Facing tighter capital and slower growth, Burt Chao led “shrink-to-grow” decisions—redirecting investment away from still-profitable product lines toward higher-ROI priorities. The shift required redefining asset allocation discipline while aligning stakeholders around long-term value creation in a constrained environment. Now Watch the Complete Episode Featuring CFO Burt Chao of Nintex In his first months at Nintex, […]
1160: Disciplined Bets in an Expensive-Capital World | Burt Chao, CFO, Nintex
As he nears the end of his first 100 days at Nintex, Burt Chao is doing something many new CFOs resist: listening more than talking. Understanding the business, its people, and its real growth potential comes before dashboards or directives, he tells us. Chao describes Nintex as a company with a “long and rich history”…
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1159: Decision Velocity: The Hidden Advantage of Top-Performing Organizations | Dean Neese, CFO, Placer.ai
The lesson arrived abruptly in a boardroom in Battle Creek. After months of analysis, charts, and market data, the president of Kellogg’s cereal division looked up and said, “That’s all interesting. I just don’t know what to do with it,” Dean Neese tells us. The comment landed hard. It forced him to confront a blind…
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Ep 51: The New FP&A Feedback Loop
In our latest episode of Planning Aces, host Jack Sweeney is joined by resident thought leader, former CFO, and finance technologist Glenn Hopper to explore how modern FP&A leaders are redefining decision-making. Featuring insights from CFOs David Lee of WEBTOON, Cristina Kim of Octaura, and Zane Rowe of Workday, the conversation reveals a shared shift…
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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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Empowering Purpose-Driven Organizations for Greater Reach | Matthew Hardy, CFO, Bonterra
At Digital Insight, Hardy shifted focus from product-line P&Ls to total-offering value, bundling implementation/training to cut churn and deepen product adoption. The move boosted annual growth from 12% to 16%, improved retention, and drove higher bookings—directly increasing enterprise value at exit. Now Watch the Complete Episode Featuring CFO Matthew Hardy of Bonterra Matthew Hardy, CFO […]
1119: Driving Mission-Driven Growth in the SaaS World | Matthew Hardy, CFO, Bonterra
When people Google Bonterra, they often see 2021 as its starting point. That year, lead investor Apax joined with Vista, holder of Social Solutions, and Insight Partners, holder of EveryAction, to unite those businesses under one brand. But, as Matthew Hardy tells us, the company’s history stretches much further back—“We have customers that are 20–25-year-old…
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Leading Through Windfalls: CFO Guidance on Secondary Transactions
Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Kfir Lippmann dives into the lesser-known yet critical impact of secondary transactions. While IPO preparation is high-stakes, these transactions can dramatically affect morale—especially when younger employees receive large sums quickly. Lippmann emphasizes coaching them on responsible spending and long-term thinking, rather than letting sudden wealth create divisions. Balancing transparency, fairness, […]
1061: Innovate, Scale, Repeat: A CFO’s Blueprint for Rapid Expansion | Kfir Lippmann, CFO, Salt Security
CFO Kfir Lippmann began his career at Ernst & Young in Tel Aviv, auditing high-growth tech clients and navigating the intricacies of IPO-bound businesses. The experience gave him a deep understanding of strategic finance early on, Lippmann tells us. Later, he joined Monday.com when it was still a small startup, helping scale the organization through…
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How Mobileye’s CFO Strategically Manages R&D Investments and Cash Flow
Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Moran Shamesh outlines three key areas of focus for the upcoming year: financial involvement in advanced product engagement, ensuring correct resource allocation between R&D units, and monitoring global market trends and regulatory changes to inform forecasts. Additionally, he emphasizes the importance of maintaining cash flow efficiencies through a detailed examination […]
Scaling Fast: Inside the Financial Strategy of a High-Growth Company
Inside The Mentoring Round, Brian Hogeland, CFO, Packer Fastener highlights key themes around leveraging technology, data, and intentional planning to drive business growth. He emphasizes the role real-time financial insights have when it comes to streamlining operations, and supporting the alignment of financial and operational metrics. Hogeland also focuses on balancing data-driven decisions with a […]