The CFO Show

The path to becoming a CFO is rarely linear. In today’s environment of constant change, finance leaders are expected to move between strategy, operations, and capital markets while developing the judgment needed to navigate uncertainty and drive growth.

In this episode of The CFO Show, Melissa Howatson speaks with Greg Mrva, Chief Financial Officer of GoFundMe, about how varied career experiences shape stronger finance leaders...

Business agility has become a defining capability for organizations operating in today’s environment of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA). But while many companies focus on operational flexibility or technology investments, fewer understand the critical role finance plays in enabling true agility across the business.

In this episode of The CFO Show, Melissa Howatson speaks with Mitch Max, founder of Bet...

One of the most consequential decisions a CFO will make is selecting and implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform. Yet beyond vendor comparisons and licensing costs lie hidden risks—customization overruns, stalled implementations, legacy system constraints, and organizational change fatigue.

In this episode of The CFO Show, Melissa Howatson speaks with Harpal Mattu, FCMA, Managing Director at Agilyx Group, a...

Healthcare finance leaders are operating under unprecedented pressure. Rising costs, staffing shortages, payer complexity, and constant uncertainty. 

Matthew Ennen, Senior Vice President of Finance and Business Development at Ensemble Health Partners, shares how finance leaders can navigate volatility while staying anchored to their mission, their people and long-term resilience. 

Drawing on more than 20...

What separates good finance teams from great ones? In this special episode, host Melissa Howatson brings together insights from more than 20 finance leaders to answer one deceptively simple question: 

What is the hallmark of a mature finance team? 

Across industries and company sizes, their perspectives reveal a shared truth: modern finance teams don’t just report on the business; they help shape w...

Financial consolidation has long been treated as a “back-office necessity,” but in today’s complex, data-dense businesses, it’s becoming a strategic engine. 

Craig Schiff, Founder and CEO of BPM Partners joins Melissa to unpack the evolution of consolidation, why it’s resurging in importance, and how AI is reshaping both FP&A and controllership.&nbs...

Finance doesn’t need to chase a mythical “best-in-class” model; success comes from mastering the fundamentals. 

In this episode of The CFO Show, Charlie X.W. Liu, Founder and Chief Happiness Officer of MCC, joins Melissa Howatson to unpack the FP&A Trifecta: finance, data and systems and how getting these right transforms finance teams from spreadsheet operators into strategic partners. &nbs...

Career growth isn’t always a straight line, and sometimes the biggest leaps come from taking a step sideways.  

Troy Anderson, Chief Financial Officer at Kelly, shares the defining moments, pivotal decisions, and leadership lessons from his 35-year career spanning industries from telecom to education to talent solutions.  

He reflects on leading major turnarounds and public company transformations, navigating mergers ...

AI promises efficiency, automation, and smarter decision-making, but for large enterprises, the journey is far more complex than simply adopting the latest tool. 

In this episode of The CFO Show, Rajat Bahri, CFO of Icertis, joins host Melissa Howatson to explore how enterprise finance teams can harness AI to drive transformation. 

With experience leading finance at global organizations, Rajat shares insights on how CFOs ca...

Procurement is no longer just about cutting costs. It’s about creating value, building partnerships and helping finance teams make smarter, faster decisions. 

On this episode of The CFO Show, Aaqil Kassamali, Procurement Director at Vena Solutions, joins Melissa Howatson to discuss how procurement has evolved into a strategic function that drives innovation ...

In this episode, Brookfield Residential  CIO Brandon Sharp joins host Melissa Howatson to share his unique career journey and to reveal why tighter alignment between finance and IT drives true transformation. 

Brandon reflects on lessons learned while leading major initiatives in homebuilding and real estate, from navigating shadow IT to building cross-functional trust. He offers practical insights on transparency, influen...

How do you scale finance operations to keep pace with a business that’s doubling in size every few months? In this episode of The CFO Show, Carta CFO Charly Kevers shares how he has navigated constant change while helping the company grow from Series C to Series G and reach a $7.4B valuation. 

Charly opens up about the tactical lessons he has learned leading finance in a high-growth environment, from building a team of en...

ERP migration can make or break your finance function. From outdated systems to cloud-based solutions, the stakes are high, and the risks are real. 

In this episode of The CFO Show, Melissa Howatson, CFO of Vena, sits down with Scott Jorgens, Sr. Director of Marketing and Strategic Partnerships at Endeavour Solutions. With more than 25 years of experience across finance, consulting,...

What does it take to lead a high-growth company through economic uncertainty, while still innovating for the future? 

Larry Roseman, Chief Financial Officer of Thumbtack, joins us to explore the modern finance leader's role in balancing resilience, agility, and long-term value creation. With a career spanning investment banking, accounting, and tech, Larry shares how he's redefined capital allocation, empowered decision-making ...

Stepping into a PE-backed CFO role? You're not just signing up for financial reporting; you're stepping onto a burning platform. 

Scott Engler, CEO & Co-founder of Sync Executive Partners, sits down to discuss what separates “A-player” CFOs from the rest in the high-stakes world of private equity. 

Scott shares the mindset shifts, leadership capabilities, and stakeholder dynamics CFOs must master to drive tr...

Are you leveraging the full potential of strategic finance in your annual planning process?  

In this episode of The CFO Show, Igor Stelea, Director of Strategic Finance, Analytics & Business Transformation at CFGI, unpacks what makes annual planning effective and what causes it to break down. 

From aligning strategy with operational plans to integrating long-range forecasting and scenario modeling, Igor offers framewor...

What if the secret to financial agility lies in reimagining the relationship between FP&A and Controllership? Tom Seegmiller, CFO at Texada Software, returns to explore the transformative power of aligning FP&A and Controllership. 

Tom shares his journey from FP&A leader to full-spectrum CFO, and what he’s learned about the often-overlooked (but essential) collaboration between finance’s two core fu...

Are you leveraging AI to its full potential in your finance department? 

In this episode, we dive into the practical application of AI in finance with Anton Medvedev, former Senior Product Manager at Vena and CPA/CFA. With his unique blend of finance and tech expertise, Anton offers a roadmap for effectively adopting AI in your financial operations. 

Anton shares insights on training AI models, understanding AI agents, and ...

In this episode, host Melissa Howatson welcomes Steve Browning, VP of Data Privacy and Corporate Security at Vena, and Kaz Takemura, Managing Director of FP&A Technologies at Modelcom, to explore how finance teams can adopt AI safely and strategically. 

Steve and Kaz share practical, cross-functional strategies for embedding AI into business operations, from building the right teams to creating scalable governance framework...