What's Rarely Measured Matters Most

operational finance

1177: Navigating an Acquisition at the Edge of Change | Tom DiDesidero, CFO, SmartRecruiters

Tom DiDesidero describes a period when SmartRecruiters was actively taking customers from a much larger competitor. It wasn’t just momentum—it was proof. “We were stealing a lot of their customers,” DiDesidero tells us, describing how that traction became a defining signal of value. At the same time, SmartRecruiters was moving quickly on a new front.…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:46:59)
Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotifySurveyLinkedInYouTube

Why Judgment Still Beats the Algorithm

Steve Shimizu’s finance strategic moment came during VMware’s acquisition by Broadcom, where he observed Broadcom’s disciplined, division-by-division decision making. Transitioning the EUC unit into a standalone company revealed how tightly every function interconnects—teaching him that finance leadership means orchestrating the whole system, not just managing numbers. Now Watch the Complete Episode Featuring CFO Steve Shimizu […]

1161: From Carve-Out to Standalone Enterprise | Steve Shimizu, CFO, Omnissa

An employee is on vacation in the mountains when it happens: “I left my laptop at home.” Instead of scrambling, the employee logs into a virtual desktop from another device, pulling up what looks and feels like their own PC, delivered through the cloud. That simple moment captures how Steve Shimizu describes Omnissa’s mission—helping companies…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:44:27)
Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotifySurveyLinkedInYouTube

Scaling Payments with Strategic Precision | Kevin Wall, CFO, Stax Payments

In a meeting, Kevin Wall realized finance was too bogged down in non-strategic tasks to support commercial growth. He reorganized billing and ops functions into other departments, freeing finance to focus on pricing, commercialization, and decision support—ultimately redefining the team’s role as a true business partner driving scale and strategic impact. Now Play the complete […]

1114: Building a Smarter Funnel at Speed | Kevin Wall, CFO, Stax Payments

When Kevin Wall first stepped into industry from public accounting, it wasn’t by accident—it was through a client he already knew well. The company, in the midst of an ERP conversion and preparing to go public, saw in Wall someone who understood both their numbers and their needs. “They were familiar with me. I was…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:44:55)
Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotifySurveyLinkedInYouTube

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,…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:42:33)
Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotifySurveyLinkedInYouTube