The Strategic CFO by FEI

Kelly Battles is an accomplished board director and former CFO with over 25 years of leadership experience spanning technology, finance, and governance. She currently serves on the boards of Arista Networks, Genesys, Qumulo, and Hello Alpha, where she chairs multiple audit committees, and she is Chair of the Board of Directors at Sunlight Mountain Resort. Kelly previously held executive finance ro...

In this episode of The Strategic CFO Podcast, Rav Mendiratta discusses how financial leaders can harness emerging AI tools to improve efficiency, accuracy, and strategic insight. Drawing from his dual background in technology and marketing, Rav explains how platforms such as bookkeeping.ai, Quadratic, Julius.ai, and Context.ai are reshaping bookkeeping, data analysis, and reporting for CFOs of bot...

In this Strategic CFO Podcast episode, host Jan Robertson talks withDaniel Beck, CFA,Financial Professional at Equitable Advisors and former U.S. Navy officer. From hedge fundmanagement to teaching behavioral finance, Beck reveals how behavioral biases shapedecisions, why annuities and risk management matter, and how executives can protectlong-term security. Listeners will learn why asset allocati...

In this episode of the Strategic CFO Podcast, host Jan Robertson interviews Jacob Prentis Wood, Partner at Capstan Tax Strategies, whose expertise lies in unlocking powerful federal tax incentives for small to mid-sized businesses. Speaking directly to financial executives at both public and private companies, Wood underscores the urgency of capturing value from R&D Tax Credits, Cost Segregation S...

Family Business Valuation: Avoid the Trap Is your family business planning a transition? Are you gifting shares after receiving an LOI? Could poor timing inflate your tax burden? 💼 Listen to the upcoming episode of the Strategic CFO Podcast. Petra Loer outlines how valuation timing can make or break estate and exit strategies. She explains why gifting or transferring shares before receiving outsi...

In this episode of the Strategic CFO Podcast, Jan Robertson interviews James Vanreusel, Founder and CEO of Vanreusel Ventures, a seasoned finance leader with deep expertise in both for-profit and nonprofit sectors across global markets. James shares key insights drawn from two decades of experience, including his early Wall Street career, his CFO leadership launching microfinance banks in the Sout...

Bill Roeschlein, CFO of Tigo Energy, shares critical insights on M&A strategy and finance leadership in this FEI Silicon Valley Strategic CFO Podcast. Roeschlein emphasizes the importance of understanding your company's business model deeply to effectively communicate value to investors, and highlights key M&A strategies including "cleaning house" before sale processes and managing cross-border co...

Are you a seasoned financial executive wondering how to break into corporate boardrooms? In this episode of the FEI Silicon Valley Strategic CFO Podcast, we sit down with Julie Castro-Abrams, founder of How Women Lead and managing partner of How Women Invest, who reveals why your finance background makes you board-ready right now—even if you don't think so. Castro-Abrams shares insider strategies...

Timothy Swords, MBA, founder of Mindful Leadership Executive Coaching and a former CFO and business transformation executive, shares his unique approach to leadership in this podcast. He highlights how integrating mindfulness and executive coaching helps leaders—especially financial executives—develop self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and resilience, which are essential for navigating high-p...

Adrienne Dale is one of a select few professionals nationwide who deliver Fractional COO services, offering over 20 years of hands-on leadership in scaling and transforming small and mid-market B2B SaaS, service and content businesses. Known for her breadth of functional expertise—spanning operations, software development, enterprise tech integration, finance, and customer loyalty—Adrienne partner...

In a recent FEI Silicon Valley Strategic CFO podcast, host Jan Robertson interviewed Dave Daetz, SVP of Corporate Development at Netskope, a cybersecurity leader in SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) technology. Daetz, with 25+ years of experience including roles at Apple and Symantec, shared insights on cybersecurity challenges facing modern enterprises, particularly how organizations struggle wit...

In a recent episode of FEI Silicon Valley's Strategic CFO Podcast, host Jan Robertson interviews Brett Mock, Chairman of NASDAQ Private Market International Division. Mock highlights the fundamental shift in how companies approach going public, noting they now stay private for an average of 14 years (versus 5 years in 2000) and typically IPO at 5 billion valuations rather than100 million. He expla...

Counsel for the Senate Finance Committee, Tony offers crucial insights on the upcoming expiration of key Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions in 2025, highlighting that while some elements are permanent (like the 21% corporate tax rate), many individual tax provisions will revert to pre-2017 levels without Congressional action. He explains how Senate reconciliation procedures could extend these cuts t...

Discover how marketing visionary Stuart McFaul is transforming the CFO-CMO relationship through strategic AI implementation. Learn why marketing isn't just a cost center but a crucial ally for financial leaders navigating economic uncertainty. McFaul reveals practical strategies for leveraging AI tools to maintain marketing momentum while cutting costs, positioning companies for investment or acqu...

Angel Investor Amos Ben-Meir Shares Insights on Silicon Valley Investment Landscape In the latest Strategic CFO podcast, Jan Robertson interviews Amos Ben-Meir, a seasoned investor and board member at Sand Hill Angels and President/Board Director at Silicon Catalyst Angels. Drawing from his background in semiconductor design and experience with six startups (four with successful outcomes), Ben-Mei...

In this FEI Silicon Valley podcast, Robert Barker, CFO and board member of AI Storm, shares insights from his four-decade semiconductor industry career. Barker emphasizes finding passion, setting goals, and networking as crucial for success. He discusses AI Storm's innovative charge domain technology that cuts power consumption in AI applications, and their pursuit of Series C funding after previo...

Sean Randolph, Senior Director at the Bay Area Council's Economic Institute and former senior federal official, discusses how AI is reshaping Silicon Valley. Randolph's insights are particularly valuable as they come from his role leading the Council's research and strategy arm, which produces credible data and recommendations for both business leaders and policymakers. Drawing from his extensive...

Inside Story: A Recent Cybersecurity M&A Deal featured Jan Robertson interviewing Ani Chaudhuri, founder of Dasera, and Dave Daetz, SVP of Corporate Development at Netskope. The discussion focused on Netskope’s acquisition of Dasera, highlighting the strategic alignment and cultural fit that facilitated the deal. Ani shared Dasera’s innovative approach to data security posture management (DSPM), w...

Christina Bui is Managing Director of Robert Half's retained executive search practice, bringing over three decades of experience across technology, healthcare, private equity, and venture capital sectors. Her remarkable journey began as a refugee from Vietnam during the fall of Saigon, where she and her family started from scratch, not knowing English, to build successful careers in America. She...

In this Strategic CFO Podcast episode, Andrej Suskavcevic, President and CEO of Financial Executives International (FEI), discusses the evolution and impact of FEI in serving financial leaders. Drawing from his two-decade journey in the organization, Suskavcevic highlights FEI's response to critical industry challenges, including the accounting talent shortage, technological disruption, and cybers...

Theresa Matacia, CFO of Momentum for Health and winner of FEI Silicon Valley's CFO Women of the Year award, brings over 35 years of diverse financial leadership experience spanning investment banking, public companies, and nonprofits. In her compelling interview, she shares her journey from a 15-year career as an equity analyst to becoming a strategic CFO for the past two decades. Matacia highligh...

FEI Silicon Valley's Strategic CFO Podcast features Anish Srivastava, CEO of Vinaj Ventures and Venture Partner at Swisscom Ventures, sharing insights on AI investments and market dynamics. Drawing from his experience at Citi Ventures and JP Morgan Chase, Srivastava discusses the market correction from 2021-22 and how major tech companies are investing billions in AI alongside continued VC activit...

Michelle DeBella, CFO of JumpCloud and recipient of FEI Silicon Valley's Women's CFO of the Year Award, shares valuable insights on navigating financial leadership in high-growth tech environments. With experience at HP, Uber, and Lyft, DeBella emphasizes the evolution of the CFO role beyond traditional finance, highlighting the critical balance between growth and profitability in venture-backed c...

Rahul Kuruvilla, founder and CEO of Triune Informatics, shares insights from his journey as an IT staffing entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. With a background in economics and computer science, Kuruvilla founded Triune in 2005, focusing on talent acquisition and IT staffing. He emphasizes transparency, honesty, and quality service as key differentiators in a competitive market.  Kuruvilla addresses...

Scott Taylor, the current president of FEI Silicon Valley Chapter, brings a wealth of experience to his role as a financial leader. In this podcast, Taylor emphasizes the importance of lifetime learning and professional development for CFOs, highlighting FEI's role in providing valuable educational opportunities through seminars, dinner meetings, and online training sessions. He discusses the chap...