During a period of rapid global expansion, Kimberlee Duval centralized fragmented procurement and built accountability across teams, transforming chaos into cohesion. Within 10 months, out-of-stocks fell below 1% and fulfillment hit 48 hours, helping revenue grow from $140 million to $500 million—proof that finance leadership can drive both operational resilience and strategic growth.
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Now Watch the Complete Episode Featuring CFO Kimberlee Duval of Cymbiotika
At Cymbiotika, CFO Kimberlee Duval frames finance as the integrator for a bootstrapped brand scaling from DTC into retail. She describes taking on debt (not equity) to fund a Sprouts rollout in early 2024, then readying a launch into 1,988 Target stores. Duval restructured finance—centralizing operations in NetSuite, building FP&A and cost accounting, codifying SOPs—while keeping the team lean through automation. She resists e-commerce/retail silos, pushing cross-functional visibility so metrics become actions. Her “explain the why” leadership invites CX, supply chain, and marketing into the model, tightening decision speed and transforming finance from reporter to strategic driver across the business.
| CFO’s Strategy Playbook |
|---|
| • Centralize systems; keep teams lean with automation. |
| • Resist silos; enforce cross-functional visibility, always. |
| • Explain the why to speed decisions. |