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financial metrics

1087: Why Finance Needs a Seat at Every Table | Tony Jarjoura, CFO, Gigamon

It was the kind of boardroom moment that separates finance professionals from finance leaders. Tony Jarjoura, now CFO of Gigamon, found himself surrounded by audit committee members as a dense, highly technical tax strategy unraveled before them. Despite having pored over legal memos and internal reviews, the room still looked puzzled—until Tony spoke. In just…
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Innovation and Market Adaptation | Erik Swenson, CFO, IDT

Finance Strategic Moment Early in his Danaher career, Erik Swenson faced a pivotal decision: continue with a volatile capital business or pivot to a faster-growing, more stable life sciences market. Instead of rushing into change, he pushed for conviction—evaluating market viability, margins, and execution feasibility. This strategic shift ultimately aligned the business with sustainable growth. […]

1081: The CFO’s Role in Innovation and Market Adaptation | Erik Swenson, CFO, IDT

It was a moment that would shape Erik Swenson’s approach to finance forever. As a co-op student at Northeastern University, he found himself in front of a room full of engineers, presenting financial metrics he had carefully compiled. When the meeting ended, one of the engineers approached him and said, “That was interesting, but it…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:55:48)
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1075: Mastering Recurring Revenue: The Next Chapter Unfolds | Kevin Rhodes, CFO, Extreme Networks

Kevin Rhodes recalls one of the earliest lessons in his finance career. “I wanted to understand the business,” he tells us, describing his decision to ride along with a Waste Management truck crew. Clipboard in hand, he meticulously recorded stop distances, tonnage collected, and time spent at each location. By the end of the week,…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:42:33)
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1067: The Power of Storytelling in Scaling Businesses | Matt Collis, CFO, PairSoft

For Matt Collis, CFO of PairSoft, storytelling is more than a skill—it’s a strategic tool for aligning teams and scaling businesses. Whether leading acquisitions or guiding cross-functional teams, Collis uses financial narratives to clarify priorities and inspire action. “Someone has to be the storyteller,” Collis tells us, emphasizing how framing financial data in relatable terms…
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Ep 40: From Constraints to Collaboration

In this episode of “Planning Aces,” finance leaders explore the evolving role of FP&A as a strategic partner emphasizing the importance of reliable data in aligning decision-making and resetting priorities. The CFOs discuss how setting clear constraints enhances strategic planning and drives more thoughtful decision-making. Leveraging AI emerges as a key theme for optimizing financial […]

1,041: Rethinking How Metrics Can Align with Business Evolution | Josh Schwartz, CFO, Medidata

By the time Josh Schwartz arrived at Medidata, the life sciences innovation company had found itself entering unfamiliar waters. Having just gone public, the firm was shifting away from being a fast-growing start-up to welcoming life as a more structured, scalable organization. For Schwartz, who initially led revenue recognition, this was the beginning of both…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:48:07)
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703: Driving Future Performance | Harmit Singh, CFO, Levi Strauss & Co.

When it comes time for Harmit Singh to brief Levi Strauss & Co.’s management team regarding the latest performance results, Levi’s CFO will often share a briefing document that features a front page bearing the heading “What’s Working and What’s Not.” “It’s more difficult to understand what’s not working, and it’s the ‘What’s not’ that…
Listen to the Episode Below (00:44:53)
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The Growth Ultimatum and the Rise of the SaaS CFO

The tribe of finance leaders commonly identified as “SaaS CFOs”  are today busily developing the tools and management practices destined to reshape the finance function. It was not quite 100 years ago that Donaldson Brown arrived inside the offices of General Motors Corp.’s finance department. The future GM CFO had distinguished himself years earlier by […]