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…
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888: Accelerating in the Controlled-Growth Lane | Paolo Poma, CFO, Lamborghini
Paolo Poma is uncertain how many times he met with bankers and investors during the first 6 months of 2009. The steady string of phone calls and conference rooms that once demanded the management of Ducati Motors Holding’s rapt attention, Poma tells us, have now blurred into a single, heart-pumping conversation. “I had to go…
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822: The CFO Trifecta: Finance, Strategy, Leadership | Peter Walker, CFO, Sterling
When Peter Walker looks back on his career, he doesn't hesitate to highlight “the big asks,” or those times when he asked a boss to "take a chance" on him. One such instance occurred when he asked his CEO to sponsor his studies as he pursued an executive MBA on nights and weekends at New…
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801: The Founder and the Future | Ryan Van Hatten, CFO, Prophix Software
Perhaps few CFO career paths better reveal the advantages a founder-led firm may offer career-minded executives than that of Prophix CFO Ryan Van Hatten. Back in 2016—when the firm's previous CFO exited the company—Prophix's founder and CEO, the late Paul Barber, asked Van Hatten, an 11-year company veteran, to step into the CFO office until…
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783: Making Your Career Investment | Sarah Spoja, CFO, Tipalti
It was 2018, and shortly after payables start-up Tipalti had raised its Series C funding round, Sara Spoja recalls, she sat down with Tipalti CEO and cofounder Chen Amit. Having spent the previous 8 years as a senior operating executive for private equity firm KKR Capstone, Spoja was known for asking C-suite management tough questions,…
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769: Beyond the Boardroom | Herald Chen, CFO, AppLovin
When Herald Chen was growing up in a small town not far from Pittsburgh, he dreamed of someday running the town’s steel mill. Years later, when he was graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, the steel mill no longer occupied Chen’s maturing career aspirations. “My two job offers were to either go make soap for…
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760: Transitioning from Platform-Led to Product-Driven | David Brolsma, CFO, WP Engine
"Be a customer-inspired leader who values and fosters positive relationships. A key to success is devoting time and effort to influencing all stakeholders—peers, employees, board members, investors, customers—through building trust, as well as by being an empathetic and humble leader." –David Brolsma, CFO, WP Engine When it comes to FP&A data, WP Engine CFO David…
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748: Keeping the Bees Busy | Shana Rowlette, CFO, Mann Lake Bee & Ag Supply
Minnesota-based Mann Lake Ltd. is a leader in the beekeeping industry, serving commercial beekeeping businesses and backyard hobbyists alike. The company specializes in quality manufacturing, innovation, customer service, and global ESG (environmental, social, governance) matters. “Bees pollinate one in every three bites of food that humans consume,” Mann Lake CFO Shana Rowlette explains. “Colony collapse…
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741: One Step Ahead | Kurt Shintaffer, CFO, Apptio
"An accounting degree or MBA provides a foundational skillset, but that knowledge will not make you a great CFO. What makes a great CFO is the ability to pair that knowledge with critical skills like relationship building, problem solving, leadership, and ability to influence. Don’t lose sight of that." -Kurt Shintaffer, CFO, Apptio In the…
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711: Building Your Network | Nicole Anasenes, CFO, Ansys
Asked to recall the experience of stepping into a CFO role for the first time, Nicole Anasenes doesn’t mince words. “It’s a very lonely, scary moment,” comments Anasenes, as she considers her early days at technology company Infor—a CFO appointment that preceded more recent CFO engagements at Squarespace and now technology firm Ansys. “If only…
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706: A Career of Build-and-Scale Moments | Trent York, CFO, Restore Hyper Wellness
Nearly 20 years later, CFO Trent York tells us that he can still hear the finance executive’s exact words. “Trent, I don’t need you to tell me how not to do something—I need you to help me to figure out how to work through the issue and what needs to be addressed in order for…
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