CFO THOUGHT LEADER
The Future of Finance is Listening
CFO THOUGHT LEADER is a podcast featuring firsthand accounts of finance leaders who are driving change within their organizations.
We share the career journey of our spotlighted CFO guest: What do they struggle with? How do they persevere? What makes them successful CFOs? CFO THOUGHT LEADER is all about inspiring finance professionals to take a leadership leap. We know that by hearing about the successes — (and yes, also the failures) — of others, today’s CFOs can more confidently chart their own leadership paths across the enterprise and take inspired action.
We share the career journey of our spotlighted CFO guest: What do they struggle with? How do they persevere? What makes them successful CFOs? CFO THOUGHT LEADER is all about inspiring finance professionals to take a leadership leap. We know that by hearing about the successes — (and yes, also the failures) — of others, today’s CFOs can more confidently chart their own leadership paths across the enterprise and take inspired action.
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 13, 2026 • 52min
1186: Keeping the Applause in Check | Adam Goldbruch, CFO, DoorLoop
Adam Goldbruch, CFO of DoorLoop and former construction finance and FP&A leader, shares how early vanity metrics taught him to measure durable value. He discusses choosing the right North Star, modeling one/three/five-year outcomes, and prioritizing unit growth over quick monetization. He also covers building FP&A, cleaning data, and practical AI uses that boost property manager productivity.
May 10, 2026 • 41min
1185: Scaling Smarter in the AI Era | Sarah Riley, CFO, dbt Labs
Sarah Riley, CFO of dbt Labs who helped scale Zoom from $200M to $4B and led FP&A at Salesforce and Okta. She discusses steering finance into strategic partnership, the dbt–Fivetran merger, and tying finance to product and data. She explores balancing legacy models with AI-driven shifts and how AI accelerates FP&A, ops, and product analytics.
May 6, 2026 • 57min
1184: From Deal Sheets to Operating Seats | Rick Hasselman, CFO, Salesloft
Rick Hasselman, CFO of SalesLoft and M&A/operational finance veteran from Google and Sumo Logic. He talks about unifying merged systems and data, redesigning slow workflows into fast ones, and using AI plus combined signals to recommend next-best sales actions. He also covers organizing finance teams, key retention metrics, and finishing large-scale integrations.
May 3, 2026 • 46min
1183: Enter the Blockchain CFO: Reshaping Capital Markets | Macrina Kgil, CFO, Figure
Macrina Gill, CFO of Figure and former finance executive at PwC, Fortress, Springleaf/OneMain and blockchain.com, describes bringing blockchain into lending and capital markets. She talks about moving from early confusion to commercializing tokenized loans. Topics include Figure’s capital marketplace, single-owner blockchain records, speed and transparency gains, KPI-driven growth and blending innovation with regulatory guardrails.
May 1, 2026 • 43min
AI, Trust, and the Expanding Role of Finance: A Sage Future Special
Julie Adams, SVP overseeing construction strategy, links operations, finance, and HR for project visibility. Jon Fasoli, SVP focused on automation and AI in finance workflows, talks speed with control. Aaron Harris, CTO who built cloud accounting platforms, outlines AI’s move toward autonomy and the need for trust and governance. They discuss AI adoption, connected data, and protecting margins in construction.
Apr 29, 2026 • 47min
1182: From Cockpit Decisions to Capital Decisions | Andre Mancl, CFO, Nium
Andre Mansell, CFO of Nium and former U.S. Navy helicopter aviator turned investment banker, brings cockpit-honed judgment to global payments. He discusses hands-on leadership, pattern recognition from banking, scaling cross-border corridors and compliance, capital and liquidity tradeoffs, and practical AI uses that speed reconciliations and automate finance tasks.
Apr 26, 2026 • 1h 4min
1181: What AI Means for the Future of Finance Leadership | Yuval Atsmon, CFO & Sr Partner, McKinsey & Company
Yuval Atsmon, CFO and Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, is a strategy leader focused on capital allocation, finance transformation, and AI-driven change. He recounts global leadership lessons from military training to work across 20+ countries. Conversation covers how AI reshapes finance operations, shifting from billable hours to outcomes, making major investment decisions, and the imperative that leaders cannot delegate understanding.
Apr 22, 2026 • 52min
1180: Where Finance Meets the Real World | Scott Thorell, CFO Benetrends
Scott Thorell, a seasoned finance and operations leader now CFO at Benetrends, built his chops at EY, Campbell Soup, and in founder-led businesses. He recounts rising to run a 175-person printing operation, learning tough people and pricing lessons. He explains blending finance with operations, ROBS funding for entrepreneurs, and using AI to scale assessments and compliance.
Apr 19, 2026 • 47min
Special Episode: Why Oracle Chose Hilary Maxson Now
Hilary Maxson, a finance leader who ran global transformations at AES and Schneider Electric, and Bob Evans, former Oracle communications chief and industry analyst, discuss why Maxson fits Oracle now. They trace her banking roots, operational finance playbook, capital allocation rules, and leadership in industrial-to-digital transitions. The conversation centers on cloud infrastructure, AI investment timing, and the evolving CFO role.
Apr 15, 2026 • 53min
1179: Why Trust Can Outperform Price | Thomas Baumgartner, CFO, voestalpine Metsec
Thomas Baumgartner, CFO of voestalpine Metsec, a finance leader who drives strategy, certifications, and AI upskilling. He recalls an entrepreneurial streak and explains the controller mindset of spotting icebergs early. He describes Metsec’s focus on trusted, tested products over price. He also outlines AI Test Labs that sparked bottom-up innovation and the evolving finance role toward business partnering.
