After a failed military mission caused by one wrong GPS coordinate and later uncovering a flawed privatization pricing formula others dismissed, Yuval Atsmon learned a defining finance lesson: never accept numbers at face value. Great CFOs question assumptions, triangulate facts, and ensure teams understand the logic behind decisions. Now Watch Our Complete Episode Featuring CFO […]
Strategy, Systems, And Smarter Finance | Alistair Gurney, CFO, Lucanet
Faced with weak marketing returns during rapid international expansion, Alistair Gurney resisted cutting spend. Instead, he integrated FP&A, revenue operations, and data engineering to analyze pipeline performance at a granular level. The cross-functional insight enabled targeted reallocations rather than blanket cuts, preserving growth momentum and helping Lucanet remain on bookings target. Now Watch the Complete […]
1168: How Smart Finance Looks Before It Leaps | Alistair Gurney, CFO, Lucanet
Early in Lucanet’s expansion, two Chinese employees working in Germany had a moment of insight. Seeing how configurable the consolidation software was, they believed it could succeed in their home market. Acting on that conviction, they traveled from Berlin back to China and built what would become Lucanet’s Chinese business. The story illustrates how a…
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From Motion to Progress: Rewriting the CFO’s Role in Data | Ed Hagan, CFO, Satisfi Labs
A flood of 15 million intercompany transactions in one month showed Ed Hagan that finance was drowning in data, not driving decisions. He realized the CFO must act as the true information leader, not the cleanup crew—prompting him to reorient his career toward fixing data quality and unifying finance and technology to create real strategic […]
1149: Predictable, Profitable Growth in an AI-Native Business | Ed Hagan, CFO, Satisfi Labs
At 19, working part-time in a bank branch while attending college, Ed Hagan made a simple recommendation: expand the branch. The idea was taken seriously enough that he was transferred to the bank holding company’s finance and accounting department, where he suddenly found himself helping with acquisitions, preparing board materials, and contributing to an IPO.…
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Sequencing Growth For Scalable Outcomes | Erik Wissig, CFO, SureCo
Realizing his high-growth startup lacked the cash to fund earned bonuses, Erik Wissig shifted the leadership team toward long-horizon cash-flow planning. By aligning growth expectations with cash realities, he prevented future liquidity gaps and created a finance discipline that shaped SureCo’s scaling years. Now Watch our Complete Episode Featuring CFO Erik Wissig of SureCo Erik […]
1141: The Long Game of Resilient Finance Leadership | Erik Wissig, CFO, SureCo
When Erik Wissig recalls his early years as a founder, one moment still stands out. The team had met its growth goals and earned their bonuses—but the company’s cash flow hadn’t caught up. “You need the cash to make those payments,” he tells us. That hard-won lesson reshaped how Wissig approached finance from that day…
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Scaling Finance for the Cloud-Native Era | David Obstler, CFO, Datadog
During post-COVID uncertainty, David Obstler spotted early signs of customer optimization and reprioritized Datadog’s investments. By pulling back selectively while sustaining rapid investment in key areas, he preserved profitability, avoided layoffs, and strengthened the company’s ability to reaccelerate growth—building long-term resilience without compromising culture. Now Watch the Complete Episode Featuring CFO David Obstler David Obstler […]
1130: Building Resilient Finance in Uncertain Times | David Obstler, CFO, Datadog
When David Obstler joined Datadog in 2018, the company’s co-founders had already built momentum with a product that observed modern cloud workloads. What struck Obstler was the alignment with a powerful long-term trend—the shift from legacy, on-premise systems to modern cloud applications. “It was a product that had a lot of product market fit in…
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When Data and AI Reshape Precision Medicine
Jim Rogers applied lessons from Groupon’s rapid growth by steering Tempus toward disciplined expansion. He prioritized oncology as the core focus, deferring broader disease or international moves until sustainable, long-term growth could be assured—ensuring strategy aligned with impact without disrupting day-to-day operations. Now Watch the Complete Episode Featuring CFO Jim Rogers of Tempus AI Jim […]
1123: From Accounting Rigor to Strategic Leadership | Jim Rogers, CFO Tempus AI
The pivot began when Jim Rogers raised his hand. Groupon was shifting from mobile daily deals to a goods business in Europe, and—still early in his career—he volunteered to help lead the finance work. That step, he tells us, bridged his path from technical accounting into FP&A and set a pattern: seek out the build…
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1119: Driving Mission-Driven Growth in the SaaS World | Matthew Hardy, CFO, Bonterra
When people Google Bonterra, they often see 2021 as its starting point. That year, lead investor Apax joined with Vista, holder of Social Solutions, and Insight Partners, holder of EveryAction, to unite those businesses under one brand. But, as Matthew Hardy tells us, the company’s history stretches much further back—“We have customers that are 20–25-year-old…
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