CFO THOUGHT LEADER

Arriving at a high school in Cape Town, South Africa, without speaking English, Cosmin Pitigoi faced an immediate communication challenge. Yet he refused to be deterred, immersing himself in language studies and expanding his vocabulary so he could thrive in the classroom. Years later, that same resolve reemerged in eBay’s IR function, where Pitigoi realized the company’s available data was fallin...

Stacy Tumarkin unexpectedly found herself stepping into the CFO seat—twice—earning the moniker “The Accidental CFO.” Early in her career, she worked at a hedge fund, diving headfirst into uncharted responsibilities when a mentor urged her to stretch beyond strict accounting roles. “I was only 26 when I first became CFO,” Tumarkin tells us, recalling how imposter syndrome quickly followed. Despite...

Back in the mid 1990s–when Russ Keefe decided it was time for a career pivot–he got behind the wheel. With a Jeep packed full of his belongings, he drove from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco, father riding shotgun, to explore fresh opportunities in Silicon Valley. He had just completed a stint at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, where he gained a deep respect for transparency and le...

It was shortly after Eugene Wong exited the banking world to advance into a senior operations role that he realized the importance of a holistic view. At one meeting, he uncovered a disconnect between product and sales teams that threatened a strategic initiative. By stepping in and aligning priorities, he emerged as a “quarterback,” bridging perspectives and clarifying responsibilities. This reve...

Four years into his 12-year career chapter at Amazon, Hetu Patel was appointed Finance Director for Prime—a role he credits with opening his eyes to strategic finance. In the days ahead Patel would be handed a milestone assignment, where he worked on a groundbreaking framework attributing the total value of Prime membership to each bundled benefit: video, music, books, and fast shipping. Collabora...

When you think about accounting at growth stage companies, the word "artistry" might not immediately come to mind, but Desene Sterling makes a compelling case for it in this episode of Controllers Classified. As the Controller at Sourcegraph, Desene describes how crafting processes, like implementing procurement workflows or streamlining month-end close, feels like painting a masterpiece—except he...

CFO Kfir Lippmann began his career at Ernst & Young in Tel Aviv, auditing high-growth tech clients and navigating the intricacies of IPO-bound businesses. The experience gave him a deep understanding of strategic finance early on, Lippmann tells us. Later, he joined Monday.com when it was still a small startup, helping scale the organization through multiple investment rounds and significant s...

When Emma Seymour arrived at Deputy in early 2022, she became focused on strengthening the company’s financial foundation. In the three years since, Deputy has achieved a historic milestone—reaching unicorn status through strategic partnerships with major customers who not only become clients but also invest capital, thereby opening new distribution channels and co-creating additional value. Turni...

In our latest Planning Aces episode of CFO Thought Leader , Jack Sweeney teams with FP&A veteran Brett Knowles to spotlight three finance leaders tackling one of business’s most critical challenges: aligning sales, operations, and finance around a common goal. First, Orion Innovation CFO Cyrus Lam recalls how transparent metrics and well-crafted incentives helped double profit margins by bridg...

It was late 2020 when Michelle Hook ended 17 years of fruitful career-building at Domino’s to accept a CFO appointment at fast casual restaurant chain Portillo’s.   “The two things that I was looking for were to be passionate about a new brand and to feel a culture fit,” recalls Hook, who adds that she had long imagined someday leaving Domino’s to join a smaller company that she could help to...

Among the learnings that Dev Ahuja has gleaned from his three-decade-long, globe-hopping finance career, perhaps none has delivered a more enduring instruction than that which followed his very first hop. By his own account, after Ahuja had reached the summit of Novartis’s finance executive ranks in India, the drug giant invited him to occupy an office at its Basel, Switzerland, headquarters. Here...

In this special holiday episode of CFO Thought Leader, host Jack Sweeney shares three unique CFO beginnings that highlight the power of perseverance, determination, and meaningful connections. First, CFO Scott Healy recounts his father’s unwavering belief in trying and shares how his deaf brother’s relentless pursuit of success influenced his own leadership approach. Next, CFO Tracy Curley reveals...

monday.com CFO Eliran Glazer highlights three vital priorities for 2025. First, he stresses that long-term efficiency must guide strategy. Instead of focusing solely on near-term investor demands, CFOs must structure financial planning like a marathon—mapping out sustainable growth through transparent scenario planning that accounts for macro uncertainties. Second, Glazer emphasized that CFOs need...

Brian Registe’s path to the future began in Dominica before relocating to Alaska with his industrious father. He launched his finance career in Alaska’s telecom sector, where a mentorship with a female CFO was pivotal. Serving eight years in the US Army, Brian specialized in finance, accounting, and procurement, including a tour in South Korea. Transitioning to the nonprofit sector with Heartland...

Beginning his career in audit at PwC Moscow, Georgy Egorov gained a foundation in finance’s finer details before transitioning into high-stakes investment banking. Across seventeen years with firms like Goldman Sachs and UBS, he navigated complex emerging markets and forged trusted relationships with mentors. This journey refined his ability to think both broadly and deeply. Later, he leapt into t...

In this episode of Controllers Classified, host Erik Zhou, CAO at Brex, dives into the world of accounting and automation with Jake Jones, Controller at FinQuery. Jake shares his journey from a decade at Cherry Bekaert to his current role, detailing his transition approach from audit to client side. The conversation then explores Jake’s approach to finding efficiencies in the accounting process th...

Ask any business manager about the “three Ps in business” and they will likely say People, Process, and Product. However, ask any finance team member at Cribl that question, and you’ll likely hear a different answer: Precision, Predictability, and Performance. These are the three Ps that guide CFO Zach Johnson’s data-driven approach to financial leadership. Johnson’s career journey provides the co...

Joanne Cheng’s career had already carried her through multiple successful exits and leadership roles when an unexpected opportunity arose. Having proven her ability to guide companies to liquidity events and beyond, Cheng had established a new benchmark for any next move: she wanted to steer a firm toward an IPO while serving as its CFO. But then along came Jellyfish, a company whose big day in th...

Chris Nagy’s finance career began with a foundation in problem-solving, influenced by his early passion for math and logic. He started in commercial finance, focusing on pricing and market dynamics, which shaped his understanding of value differentiation and operational efficiency. His experience included IPO readiness, strategic planning, and time at BlackRock, where he gained insights into large...

For Cyrus Lam, the aspect of the CFO role that sets it apart from all others is the weight of non-negotiable priorities. Despite years spent closely collaborating with CFOs as an investment banker, Lam tell us he quickly discovered a new level of accountability in the role. Managing cash flow and ensuring payroll, he says, are unyielding priorities. “If you can’t make payroll, that’s a big, big is...

In this episode of Planning Aces , Jack Sweeney and Brett Knowles share insights from CFOs Sandra Wallach (Amprius Technologies), David Morris (Guardian Pharmacy Services), and David Eckstein (Vanta). The discussion explores how these finance leaders are leveraging technology, data, and collaboration to drive decision-making and value creation. Highlights Sandra Wallach (Amprius Technologies): Foc...

It's no secret that Moderna's R&D efforts have expanded well beyond the realm of COVID-19. CFO Jamey Mock tells us that today the company has more than 40 drugs in its pipeline, with targets such as respiratory, latent, and rare diseases. As he explains, this diversity means that the biotech innovator is reliant not solely on one product or therapeutic area, which makes for less risk than woul...

By all accounts, when Moran Shemesh joined Mobileye in 2016 as Corporate Controller, the drama of its IPO was behind it. The Israeli autonomous vehicle technology company had gone public two years earlier, and Shemesh saw the opportunity to grow within an innovative tech company. “I was stepping into a fast-growing organization, that was already publicly traded,” she says, “and I understood t...

In this episode of Controllers Classified, Erik Zhou speaks with Jessica Peng, Controller at Invoca, about mastering change management. Jessica shares her experiences transitioning from a Big Four to client side, offering insights into SOX compliance and the nuances of internal controls. She then uses Invoca’s recent revenue recognition system overhaul to highlight best practices and consideration...

When Mark Partin first became CFO at BlackLine nearly a decade ago, the concept of Sales Ops was still rather new within the company, and he was tasked with building it from scratch. Over time, Sales Ops evolved into Revenue Ops, integrating finance, sales, and customer success functions to support BlackLine’s rapid growth. In this discussion, Partin shares critical milestones, including consolida...