his Minnesota roots, Houghton understood the intricate dance of departments working in unison to produce everyday essentials.…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:35:38)
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The Mentoring Round | Jennifer Loo, CFO, Tala

Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Jennifer Loo explains why the metric of customer lifetime value (CLV) is her core indicator of business performance, emphasizing the importance of delivering value to customers and understanding their engagement and commitment. Loo emphasizes the importance of finance professionals keeping their “heads up” — engaging beyond spreadsheets to understand broader […]

987: May the Road Rise to Meet You | Jennifer Loo, CFO, Tala

Back in 2009, with a law degree in hand along with a smattering of frontline consulting experience, Jennifer Loo swung open the door at LegalZoom—where in short order she was tasked with architecting the fast-growing company's FP&A function from the ground up. For Loo, the responsibilities that would quickly surface at LegalZoom did not necessarily…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:46:43)
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The Mentoring Round | Erin Sawyer, CFO, Certinia

Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Erin Sawyer tell us when she recognized the necessity of adopting a holistic approach to operational processes. Rather than viewing each department’s systems and procedures in isolation, she saw the value in examining how each part of the process impacted others, highlighting the need for an integrated approach to drive […]

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…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:41:20)
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The Mentoring Round | Sarah Alper, CFO, Pactum AI

Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Sarah Alper emphasizes the necessity of a collaborative approach to growth, underscoring that “Finance can’t just tell you what you need to do. It’s a conversation with the business on how to do that, on how to get there.” She explains how experiences at GE and UiPath have endowed her […]