CFO THOUGHT LEADER

CFO THOUGHT LEADER

business

CFO THOUGHT LEADER is a podcast featuring firsthand accounts of finance leaders who are driving change within their organizations.We share the career journey of our spotlighted CFO guest: What do they struggle with? How do they persevere? What makes them successful CFOs? CFO THOUGHT LEADER is all about inspiring finance professionals to take a leadership leap. We know that by …

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1176: From Signatures to Systems of Value | Blake Grayson, CFO, Docusign

<p>Within his first 90 days at DocuSign, Blake Grayson recognized the company needed to make difficult efficiency decisions following a post-COVID slowdown. Acting quickly, he partnered with leadership to address …

Apr 05, 2026 · 54m
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1175: Inside the C-Suite: Where Judgment Outranks Data | Amy Wang, CFO, Procurify

<p>Late one night in Calgary, Amy Wang was running final checks on a billion-dollar transaction when something didn’t sit right. “My immediate instinct…was to dismiss it,” she tells us. After …

Apr 01, 2026 · 53m
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1174: When Finance Must Reset the Narrative | Aidan Viggiano, CFO Twilio

<p>In&nbsp;2023,&nbsp;stepping&nbsp;into&nbsp;the&nbsp;CFO&nbsp;role&nbsp;at&nbsp;Twilio,&nbsp;Aidan&nbsp;Viggiano&nbsp;faced&nbsp;a&nbsp;defining&nbsp;reality:&nbsp;“the&nbsp;first&nbsp;hard&nbsp;call&nbsp;was&nbsp;a&nbsp;layoff,”&nbsp;she&nbsp;tells&nbsp;us.&nbsp;The&nbsp;company&nbsp;had&nbsp;surged&nbsp;during&nbsp;the&nbsp;pandemic&nbsp;as&nbsp;digital&nbsp;communications&nbsp;accelerated,&nbsp;but&nbsp;by&nbsp;mid-2022,&nbsp;growth&nbsp;slowed&nbsp;while&nbsp;profitability&nbsp;lagged.&nbsp;“We&nbsp;can’t&nbsp;be&nbsp;slowing&nbsp;in&nbsp;growth&nbsp;and&nbsp;not&nbsp;be&nbsp;profitable&nbsp;and&nbsp;not&nbsp;generating&nbsp;cash,”&nbsp;she&nbsp;explains,&nbsp;describing&nbsp;the&nbsp;moment&nbsp;that&nbsp;forced&nbsp;a&nbsp;fundamental&nbsp;shift&nbsp;in&nbsp;strategy.</p><p>Over&nbsp;the&nbsp;next&nbsp;six&nbsp;months,&nbsp;Twilio&nbsp;reduced&nbsp;its&nbsp;workforce&nbsp;by&nbsp;about&nbsp;40%,&nbsp;she&nbsp;tells&nbsp;us—a&nbsp;decision&nbsp;that&nbsp;tested&nbsp;not&nbsp;just&nbsp;financial&nbsp;discipline&nbsp;but&nbsp;leadership&nbsp;resolve.&nbsp;For&nbsp;Viggiano,&nbsp;the&nbsp;experience&nbsp;underscored&nbsp;a&nbsp;core&nbsp;principle:&nbsp;communication&nbsp;is&nbsp;as&nbsp;critical&nbsp;as&nbsp;the&nbsp;decision&nbsp;itself.&nbsp;“The&nbsp;importance&nbsp;of&nbsp;over&nbsp;communication…being&nbsp;transparent…&nbsp;and&nbsp;treating&nbsp;everybody&nbsp;with&nbsp;humanity,”&nbsp;she&nbsp;tells&nbsp;us,&nbsp;became&nbsp;central&nbsp;to&nbsp;how&nbsp;she&nbsp;navigated&nbsp;the&nbsp;transition.</p><p>This&nbsp;moment&nbsp;reflects&nbsp;a&nbsp;broader&nbsp;leadership&nbsp;mindset&nbsp;shaped&nbsp;by&nbsp;aligning&nbsp;growth&nbsp;with&nbsp;accountability.&nbsp;The&nbsp;pivot&nbsp;from&nbsp;rapid&nbsp;expansion&nbsp;to&nbsp;balanced&nbsp;performance&nbsp;required&nbsp;not&nbsp;only&nbsp;cost&nbsp;action&nbsp;but&nbsp;a&nbsp;cultural&nbsp;reset—one&nbsp;grounded&nbsp;in&nbsp;clarity,&nbsp;trust,&nbsp;and&nbsp;execution.</p><p>At&nbsp;the&nbsp;same&nbsp;time,&nbsp;Viggiano&nbsp;continues&nbsp;to&nbsp;frame&nbsp;Twilio’s&nbsp;value&nbsp;through&nbsp;its&nbsp;role&nbsp;as&nbsp;a&nbsp;communications&nbsp;infrastructure&nbsp;provider,&nbsp;powering&nbsp;interactions&nbsp;between&nbsp;businesses&nbsp;and&nbsp;consumers&nbsp;at&nbsp;scale.&nbsp;From&nbsp;authentication&nbsp;codes&nbsp;to&nbsp;real-time&nbsp;customer&nbsp;engagement,&nbsp;the&nbsp;company’s&nbsp;reach&nbsp;is&nbsp;often&nbsp;invisible&nbsp;but&nbsp;essential.</p><p>For&nbsp;Viggiano,&nbsp;the&nbsp;lesson&nbsp;is&nbsp;clear:&nbsp;finance&nbsp;leadership&nbsp;is&nbsp;not&nbsp;only&nbsp;about&nbsp;numbers—it&nbsp;is&nbsp;about&nbsp;guiding&nbsp;organizations&nbsp;through&nbsp;inflection&nbsp;points&nbsp;with&nbsp;transparency,&nbsp;discipline,&nbsp;and&nbsp;humanity.</p>

Mar 29, 2026 · 44m
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1174: How a Hard Reset Reignited Momentum | Aidan Viggiano, CFO Twilio

<p>In 2023, stepping into the CFO role at Twilio, Aidan Viggiano faced a defining reality: “the first hard call was a layoff,” she tells us. The company had surged during …

Mar 29, 2026 · 44m
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1173: The CFO at the Crossroads of Code, Capital, and Clarity | Rich Schmidt, CFO, Inmar Intelligence

<p>Early in his career, Rich Schmidt recalls presenting an analysis of an operational challenge to leadership—only to be told, “we want you to go fix it.” The assignment marked a …

Mar 25, 2026 · 55m
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1172: Finance Isn’t the Brake—It’s the Steering Wheel for Growth | Tony MacDonald, CFO, Sama

<p>Tony MacDonald prefers a different image of the CFO role—one that replaces restraint with direction. “I would like to be considered as one of the people on the stagecoach that …

Mar 22, 2026 · 51m
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Special Episode: AI Governance & the Board: What CFOs Need to Know

<p>In this CFO Thought Leader episode, Jack Sweeney speaks with technology general counsel Akin Adekeye about when AI becomes a board-level concern. Adekeye explains AI crosses into governance when it …

Mar 20, 2026 · 28m
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1171: How CFOs Rise by Learning Sideways First | Marc Mehlman, CFO, Ascensus

<p>Marc Mehlman still recalls the moment a senior leader pulled him aside and told him he was “in such a rush” and needed to “enjoy the journey,” he tells us. …

Mar 18, 2026 · 45m
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1170: Why the ‘SaaS-pocalypse’ Changed the CFO Conversation | Michael Perica, CFO, Rimini Street

<p>Michael Perica had been discussing the market implications of AI with investors for a number of years, but the market didn’t fully react—until one particular moment. In late January and …

Mar 15, 2026 · 46m
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1169: Thinking Bigger on the Road to the CFO Role | Andrew Bender, CFO, BNI Global

<p>Andrew Bender still remembers a moment from high school football practice when a coach challenged him with a simple question: <strong>“Do you want to be all conference or all state?”</strong> …

Mar 11, 2026 · 45m
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1168: How Smart Finance Looks Before It Leaps | Alistair Gurney, CFO, Lucanet

<p>Early in Lucanet’s expansion, two Chinese employees working in Germany had a moment of insight. Seeing how configurable the consolidation software was, they believed it could succeed in their home …

Mar 08, 2026 · 53m
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Special Episode: Rethinking the ERP Upgrade Path

<p>Ashley Still, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Intuit’s mid-market business, discusses how the expectations of finance leaders are shifting as AI reshapes the finance function. She explains how …

Mar 06, 2026 · 21m
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1167: CFO Leadership at Venture Inflection Points | Intekhab Nazeer, CFO, Lineaje

<p>Early in his career, Intekhab Nazeer found himself sitting in go-to-market meetings rather than finance reviews. A CFO mentor had pushed him beyond traditional accounting responsibilities, exposing him to pipeline …

Mar 05, 2026 · 46m
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1166: Building Equity Value in a Capital-Intensive World | Derek Doyle, CFO, C Spire

<p>Fiber is “a lot of investment up front for that stream of cash flow in the future,” Derek Doyle tells us. At C Spire, that reality defines nearly every strategic …

Mar 01, 2026 · 52m
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Foundations Before Acceleration - a Planning Aces Episode

<p>In this episode of <em>Planning Aces</em>, hosts Jack Sweeney and Glenn Hopper lead a focused discussion spotlighting the thinking of CFO Kevin Rubin of Zscaler, CFO Bruce Schuman of Universal …

Feb 25, 2026 · 30m
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1165: Building a Business That Can Stand on Its Own | Manu Diwakar, CFO, Virta Health

<p>Nearly 90% of Americans suffer from metabolic disease, Manu Diwakar tells us, citing a recent McKinsey &amp; Company study. For Diwakar, CFO of Virta Health, that statistic defines both the …

Feb 22, 2026 · 49m
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1164: From Boardroom Lens to Operator Reality | Alex Melamud, CFO, Engine

<p>Before his first cup of coffee, <strong>Alex Melamud</strong> opens Slack—not to scan revenue charts first, but to read customer feedback. “The first one that may surprise you as a CFO …

Feb 18, 2026 · 56m
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1163: The Discipline Behind Transformational AI | Sue Vestri, CFO, CRIO

<p>On her first day as CFO at Greenphire, Sue Vestri sat in a conference room “learning all of the acronyms” of the clinical trial industry, she tells us. There were …

Feb 15, 2026 · 39m
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1162: Scaling Growth Across the World’s Most Complex Markets | Guillermo Lopez, CFO, dLocal

<p>In his early 30s, <strong>Guillermo Lopez</strong> walked into finance as an outsider. “Nobody was giving me a chance in finance because I was an engineer,” he tells us. Then a …

Feb 11, 2026 · 44m
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1161: From Carve-Out to Standalone Enterprise | Steve Shimizu, CFO, Omnissa

<p>An employee is on vacation in the mountains when it happens: “I left my laptop at home.” Instead of scrambling, the employee logs into a virtual desktop from another device, …

Feb 08, 2026 · 44m
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1160: Disciplined Bets in an Expensive-Capital World | Burt Chao, CFO, Nintex

<p>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, …

Feb 04, 2026 · 55m
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1159: Decision Velocity: The Hidden Advantage of Top-Performing Organizations | Dean Neese, CFO, Placer.ai

<p>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 …

Feb 01, 2026 · 1h 1m
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CFO EQ: How Leadership Takes Shape

<p>This special episode of <em>CFO Thought Leader</em> explores how finance leaders develop not through authority or technical brilliance, but through moments that reveal emotional intelligence. Drawing on recent conversations with …

Jan 28, 2026 · 30m
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1158: What Changes After the Easy Wins Are Gone | Razzak Jallow, CFO, FloQast

<p>The accounting team at Looker showed up every day knowing their jobs might disappear within a year. The company was in limbo—acquired by Google but still waiting on European approval—so …

Jan 25, 2026 · 44m
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