The CFO Track

In episode 16 of the CFO Track podcast, Steve Abbott shares the value of mentorship in progressing your career, alongside developing decision-making skills and building relationships in joint ventures Steve reflects on his experiences at Alcoa and Fenner Dunlop, highlighting the challenges of operational management and the significance of understanding the cyclical nature of industries. He also sh...

Michael Oraniuk provides an interesting perspective of finance in sport. He completed two stints working in London, before returning to Australia and landing at Jam TV; the media production business behind the NBL, A-League and AFL W, where he now serves as CFO. In Episode 15 of The CFO Track, Michael shares what it's like to step into the CFO role at a business built entirely around live sport, o...

Abhishek Singla moved from India to Australia as a student, completed his Master of Accounting and his CPA, before working his way up through multinationals and landing his first CFO role at Toshiba Australia. In Episode 14 of The CFO Track, Abhishek shares how he stepped into a Japanese business after a career built inside American multinationals. Which meant navigating a deeply hierarchical cult...

Rob Doyle spent 15 years at Vodafone, moving from Group Finance through to leading a finance transformation programme, before going on to CFO roles at Domain and Articore Group. In Episode 13 of The CFO Track, Rob shares his experience deputising for a CFO during one of the largest telco mergers in Australian history. The challenges of managing broken processes and a demoralized team while navigat...

Ben Watiwat moved through audit and M&A advisory at Deloitte before joining multiple high-growth tech companies reaching unicorn status, now serving as SVP Finance at Immutable, Australia's largest Web3 gaming platform valued over $2.5 billion. In Episode 12 of The CFO Track, Ben shares his experience in navigating acquisitions every six to eight months while refinancing banks annually and rai...

Retief Lampen moved from South Africa to Australia, starting as a contractor commercial accountant after being told he needed local experience, before his way to his current role as CFO at Iion, an ad tech startup in gaming industry, which operates remotely across the globe. In Episode 11 of The CFO Track, Retief shares what it's like to step into a CFO role at 25 with just two and a half years po...

David Prince moved through consumer goods for 15 years before becoming CFO at Marley Spoon Australia, navigating from finance into property, supply chain, and IT across multiple business models and ownership structures. In Episode 10 of The CFO Track, David shares what it's really like to step beyond finance into running the property function for a retail business, navigating administration and de...

Sam Nagra has spent 23 years with Sonic Healthcare, moving from Financial Controller at the largest pathology practice in Sydney to CFO of the Australian Pathology Division managing across seven countries. In Episode 9 of The CFO Track, Sam shares how he navigated several due diligence projects in a decade while building for successful integrations and stepping into a CFO role five months before C...

Laavanya Pari moved through four completely different industries before becoming the CFO of Beforepay, a high-growth, ASX-listed fintech. In Episode 8 of The CFO Track, Laavanya shares what it's like to transition across shipping, digital media, and fintech. Then navigating the shift from non-stop work travel to choosing part-time work for a better work-life balance. While at the same time, she le...

Nick Verrecchia went from a 10 week accelerated accounting course to becoming CFO of DHL Global Forwarding South Pacific, managing Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. In Episode 7 of The CFO Track, Nick shares what it's really like to step into a CFO role, turning around a challenging leadership dynamic and navigating constant role changes every two years to keep learning. Then why...

Sarah Petty spent nearly 20 years in corporate finance across global conglomerates before founding Olive Business Partners, a virtual CFO firm. In Episode 6 of The CFO Track, Sarah shares what it's really like to step into a CFO role without an Audit background, navigating cultural nuances across Southeast Asia and Africa and the phased maternity leave return that helped to continue her career gro...

Deb Lane went from automating paper-based finance systems to becoming CFO at Laseraid and President of CPA NSW Divisional Council. In Episode 5 of The CFO Track, Deb shares what it's really like to say yes to messy projects, managing teams through COVID lockdowns while building solar farms and the gap analysis that helped her land her first CFO role. She goes through juggling 60+ hour weeks betwee...

James Haslam spent 18 years in the consulting world before becoming Group COO and CFO at Elmo Software. In Episode 4 of The CFO Track podcast we cover why taking parental leave changed his perspective, and how realising he wouldn't make partner led to starting his own consulting business. He shares the reality of landing at Elmo through an IPO project, then navigating acquisitions, a delisting, an...

Kevin O'Sullivan went from working in a regional brewery in Romania, with A3 hand-written ledgers to building CyberCX, one of Asia Pacific's largest cyber security firms. The lessons between those moments shaped how he leads today. In Episode 3 of The CFO Track, we cover what it means to step into your first FD role in a new country, why finance leaders must own the cyber risk conversation and wha...

Adrian Bongiorno started his Finance career in a regional mining community 1500kms north of Perth in Port Hedland, on his way to becoming CFO of 40 Winks. The lessons between those two moments shaped how he leads today. We cover what it means to learn finance at the coalface, how to build a commercial business partnering function from scratch and Adrian's pragmatic approach to AI in the SME space....

Launching The CFO Track with a guest who has lived the big moments. Robert Shore has led finance through hyper growth, heavy M&A, and full scale transformation. We cover what changes when you step into a listed environment, how to pace tech change, and why owning your career plan matters more than titles. Expect practical detail: integrating acquisitions, moving ERPs, building treasury capabil...