Inside The Mentoring Round, Deanna Strable revisits some pivotal moments that reshaped Principal Financial Group’s strategic direction. A key decision was exiting certain underperforming businesses, a result of a comprehensive strategic review conducted in collaboration with the board. Strable emphasizes the importance of focusing on a combination of metrics rather than a singular financial figure, noting […]
1,020: A Savvy Investor Cracks the Operator’s Code | Seth Wunder, CFO, Acorns
At a recent executive team dinner, several Acorns executives were reminiscing about their childhood professional aspirations. While many had had career dreams that had lost their luster—to be an astronaut and such—Seth Wunder shared that his early focus on the world of investing was not only unwavering but also formative. "I grew up in a…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:46:08)
The Mentoring Round | Eric Emans, CFO, Nintex
Inside the Mentoring Round, CFO Eric Emans emphasizes the importance of overcoming the fear of failure early in one’s career, as learning often comes from making mistakes. He fosters an expectation-based culture where finance professionals are encouraged to engage with the business, challenge assumptions, and drive insights. Emans believes this approach distinguishes great organizations from […]
The Mentoring Round | Rachel Stack, CFO, Cologix
Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Rachel Stack highlights the significance of the “small stuff” in finance, such as audits, taxes, and financial reporting. CFO stack points out that while the excitement often lies in mergers and acquisitions or debt transactions, the bulk of a finance organization’s energy is dedicated to these fundamental tasks. Reflecting back […]
940: All the Moving Parts | Michael Linford, CFO, Affirm
For those executives residing inside the private equity and investment banking realms who aspire to someday occupy the CFO office, it’s not uncommon to seek out an “operator’s role”—one that allows recruiters “to check the box” and confidently present a leadership candidate (operations credentials intact) to a company’s management team or board members. “Inspect your…
Listen to the Episode Below (1:00:13)
933: When Transparency Drives Profits | Charly Kevers, CFO, Carta
When Charly Kevers took his mentor’s advice and swapped a corporate development role at Hewlett-Packard for a tour of duty as a director of HP’s investor relations arm, he looked forward to tackling a variety of IR requisites, including crafting the messaging that follows a change at the top. Two years and four HP CEOs…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:53:26)
928: The Strategy Between the Slices | Steven Cirulis, CFO, Potbelly
Perhaps it would be fair to speculate that were it not for the changing dietary habits of Americans and surprise arrival of a global pandemic, Steven Cirulis would likely not be occupying the CFO office at Potbelly Sandwich Shop. The pursuit of new alternative proteins inside the land of agtech has in recent years led…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:58:44)
Growth & Efficiency | Joel Campbell, CFO, TreviPay
CFO GUEST: Joe Campbell of TreviPay CFO Campbell explains the importance of not just growing quickly, but also converting that growth into earnings efficiently. As he explains: It’s a delicate balancing act, and we shares his strategies for achieving it. Strategy Communication: Campbell emphasizes the need to articulate and demonstrate the company’s strategy to his […]
917: Build Your Own Personal Balance Sheet | Joel Campbell, CFO, TreviPay
While the 2008 financial crash turned out to be a reliable source of career lessons for many of our finance leader guests, Joel Campbell may be the first CFO to share with us a customer support lesson learned from the crisis. Back in 2006, Campbell, a seasoned treasury executive, had been recruited to help to…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:41:12)
904: Becoming a Catalyst for Growth | Dayton Kellenberger, CFO, Vendavo
Even today, Dayton Kellenberger marvels at his good fortune in having landed inside the corporate finance department of Coleman Company. Of course, like a lot of career success stories, this tale had timing as a large contributor, especially inasmuch as a little more than 10 years ago, Coleman was experiencing declining gross margins across its…
Listen to the Episode Below (00:46:53)