FinOps in Action

Can FinOps really be automated? Or do humans still need to stay in the loop? In this episode of FinOps in Action , I sit down with Zak Ali, Global Lead for Cloud FinOps and Cloud Modernization at Invesco. Zak unpacked the real-world risks of over-automation, why “humans in the loop” still matter, and how to drive FinOps adoption without mandates or chargeback. With over 20 years of experience in t...

What does it really take to drive action in FinOps…. without chasing engineers? In this re-air episode of FinOps in Action , I sit down with Dann Berg, Cloud FinOps Lead at Squarespace, to revisit one of our most practical and mindset-shifting conversations. Dann shares how the most effective FinOps teams create accountability without micromanagement, shorten feedback loops for engineers, and buil...

What did the world’s top FinOps practitioners learn in 2025? What should you change in your practice heading into 2026? In this episode of FinOps in Action , I sit down to talk through key takeaways from 2025. I look back on dozens of interviews with FinOps leaders across industries to surface the four most repeated and most impactful insights from this year. Whether you’re scaling a new FinOps pr...

How do leading companies shift FinOps from cost-cutting to strategic business value? In this special compilation episode of FinOps in Action, we tackle one of the toughest challenges facing FinOps programs: showing business value to gain executive buy-in for the FinOps program. Featuring: Emily Cornock - Suncorp Group Zach Johnson - Splunk Tammy Burnitt - UiPath Erik Norman - British Airways Amy R...

Is “death by dashboard” holding your FinOps program back more than you realize? In this episode of FinOps in Action , I sit down with Gilad Katz, FinOps Lead at Riskified, to explore why world-class FinOps isn’t about knowing every technical detail or pushing engineers to make changes; it’s about neutrality, trust, and telling the right story with data. Gilad describes the moment he realized that...

How do you turn FinOps from a reporting function into part of the company’s operating system? In this episode of FinOps in Action , I sit down with Zach Johnson, Head of FinOps & Cloud Platforms at Splunk to unpack why world-class FinOps isn’t about dashboards or reports, it’s about business value, executive alignment, and proactive decision-making. Zach shares how one of his earliest lessons...

Are you treating FinOps like a one-time project instead of an ongoing value engine? In this episode of FinOps in Action , I sit down with Borja Martínez, EMEA FinOps Lead at NTT DATA Inc, to explore why successful FinOps starts with understanding your company’s business context, not just its cloud bill. Borja shared how his unconventional path from 12 years as a professional basketball player to F...

Is “cost optimization” the wrong goal for FinOps? In this episode of FinOps in Action , I sit down with Erik Norman, FinOps Lead at British Airways, to unpack why true FinOps maturity isn’t about cutting costs, it’s about creating value. Erik shared how a disastrous “do not delete” incident early in his FinOps career shaped his philosophy: that understanding business context and risk matters more...

Can empathy, sales skills, and gamification be the secret to driving FinOps success? In this episode of FinOps in Action , I sit down with Tammy Burnitt, Director of FinOps at UiPath. Tammy discussed her 25 years of experience in IT and capacity management and how she founded the FinOps program during her time at Shell. Tammy shared how she transformed resistance into engagement, proving that FinO...

Can enforcing a simple tagging strategy transform your entire FinOps program? In this episode of FinOps in Action , I sit down with Amy Race, Head of Infrastructure, Cost Management, and Cloud FinOps at Citizens Bank, to dive into how her company moved 99% to the cloud. Amy shared how her team went from inconsistent tagging and cloud chaos to a structured, scalable FinOps practice. She explains ho...

How do you balance cost optimization, business value, and innovation in the age of AI? In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sat down with Emily Cornock, Executive Manager of Core Data Platforms and Cloud FinOps at Suncorp Group, to explore how her team is embedding FinOps principles into everything they build — from data platforms to AI systems. Emily shares her journey from early cloud adoption...

What does good FinOps look like inside a large engineering organization? In this episode of FinOps in Action , I sit down with Idaliz Baez, Founder and Director of RealOps, who has one of the most fascinating journeys into FinOps — from contamination engineer at NASA to FinOps instructor and leader. Idaliz has trained more than 200 FinOps practitioners worldwide and brings a unique perspective on...

What does good FinOps look like inside a large engineering organization? In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sat down with Tom Cross, FinOps Lead at Aer Lingus and a member of the FinOps Foundation Technical Advisory Council, to talk about building FinOps culture, engaging engineers, and shaping the global FinOps framework. Tom shared how he transitioned from software engineering to FinOps lead...

Should you build your own FinOps tool or buy one? In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sat down with Peter Crenshaw, Manager of FinOps and M&A at IEM, to unpack one of the biggest questions I hear from FinOps leaders everywhere: when does it make sense to build, and when should you buy? Peter shared his journey leading FinOps at UKG and IEM, including what he learned from building an in-hous...

Is hosting a podcast really just about questions and prep work or is it more about building a community, elevating leaders, and learning to listen? In this special bonus live stream for National Podcast Day, I, Alon Arvatz, stepped into the guest seat to be interviewed by Casey Cheshire. After nearly 50 hours of conversations, I shared my journey and my biggest takeaways from interviewing top FinO...

What does FinOps look like in highly regulated industries — and why is speed so critical when managing commitments and anomalies? In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sat down with Gordon Douglass, VP of Cloud Assets & Risk Management at SAP NS2, to talk about the real-world challenges of running FinOps in government and enterprise-scale environments. Gordon shares why commitments are one of...

Is FinOps only about cloud usage optimization or does it go deeper? In this episode of FinOps in Action, I was joined by Tim Nolan, Senior FinOps Engineer at DataRobot, who saved over $1M in AWS costs in just four months and achieved 99% tagging compliance. Tim shares his journey from engineering to IT finance to FinOps, and why negotiation skills, procurement partnerships, and tagging discipline...

Is cloud always the right move? And what happens when governance is missing? In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sat down with Peter Brauer, Senior Enterprise Architect at T-Mobile, who has led FinOps governance frameworks responsible for over $150M in savings. Peter shares lessons from his transition from TBM (Technology Business Management) to FinOps, and why shadow IT has become one of the m...

How do you build a FinOps practice that actually engages engineers, delivers business value, and grows with the help of the community? In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sat down with Swapna Samuel, Head of FinOps and Clarity Business Management at BMO and FinOps Foundation Ambassador, to explore how culture, collaboration, and community have been key drivers in her FinOps journey. Swapna shar...

Is FinOps really just about dashboards and tools, or is it more about people, culture, and governance? In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sat down with Ben de Mora, former FinOps Lead at GitLab, to explore how FinOps needs to evolve beyond tooling into governance, collaboration, and product management thinking. Ben shares his unique journey from security and engineering into FinOps, and explai...

Where can a FinOps career take you? And how do the roles differ between small companies, global enterprises, and vendors? In this special episode of FinOps in Action , I sat down with Taylor Houck, FinOps Specialist and co-creator of the Cloud Efficiency Hub at PointFive, to trace his career journey across the FinOps landscape: starting as a practitioner at a mid-sized company, scaling cost optimi...

How do leading global companies engage engineers in FinOps and build a sustainable culture of cloud efficiency? In this special compilation episode of FinOps in Action, we bring together insights from FinOps leaders at Choice Hotels International, Sysco, Under Armour, and Carlsberg Group. Featuring: Mike Routier - Choice Hotels International Sonal Gupta - Carlsberg Group Amy Ashby - Under Armour P...

How do you build a FinOps practice that balances cloud cost optimization, sustainability, and deep cross-functional engagement? In this episode of FinOps in Action, I am joined by TJ Johnson, Lead Architect for Platform Economics at MGM Resorts International. With over 25 years in IT and 15 years focused on public cloud and optimization, TJ shares a refreshing look at what really drives impact in...

How do you scale FinOps in a way that actually engages engineers, reduces waste, and drives cloud efficiency without sacrificing velocity? In this episode of FinOps in Action , I sat down with Sridhar Ayala, Director of FinOps at Adobe, to explore how Adobe approaches FinOps at scale—shifting the focus from just cost savings to enabling engineering efficiency, reducing waste, and expanding margin....

FinOps isn’t just about tools—it’s about culture, structure, and long-term trust. In this episode of FinOps in Action , I sat down with Matan Ben-Ishay, FP&A, Engineering at Credit Karma, to explore what it really takes to build a cost-aware engineering culture and scale FinOps sustainably across an organization. Matan shares his approach to balancing developer velocity with cloud governance,...