Drew Laxton explains how clearly communicating strategy to sales teams—especially around setting a minimum deal size aligned with the company’s ICP—helped improve performance and morale. By grounding decisions in product fit and disciplined planning, finance drove positive quarterly results and strengthened company-wide confidence. Now Watch our Complete Episode Featuring CFO Drew Laxton of Outreach In […]
1154: When Finance Becomes the Company’s Storyteller | Drew Laxton, CFO, Outreach
When Drew Laxton looks back on the past year at Outreach, one moment stands out—not a transaction, but a plan. The company set its annual targets, executed against them, and then exceeded expectations. “When you see green numbers at every quarterly all-hands,” Laxton tells us, “it’s amazing how that little bit of momentum just builds…
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Building the Finance Engine for a Market in Motion | Cristina Kim, CFO, Octaura
CFO Cristina Kim’s second week brought a pivotal shift: she caught herself stress-testing the company’s aggressive targets like an outside investor, then realized her role had changed. As CFO, her job wasn’t to score the plan but to help build it—guiding the team toward ambitious goals with discipline and shared ownership. Now Listen to our […]
1147: From Investor Lens to Operator Seat | Cristina Kim, CFO, Octaura
In her second week as CFO, Cristina Kim sat with Octaura’s leadership team reviewing a three-year strategy and ambitious 2026 targets, she tells us. As the numbers appeared on the screen, her instinct was to do what she had done for nearly two decades: probe what might go wrong, stress-test assumptions, and look for what…
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Pilot, Learn, Scale What Works | Troy Anderson, CFO, Kelly Services
Troy Anderson stepped into a troubled $2B Xerox unit and uncovered mispriced contracts, communication gaps, and failing operations. After renegotiating key agreements and restoring transparency, he recommended shutting down an unsalvageable business. His decisive analysis saved years of wasted investment, restored credibility, and allowed the company to plan with clarity and confidence. Now Watch the […]
1143: Building a Transformation-Ready Finance Function | Troy Anderson, CFO, Kelly Services
When Troy Anderson accepted the CFO seat at Kelly Services in 2024, he stepped into an organization that, as he tells us, “had done a number of acquisitions … and really invested in the business.” The legacy staffing firm had spent nearly $1 billion to expand its reach but had yet to fully integrate those…
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Acquisitions As Customer Experience Strategy | Beth Gaspich, CFO, NiCE
Beth Gaspich recalls ringing the NYSE bell in 2008 as RiskMetrics went public amid extreme market volatility. After months of S-1 prep and roadshows, the decision to proceed came “down to the wire.” Executing successfully proved the value of preparation, decisive timing, and clear investor storytelling in uncertain markets. Now Watch our Complete Episode Featuring […]
1131: Building an AI-Ready Finance Engine | Beth Gaspich, CFO, NiCE
In 2008, Beth Gaspich stood on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, ringing the bell as RiskMetrics went public. What made the moment extraordinary was its timing—amid one of the most volatile markets in decades. The IPO decision, she tells us, came “down to the wire.” After months of preparing the S-1, long…
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Slow Down to Speed Up: A CFO’s Playbook | Holly Grey, CFO, Horizon3.ai
Holly Grey emphasized that inconsistent metrics signal broken foundations. Instead of adding headcount, she slowed execution to build teams, integrate systems, and define data ownership. The result: clarity and scalability that enabled the organization to accelerate sustainably—proving that sometimes you must “slow down to speed up. Now Watch the Complete Episode Featuring CFO Holly Grey […]
1126: Turning Signals into Strategy in Hypergrowth | Holly Grey, CFO Horizon3.ai
When Holly Grey first examined Horizon3.ai, she saw more than a cybersecurity startup. She saw a technology that could change the way companies safeguard themselves. Traditional pen tests, she tells us, are human-driven, vary widely by auditor, and usually happen just once a year. Horizon3.ai, by contrast, “started out as a technology alternative to pen…
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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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