The Source for CFO Thought Leadership

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1,033: The “Buy and Build” Moment: Preserving Your Firm’s Entrepreneurial Spirit | Ben Averis, CFO, Yoto

Ben Averis’s journey toward becoming CFO of Yoto was shaped by many diverse experiences in finance, ranging from his early days at PwC in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to leading roles in private equity–backed businesses. His exposure to the "buy and build" strategy during M&A transactions taught him the challenges of scaling businesses while at…
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1,028: Shaping Finance Operations to Support Global Growth | Clemente Cohen, CFO, PG Forsta

Clemente Cohen’s finance career began in the early 1990s inside the Munich offices of Silicon Graphics, approximately 6,500 miles from the Silicon Valley company’s headquarters and some 7,500 miles from his birthplace in Argentina. This transcontinental start marked the beginning of a career defined by global problem-solving, adaptability, and generous helpings of M&A experience. Cohen,…
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1,011: Balancing Agility and Structure for Strategic Growth | Carol Lee, CFO, LogicMonitor

Beginning her career as an analyst, Carol Lee honed her technical skills both in pre-revenue start-ups and a multinational corporation with over $10 billion in revenue. These contrasting environments, she tells us, equipped her with a unique perspective on what it takes to be both scrappy and scalable. CFOTL: Tell us about LogicMonitor … what…
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999: A Bias for Action | Jason Godley, CFO, Xactly

On a remote Wyoming cattle ranch, young Jason Godley faced a dire situation: The baler attached to his tractor had suddenly caught fire. Alone, with no immediate help and devoid of modern conveniences like a cell phones 12-year-old Godley had to think quickly and act decisively. His decision to drive to a neighbor’s house to…
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The Mentoring Round | Lawrence Herman, CFO, Dwolla

Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Lawrence Herman reflects on his experience during the “Bitcoin winter” when he advised against the popular opinion to sell off assets. He advocated for buying more Bitcoin as a strategy to preserve and potentially increase the company’s financial health during a market downturn. At Dwolla, Herman’s priorities include optimizing cash […]

The Mentoring Round | Sam Kemp, CFO, Built

Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Sam Kemp emphasizes the importance of understanding the gap between a business’s formal operating model and the actual, informal ways it functions. Recognizing this gap is crucial for new leaders to gain leverage quickly within an organization or a new division. Looking forward, Sam outlined his top three priorities: ensuring […]

971: Navigating Growth and Transformation | Sam Kemp, CFO, Built Technologies

Looking back on his days with GoDaddy, Sam Kemp recalls a pivotal page in the domain registry giant's strategic M&A playbook. As he prepared to present to the executive team his analysis of a recent acquisition, he included a simple slide to convey data that would challenge the company's conventional thinking around acquisitions and how—free…
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936: Where the Puck Is Headed | Michelle Hook, CFO, Portillo’s

It was late 2020 when Michelle Hook ended 17 years of fruitful career-building at Domino's to accept a CFO appointment at fast casual restaurant chain Portillo’s.   “The two things that I was looking for were to be passionate about a new brand and to feel a culture fit,” recalls Hook, who adds that she…
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914: My Side of the Valley | Michael Bannon, President and CFO, Typeform

When OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, recently announced that it would be opening its first office outside the U.S., few who were roaming the tech corridors of Silicon Valley likely were surprised that the generative AI company chose London for its new outpost. As a backdrop to the decision, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has…
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909: Get It Done | Rex Jackson, CFO, ChargePoint

We often like to ask our CFO guests if they remember the first time that they presented to a board of directors. For many, this happened earlier than you might expect—but few of our interviewees have exposed the benefits of “early access” for us better than Rex Jackson. “I grew up in boardrooms,” comments Jackson, who…
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898: Making Finance Proactively Persuasive | Russell Lester, CFO, Versapay

By the time Russell Lester landed inside Intuit’s department of analysis in 2009, the unremarkable career path on which he had first set out nearly 10 years earlier had become brimming with possibilities. Back in the early 2000s, Lester tells us, he was hired by the company Harland Clarke (now Vericast) as an analyst specializing…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:49:59)
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