As co-head of enterprise sales at Paintzen, Clayton Kossl applied a metrics-based approach to deal-making—analyzing pipelines, commissions, and creative financial structures. Within two years, enterprise and national accounts surged to 80–90% of revenue, attracting PPG Industries’ acquisition. The experience reshaped his CFO mindset: data-driven, risk-ready, and deeply aligned with sales execution. Now Watch the Complete […]
Ep 49: AI’s Early Returns
In this Planning Aces episode, Jack Sweeney and thought leader Brett Knowles explore FP&A lessons from three CFOs tackling AI’s promise and limits. Craig Foster (Pax8) sees AI as an efficiency engine, projecting “20% more with 20% less” via agentic tools across functions and for SMBs. David Obstler (Datadog) outlines monetization—AI-native demand, LLM-powered products, and […]
The Power of Relationships in Driving Enterprise Value
Amid a competitive, banker-led acquisition during COVID, he insisted on traveling to meet the founder in person. That relationship-building shifted perceptions, secured the deal, and underscored how trust can decisively shape enterprise outcomes. Now Watch our Complete Episode Featuring CFO Chris Miorin of apexanalytix Chris Miorin traces a leadership-first path to finance, forged at West […]
From Anomalies To Financial Advantage | Matthias Steinberg, CFO, MindBridge
A Finance Strategic Moment Seeing poor collaboration with shared‑service finance teams, Steinberg realized relational capital drives strategic finance. He set up an office at the remote site, spent two days weekly with tax, accounting and compliance leads, listening and co‑solving issues. The strengthened partnerships lifted quality and helped to ready IONOS for a smooth IPO. Now […]
1103: Turning Anomalies into Advantage | Matthias Steinberg, CFO, MindBridge
When Matthias Steinberg entered the CFO office at MindBridge in 2022, the audit files displayed on his laptop were already being processed by the company’s own AI. KPMG, he adds, was using the same platform to automate journal‑entry testing—work “traditionally done manual.” That shift marked “a big step toward continuous audit,” Steinberg tells us. CFOTL: Tell us…
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Ep 43: The ROI Equation for AI Starts Here
In this episode of Planning Aces, three forward-looking finance leaders share how they’re transforming planning and forecasting inside their organizations. CFO Kevin Rhodes of Extreme Networks discusses the dual lens through which he evaluates AI—external monetization and internal productivity. Brandon Sullivan, CFO of 2X, reveals how a post-PE investment reality check led him to pioneer…
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The Mentoring Round | Chikako Tyler, CFO, California Bank & Trust
Inside The Mentoring Round CFO Chikako Tyler reflects on a significant transformation in her approach to financial management. Initially focused on revenue and expense containment, she once viewed expenses strictly as costs. However, after managing a sales team, she shifted her perspective, now seeing expenses as investments with potential ROI. This change has led her […]
732: A Walk on the Creative Side | Matthias Tillmann, CFO, Trivago
It was little more than 6 months after Matthias Tillmann first joined Trivago—and shortly after the travel booking company’s December 2016 IPO—when the company’s future CFO decided to step away from his senior IR role in order to head up Trivago’s creative production function. However, the jump to the creative side was not triggered by…
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