Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Don McGuire explains how increasingly ADP’s finance professionals are discovering career opportunities outside traditional finance roles, bringing diverse skills back into finance. McGuire’ explains how his team is divided into two groups: BU CFOs, who work closely with business units (BUs) and focus on growth and business understanding, and corporate functions […]
Ep 38: Strategic Relationship Building in FP&A
In this episode of Planning Aces, Jack Sweeney and Brett Knowles discuss the evolving role of FP&A professionals, emphasizing the importance of relationship-building and strategic collaboration within organizations. As summer ends and fall approaches, Brett predicts a surge in business activity, particularly as companies rush to meet year-end objectives. The conversation highlights the decline in […]
1,029: A Unique Advantage: When CEO Experience Informs CFO Leadership | Matt Steinfort, CFO, DigitalOcean
While most CFOs climb the ranks through finance-related roles, Matt Steinfort's path ended up taking quite a significant detour—which saw him lead a company as CEO and then unexpectedly step into a CFO role at his next company. Steinfort’s transition from CEO to CFO occurred when he was approached by Dan Caruso, a longtime mentor and successful…
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1,024: From Overdrive to Insight: Lessons Learned in the Pursuit of Success | Tom Bock, CFO, SmartFinancial
In 2005, fresh into his first banking job at Citigroup, Tom Bock found himself working 63 hours straight in preparation for a critical pitch. Fueled by a desire to prove his worth, he pushed his limits, refusing to rest until the task had been completed. However, this grueling experience came at a cost—his nose began…
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1,020: A Savvy Investor Cracks the Operator’s Code | Seth Wunder, CFO, Acorns
At a recent executive team dinner, several Acorns executives were reminiscing about their childhood professional aspirations. While many had had career dreams that had lost their luster—to be an astronaut and such—Seth Wunder shared that his early focus on the world of investing was not only unwavering but also formative. "I grew up in a…
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Ep 37: Navigating Communication Challenges
This episode Jack an Brett discuss the commentary of the three Planning Aces, CFO Sandeep Aujla from Intuit, CFO Shelagh Glaser from Synopsys, and CFO Seth Wunder from Acorns. Each Planning Ace highlights their distinct approaches to strategic finance, organizational structure, communication, and business growth. Interestingly, while all three CFOs highlight the importance of strategic…
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An Entrepreneur Leverages AI to Revolutionize Finance Operations | Tal Kirschenbaum, Co-Founder & CEO, Ledge
In this special Trouble Shooter episode of CFO Thought Leader, we speak with Tal Kirschenbaum, CEO and founder of Ledge. Together, we delve into his career journey and the foresight that led him to identify a significant opportunity in finance automation. Tal’s path, starting from his finance education at the University of Chicago and Tel […]
The Mentoring Round | Sandeep Aujla, CFO, Intuit
Inside the Mentoring Round, CFO Sandeep Aujla explains why his eight-year investment at Intuit was driven by the continuous learning opportunities and professional growth the company offered. Although he could have become a CFO sooner elsewhere, Aujla tells us chose to stay at Intuit to deepen his expertise, gain more diverse experience to better prepare […]
1,016: When Career Years Are Investment Years | Sandeep Aujla, CFO, Intuit
By the time Sandeep Aujla arrived at Intuit in 2015, he had already invested 7 career-building years as a senior finance executive at Visa, so his path to the CFO office was presumably getting shorter and shorter. Still, it would be another 8 years before he would be appointed Intuit CFO. While there's little question…
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1,015: Aligning Investor Narratives With Operational Strategy | Mark Khavkin, CFO, MinIO
Mark Khavkin tells us that from the very beginning of his career journey—a 2008 role as an investment professional with a European private equity firm—he was able to gain experience in board strategy, investor relations, and entrepreneurial exploration. This foundation allowed him to read boardroom dynamics from very early on and prepared him to anticipate…
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The Mentoring Round | Ashley Johnson, CFO Planet
Inside The Mentoring Round, CFO Ashley Johnson emphasizes that financial planning and analysis (FP&A) should empower leaders to own their budgets rather than simply dictate them. She forbids the question, “Is this in my budget?” and instead encourages leaders to consider their priorities and trade-offs.She believes in a proactive approach to budgeting, where FP&A supports […]
1,007: The Art of Financial Storytelling | Ashley Johnson, CFO, Planet
When she was an international studies major living abroad, Ashley Johnson tells us, she met a U.S. ambassador whose unvarnished advice subsequently led her to divert her career path away from the diplomatic corps of the U.S. Foreign Service. "I had thought that I would be going into the State Department," she recalls. However, a…
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