CFO Thought Leader

Firsthand accounts of CFOs driving change within their organizations.

[CFO Thought Leader @CFOTL]

You read the numbers—but miss the decisions

Marc Mehlman learned this running a ~$1B business:

Numbers explain outcomes

Decisions explain everything

Miss the drivers → miss the future

Modern CFO edge = pattern recognition

[CFO Thought Leader @CFOTL]

You can’t fix slowing growth with optimism alone

At Twilio, Aidan Viggiano led a full reset: layoffs, comp redesign, leadership changes

The rule: do what you said you would do

[CFO Thought Leader @CFOTL]

You track AI output—but miss its real value

Marc Mehlman’s take:

Code volume ≠ impact

Efficiency + avoided work = impact

Call abandonment > speed

[CFO Thought Leader @CFOTL]

You’re thinking finance—AI demands enterprise leadership

Michael Perica (Rimini Street):

CFO + CIO alignment is now critical

AI isn’t a finance tool—it’s enterprise-wide

The role has shifted to forward strategy

A watershed moment for CFOs.

[CFO Thought Leader @CFOTL]

Tony MacDonald of Sama learned this inside large, high-performing organizations:

Executives expect clarity—not agreement
Facts matter more than opinions
Listening matters as much as speaking

He built credibility by delivering hard truths.

[CFO Thought Leader @CFOTL]

AI isn’t just IT anymore—it’s strategy.

Akin Adekeye explains the shift:

When AI shapes hiring decisions
When it drives capital allocation
When competitors are already using it

That’s when the board needs visibility.

Think cybersecurity:
Ignored 10 years ago → core today

[CFO Thought Leader @CFOTL]

You can’t understand a business from spreadsheets alone.

[CFO Thought Leader @CFOTL]

What prepares someone to become a CFO?

For Lucanet CFO Alistair Gurney, the answer traces back to an early career chapter inside Deloitte’s restructuring practice.

https://t.co/MVCZLrw6ud

[CFO Thought Leader @CFOTL]

Why is consolidation still one of finance’s hardest problems?

According to Lucanet CFO Alistair Gurney, the answer lies in the structure of modern companies.

[CFO Thought Leader @CFOTL]

Do CFOs still need to replace QuickBooks to prove growth?

For many finance leaders, that moment has become something of an unofficial milestone—proof the company has reached its next stage of growth.

[CFO Thought Leader @CFOTL]

Revenue was growing.
Sales quotas were being met.

But something didn’t feel right.

Early in his career, CFO Intekhab Nazeer of Lineaje noticed a troubling pattern—cash burn was rising even as revenue targets were being achieved.

[CFO Thought Leader @CFOTL]

Precision doesn’t change organizations—influence does.

[CFO Thought Leader @CFOTL]

Patience may be the most underrated CFO skill.

In our latest CFO EQ, Tucker Marshall of The JM Smucker Company shares a story you’ll see immediately in the short “Fast Views” video — how he once tried to get a job cutting lawns at Smucker… and didn’t get it.

[CFO Thought Leader @CFOTL]

In finance, integrity requires more than just following the rules. Early in his journey, long before his leadership at C Spire, Derek Doyle entered a CEO's office after his company dethroned a 70-year incumbent auditor. #FinanceIntegrity #Leadership

[CFO Thought Leader @CFOTL]

Most executives confuse access with influence.
CFO Sam Kemp reflects on how he shifted from being a Wall Street “mouthpiece” to becoming a trusted strategic sounding board.

[CFO Thought Leader @CFOTL]

Growth without economics is just drift.

Earlier in his career at Ceres, Manu Diwakar faced a classic venture-backed temptation: scale what you’ve launched.

[CFO Thought Leader @CFOTL]

Curiosity may be a CFO’s most underused advantage.

Early in her career—while leading strategic finance at MoneyLion—Sruthi Lanka realized something wasn’t working.

[CFO Thought Leader @CFOTL]

You don’t outgrow preparation—you compound it.

Before leading finance at Calendly, John McCauley learned leadership in a far less obvious place: a high-school pool deck in San Diego.

The rule was unforgiving:
Win or lose, did you do everything possible to succeed?

[CFO Thought Leader @CFOTL]

You can’t demand results before designing the team.

[CFO Thought Leader @CFOTL]

How CFOs Turn Customer Insight Into Predictable Growth

In this Finance Strategic Moment, Kevin Rubin looks back on a pivotal chapter from his time at Alteryx—when a shift in pricing strategy forced the finance team to rethink how growth really happens.