What experience has most helped you lead as CFO?

Tom Steer

Chief Financial Officer · Sokin

Fintech Experience

Tom Steer says he was brought into the CFO seat to bring fintech experience, along with strategic finance and M&A deal-making experience, backed by his accountancy foundation.

The answer starts at 9:34.

Erica Dorfman

Chief Financial Officer · Brex

Product and GM Experience

Erica Dorfman says her product and GM experience was really helpful because it gave her a visceral understanding of how an idea becomes a revenue stream, something finance roles alone don't provide.

Brittany Cerwin

Chief Financial Officer · The Middleby Corporation

Public Accounting

Brittany Cerwin says public accounting gave her the foundation for her career, citing its fast pace, rotating clients, and exposure to CEOs, CFOs, and partners building relationships.

The answer starts at 5:00.

Ryan Roccon

Chief Financial Officer · Zapier

CFO Networking Groups

Ryan Roccon says he joined multiple CFO networking groups and found them hugely invaluable, citing the chance to chat with peers and trade war stories and notes, and recommends new CFOs get into one.

Jessica Somers

Chief Financial Officer · Aledade, Inc.

Operating Role Experience

Jessica Somers says her operating role as a business unit CFO showed her how little she had understood as a deal maker, since financial results reflect many small daily decisions, and that this has shaped how she approaches her role today.

The answer starts at 8:47.

JM

Jack Gordon, MBA

Chief Financial Officer · Harri

Hands-On Tactical Experience

Jack Gordon says the hands-on tactical experience he learned on the job, such as capital management and technical accounting, has most helped him lead effectively as a CFO.

JM

Jack Gordon, MBA

Chief Financial Officer · Harri

Operational Experience

Jack Gordon says he leans much more heavily toward operational than technical, and that he likes to get his hands into the operations and own the business.

The answer starts at 15:15.

Jamie Schroeder

Chief Financial Officer · Premium Guard Inc. (Pgi)

Shop-Floor Finance Rotations

Jamie Schroeder says his finance rotations at Ford, including time on the shop floor, were foundational to his career, teaching him the business so he could be an influential finance partner to operations.

Barbara Larson

Chief Financial Officer · Workiva

Direct Product Experience

Barbara Larson says direct product experience is a top reason she joined Workiva, giving her a firsthand read on the product that makes her more credible in product conversations.

Philip D. Fracassa

EVP & Chief Financial Officer · Magna International

Leading Tax and Treasury

Philip D. Fracassa says leading Tax and Treasury together taught him to look beyond a single functional area to the whole enterprise, seeing how capital moves, how risks are managed and how decisions are made for the company as a whole.

Meredith Finn

Chief Operating Officer & Chief Financial Officer · Front

Operating Experience

Meredith Finn says her operating-side experience implementing things lets her test whether assumptions like headcount are realistic and where more flexibility is needed, which she says helps the handoff between plan and execution.

Matthew Ostrower

Chief Financial Officer · Link Logistics

Investment Banking

Matthew Ostrower says early days at an investment bank gave him basic training he calls unbelievable, and that working for a mutual fund analyzing stocks showed him how business works, which he recommends to others.