A Finance Strategic Moment Early in his career, Brian McClintock walked into a $12 million‑EBITDA telecom—only to discover within 60 days that it was actually losing $1 million a month. Reflecting on that moment, he explains how relocating, digging into the numbers, and telling private‑equity owners the hard truth set the stage for a radical turnaround.. Now Watch our […]
The 60 Seconds That Changed the Conversation
Faced with a complex tax strategy and an overwhelmed board, Tony Jarjoura cut through dense technical jargon and distilled thousands of hours of work into two simple sentences. The clarity shifted the conversation instantly—highlighting his belief that finance leaders must translate complexity into insight that moves decisions forward. Now watch our complete episode featuring CFO […]
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…
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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,…
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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…
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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…
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What Metrics are Important to a Mining Enterprise? | Peter Mitchell, CFO, Coeur Mining, Inc.
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 […]