For corporate finance executives, few professional experiences are as adeptly converted into social currency as those manifested inside the realm of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). It seems that regardless of whether a finance executive has been involved in one deal or 40, they are usually able to quickly share a takeaway or two. For finance […]
CFO Ana Chadwick’s Career Links Pitney Bowes’s 21st Century Ambitions With GE Capital’s Historic End Chapter
Back in 2020, the call that longtime General Electric veteran Ana Chadwick accepted from a recruiter would prove to be the one solicitation in a career’s worth of such outreaches that would ultimately result in an executive search fee. Still, while Chadwick would be a prize placement for any headhunter, it is clear that this […]
Ep 28: How Planning Aces Are Made
This episode features insights and commentary from three finance leaders: CFO Michael Linford of Affirm, CFO Ana Chadwick of Pitney Bowse, and CFO Jason Leet of Zylo. Planning Ace's Cohost Jack Sweeney points out that all three of this episode's finance leaders have noteworthy M&A backgrounds, including Michael Linford's role as the first CFO after…
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Roles & Responsibilities in Finance | Doug Lindroth, CFO, Tealium
943: Finding the Path Forward | Donald McClure, CFO, Identity Digital
Back in 2017, Donald McClure had only recently been appointed vice president of FP&A at Brinks Home Security when the company’s CFO at the time decided that it was the right time for retirement. Unbeknownst to McClure—and perhaps even to the firm’s subsequent new CFO hire—a transformative chapter was about to get under way at…
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Achieving a Shared Alignment Around Data | Sarah Spoja, CFO, Tipalti
942: Building a Profitability Mindset | Sarah Spoja, CFO, Tipalti
It’s a question rooted in surprise headlines that has now become one of 2023’s favorite conversation starters for finance executives inside the tech realm: “Where were you when you heard the news about Silicon Valley Bank [SVB]?” For Tipalti CFO Sarah Spoja, the query instantly summons memories of being seated between two of Tipalti’s financing…
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941: Mobilizing Your Team | Melissa Howatson, CFO, Vena
The corporate headquarters of Bend All Automotive may have been a mere 30-minute drive from KPMG’s offices in Waterloo, Ontario—but Melissa Howatson had to put in a 6-year career investment at the accounting house before she came to realize that it was time to go the distance. Not unlike those of many of her peers,…
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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…
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939: Creating a Narrative for Growth | Ralph Leung, CFO, Achieve
When Ralph Leung relocated to Hong Kong from Morgan Stanley’s New York offices, he was a newlywed eager to energize the financial world as one of the bank’s senior deal makers for the Asia Pacific region. Four years later, when he accepted a call from a U. S. recruiter, he had been credited with having…
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How Salesforce Instilled a Culture of Continuous Improvement | Jason Leet, CFO, Zylo
938: The Art of the Possible | Jason Leet, CFO, Zylo
Of the different acquisitions with which Jason Leet became involved at ExactTarget of Indianapolis, Indiana, there’s little question that the seventh was the most impactful on his finance career. As it turned out, this would also be his last acquisition—or perhaps we should say his last ExactTarget acquisition, given that this time it was ExactTarget…
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