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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 su... more

PublishesTwice weeklyEpisodes1224Founded13 years ago
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Artwork for CFO THOUGHT LEADER

Latest Episodes

In 2023, Hippo faced what CFO Guy Zeltser describes as perhaps the worst quarter in the insurance company’s history. The response was not to chase growth harder. Instead, leadership made a decision that would have seemed counterintuitive during the c... more

How consumption models, AI, and rising complexity are reshaping the CFO mandate

Revenue models are becoming more complex—and for finance leaders, the consequences extend well beyond how a company bills its customers. As businesses combine subscripti... more

YouTube

When Tami Wilson-Ciranna joined Curative in April 2020, the assignment came with what now looks like a spectacularly optimistic assumption: three months.

“I met with Fred on a Tuesday and I started on Thursday,” she recalls. Curative was helping res... more

When Pegasystems began building its cloud business, the economics were hardly what investors would expect from a mature software company. Cloud gross margin was below 30%, recalls CFO and COO Ken Stillwell. The destination was roughly 80%. Getting th... more

Key Facts

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Number of Listeners
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Recent Guests

Tami Wilson-Ciranna
CFO of Curative
Curative
Episode: 2019: Building a Health Plan Around What People Actually Do | Tami Wilson-Ciranna. CFO, Curative
Ken Stillwell
CFO of Pegasystems (Pega Systems), former CFO and COO
Pegasystems
Episode: 1218: Why Pegasystems Is Betting on Work, Not Tokens | Ken Stillwell, CFO, Pegasystems
Brittany Cerwin
CFO of Middleby Corporation
Middleby Corporation
Episode: 2017: A Sharper Portfolio, A Clearer Capital Story | Brittany Cerwin, CFO, Middleby Corporation
Michael Bannon
CFO-turned-Operating leader with international experience; London-based
SiteCorps / Typeform
Episode: People and Places: The Geography of a CFO Career
Mike Brower
Finance leader with Wyoming roots, CFO/Executive roles across multiple Wyoming-based companies
Office Evolution, M2 Orthopedics (as of later tenure)
Episode: People and Places: The Geography of a CFO Career
Tim Zue
Executive Vice President and CFO of the Boston Red Sox; started as an unpaid intern
Boston Red Sox
Episode: People and Places: The Geography of a CFO Career
Gregg Clevenger
CFO with a global banking background; leadership roles across industries
Commie (education tech platform)
Episode: People and Places: The Geography of a CFO Career
Dallas Clement
President and COO of Cox Enterprises; long tenure in Atlanta
Cox Enterprises
Episode: People and Places: The Geography of a CFO Career
Ryan Roccon
CFO (and COO) at Zapier
Zapier
Episode: 2016: Building the Operating System for Agentic Automation | Ryan Roccon, CFO, Zapier

Hosts

Jack Sweeney
Host of CFO Thought Leader
John Kinzer
Former HubSpot CFO; IPO experience; deep SaaS/AI finance leadership

Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars from 198 ratings
  • extremely insightful episode. very practical advice and interesting to learn about planet fitness. great guest!

    Audible
    5
    IreneR
    United States3 years ago
  • insightful

    extremely insightful episode. very practical advice and interesting to learn about planet fitness. great guest!

    Audible
    5
    IreneR
    United States3 years ago
  • My #1 podcast!

    I am a finance professional going through an overseas assignment, navigating through my day to day work and making career decisions so this is my go to podcast! It’s full of nuggets of wisdom from so many CFOs that I would not have a chance to meet and get his/ her insights with such a thoughtful structure! You get the experience in the beginning, book recommendations at the end, I love the question about “what is your unique feature that people know you about?”

    I am looking forward for more wom... more

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    NagiZara
    Japan4 years ago
  • Search by a topic

    Hello Jack,

    I love your show and lot to learn from other professionals’ experiences.

    Is there a way to search by a topic? I am interested in the AEC industry episodes.

    Thank You

    Gowri

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Gowri Luxmy
    Canada5 years ago
  • Good information, obnoxious host

    It’s hard to listen to the host, especially the advertisements. His tone is incredibly obnoxious that I cringe at times. Still good material to listen to if you’re in accounting or finance.

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    JJBird!
    United States5 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Listeners appreciate real-world finance leadership stories and crisis-case learnings.
Requests for more women CFOs and broader industry representation.
Positive sentiment on actionable CFO insights and guest quality; some critique audio quality and host delivery.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

1218: Why Pegasystems Is Betting on Work, Not Tokens | Ken Stillwell, CFO, Pegasystems
Q: What are your priorities for the next 12 months, given AI and market uncertainty?
The focus is on charting a course for the business, maintaining agility to cope with market variability, and leading with calm, process-driven guidance to help clients navigate changes.
1218: Why Pegasystems Is Betting on Work, Not Tokens | Ken Stillwell, CFO, Pegasystems
Q: What do you wish you knew earlier in your CFO career?
Ken stresses three principles: dive into the business and be hands-on; maintain humility and continue learning; and care for your team and clients to build loyalty and trust.
1218: Why Pegasystems Is Betting on Work, Not Tokens | Ken Stillwell, CFO, Pegasystems
Q: How does Pega think about current AI usage, token economics, and value realization for customers?
The approach centers on not charging by tokens, using the right model for the right task, and guiding clients to use AI where it adds real value while controlling costs and avoiding token-maxing behaviors.
1218: Why Pegasystems Is Betting on Work, Not Tokens | Ken Stillwell, CFO, Pegasystems
Q: What was the most consequential investment during Pega's transition to cloud and service models?
Ken highlights three pillars: matching offerings to client needs via Cloud Choice, building a world-class cloud operation with the right expertise, and aligning incentives across sellers and clients to support a scalable cloud journey.
1218: Why Pegasystems Is Betting on Work, Not Tokens | Ken Stillwell, CFO, Pegasystems
Q: Take us back to how you became a CFO and what shaped that path.
Ken describes starting in public accounting and M&A, then moving into operating roles where hands-on operational exposure and deal experience formed a practical CFO skill set. He emphasizes learning by doing, being close to the business, and evolving from a numbers-focused leader to a true business owner who guides strategy.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Frequently Asked Questions About CFO THOUGHT LEADER

What is CFO THOUGHT LEADER about and what kind of topics does it cover?

Finance leaders who are guests on this show tend to share practical leadership lessons from senior finance roles in fast-growing tech, AI, and industrial companies. Episodes often center on capital allocation, crisis management, governance, and building high-performing finance teams that partner with product, sales, and operations. The format blends career storytelling with actionable frameworks for scaling, cost management, and governance in public and private companies, with notable emphasis on AI-enabled finance, transformative initiatives, and the CFO's expanded role beyond number-crunching. A standout trait across episodes is the focus on real-world decisions, investor relations, and culture as drivers of sustainable value. The series ... more

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Which podcasts are similar to CFO THOUGHT LEADER?

These podcasts share a similar audience with CFO THOUGHT LEADER:

1. CFO Weekly
2. Inside the Strategy Room
3. The Memo by Howard Marks
4. Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy
5. The Accounting Podcast

How many episodes of CFO THOUGHT LEADER are there?

CFO THOUGHT LEADER launched 13 years ago and published 1224 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on CFO THOUGHT LEADER?

Recent guests on CFO THOUGHT LEADER include:

1. Tami Wilson-Ciranna
2. Ken Stillwell
3. Brittany Cerwin
4. Michael Bannon
5. Mike Brower
6. Tim Zue
7. Gregg Clevenger
8. Dallas Clement

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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