The CFO Playbook
Episodes
Why Operational CFOs Win: Strategy, Speed, and Leading Through Change with SmartRecruiters' Tom DiDesidero
26 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How does a CFO help a business stand out in a crowded market, execute a bold AI strategy, and lead the company through acquisition without losing focu...
From Metrics to Meaning: Building a Customer-Centric Finance Org
26 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How do you keep finance customer-centric—especially when you’re scaling fast, operating across regulated markets, and navigating crisis moments?In...
CFO Leadership: Asking Better Questions Instead of Saying No with John Glasgow
29 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How do you raise $100m fast and still keep finance discipline as you scale?In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by John Gla...
Reflecting on progressive finance with Sacha Herrmann'
29 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do finance leaders move from reporting the past to shaping the future — and what will truly matter for CFOs in the year ahead?In this special en...
How to Scale Without Slowing Down: Lessons from Motorway CFO Liz Kistruck
27 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do you build a finance organization that fuels rapid scale without losing agility and clarity of purpose?In this episode of The CFO Playbook, Davi...
From Fighter Jets to Forecasts: Planning the Future with Anaplan CFO Hemant Kapadia
30 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Download our checklist, The future belongs to adaptable finance leaders.How do you build a finance function that can plan and pivot at the speed of ch...
Skating on Thin Ice: Finance, Pharma and AI with Riccardo Calliano
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Download our checklist, The CFO’s AI checklist: six practical stepsFor your chance to win the ultimate CFO library, enter the competition today: www...
Full Steam Ahead: Driving Change in Finance with Funto Agbeniga
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Download our checklist, 6 practices of a fulfilling Finance career Enter the competition today: www.soldo.com/competitionWhat does it take to kee...
From Finance to Focus: Building a Product-Led Culture at Yoto with CFO Ben Averis
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Download our checklist, The 8 CFO Stategies for Smart ScalingEnter the competition today: www.soldo.com/competition What does it mean to build a finan...
FinOps and Beyond: The Hybrid Role of a CFO-COO with Charlie Hunt
26 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if you could transform your finance operations by integrating technology and automation into every aspect of your business strategy? In this...
Europe's Role in the Global Tech Arena, a CFO’s View with Accel’s Ben Dooley
29 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Ben Dooley, CFO at Accel to explore nuances of the CFO role within lean, agil...
Adapting to Market Fluctuations: A CFO's Guide to Consumer Behaviour with Claire Caulliez
24 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Beyond the balance sheet, what strategies do CFOs in the fast-moving consumer goods industry deploy to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market? I...
Navigating the Spring Statement: What Next for UK Business?
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Following the Chancellor’s Spring Statement, David McClelland is joined by an expert panel to explore how the Statement, alongside the wider economi...
How CFOs are Leveraging AI for Enhanced Decision Making with IBM’s Monica Proothi
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Organisations are making bold bets on AI for the long-term, with 89% planning to increase or maintain their AI investments in 2025*. Moving beyond exp...
Better Data, Smarter Decisions: Adapting to a New Era of Finance with Jitesh Sodha, Global CFO 100 winner
27 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Jitesh Sodha, outgoing CFO of Spire Healthcare and a winner of the HotTopics Global...
CFO as Co-Pilot: Leadership & Navigating Change with Thomas Schindler of AllianzGI
30 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, David McClelland is joined by Thomas Schindler, CFO at Allianz Global Investors to explore the evolving role of finance leaders in to...
6 Essential Lessons for Modern CFOs with Sacha Herrmann from Soldo
16 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Strategic leader, collaborator, innovator, and communicator – the role of a modern CFO encompasses all of these and more.CFOs today are tasked with ...
How Company Culture Became One of Blackstone's Growth Drivers with CFO Christopher Striano
28 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Christopher Striano, Chief Operating Officer of Global Finance at Blackstone, joins David McClelland to discuss the impact o...
Financial Turbulence: How Global “Polycrisis” is Transforming the CFO with Myles Corson from EY
31 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, David McClelland is joined by Myles Corson, EY Global and Americas Strategy and Markets Leader, Financial Accounting Advisor...
Financing Sustainable Infrastructure: How Private Investment is Powering Wind, Solar, and Energy Storage with Marie Joyce
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Marie Joyce, CFO and COO of NTR, the trailblazing renewable energy special...
From Scorekeeper to Strategic Decision-Maker: The Changing Role of a CFO with Mark Freedman
29 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Mark Freedman to explore the changing landscape of finance leadership, fro...
Connecting the World: Building Global Finance Teams with Huiming Chen
25 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we look beyond the UK with guest Huiming Chen discussing the challenges and opportunities of leading finance teams across div...
A Masterclass in Cross-Sector Success & Financial Innovation with Helen Ashton
27 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What do a retail powerhouse, a manufacturing giant, and a financial services titan have in common? According to our guest Helen Ashton, it’...
Financial Strategies to Empower Creative Minds with Mehjabeen Patrick
30 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In May’s episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland talks to Mehjabeen Patrick, Director of Finance at Arts University Bournemouth, abou...
Shaping Ethical Finance in the Age of AI with Giles Andrews OBE
25 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Giles Andrews OBE, co-founder of Zopa, the world’s first P2P lendi...
Navigating Financial Innovation in Economic Downturn with Richard Dana
28 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland explores how financial management should be embedded into company culture with Richard...
Spring Budget Debrief - live panel discussion
15 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With growth at the heart of the recent Spring Budget, how can companies fuel productivity and accomplish more? On March 13th, 2024, business ...
Creating a Legacy of Impactful Finance Leadership with Baron Anyangwe
29 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to a new series of The CFO Playbook, brought to you by Soldo.In this episode, our new host, technology reporter, presenter and consum...
The Expansive Financial Growth of the Gaming Sector with Ed Lu, CFO at Fandom
20 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Ed Lu, Chief Financial Officer at Fandom, a San Francisco-based gaming and entert...
How a Remote-first Culture Has Affected Finance with Bill Fahrbach, CFO at Facet
09 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Bill Fahrbach, Chief Financial Officer at Facet, offering impartial and invaluabl...
The Financial Resiliency of UK’s Social Care with Andy Dean, Chief Financial Officer at Eden Futures
26 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Andy Dean, Chief Financial Officer at Eden Futures, providing high quality, perso...
Employing Tactical Empathy in the Workplace with Chris Voss, Former FBI Hostage Negotiator
13 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Chris Voss, Founder and CEO of The Black Swan Group. Previously, Chris was the le...
How Social Evolution Affects the Dynamic of Organizations with Robin Dunbar, Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at University of Oxford
28 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Robin Dunbar, Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at University of Oxford and Co...
Challenging Accountancy Stereotypes with Tom Herbert, Tech Editor at AccountingWEB
14 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Tom Herbert, Tech Editor at AccountingWEB, the largest independent online communi...
Cultivating Career Relationships in Finance with Peter de Silva, Author, Director, and Trustee
24 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Peter de Silva, Author, Director, and Trustee.Peter is an experienced chairman, C...
How Premier Businesses Fill the Finance Role with Chris Gaunt, CFO Practice Leader at Spencer Stuart
03 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Chris Gaunt. He is the CFO Practice Leader for Europe, Middle East and Africa at ...
Finding a Balance Between Efficient and Effective with Justin Lackey, CFO at Asset Panda
01 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Justin Lackey, CFO at Asset Panda, a powerful, highly configurable asset tracking...
Building Financial Runway in a Down Market with Rebecca Kacaba, CEO & Co-Founder of Dealmaker
22 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Rebecca Kacaba, CEO & Co-Founder of Dealmaker, the leading platform turning a...
CFO Playbook Launches Season 2
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Being a good CFO isn’t just about managing money anymore. The modern CFO is being asked to implement new technology, guide product and busi...
Be a Nimble CFO with Paul Cunningham, Partner and CFO at Helios Investment Partners
13 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Paul Cunningham, Partner and CFO at Helios Investment Partners, an Africa-focused...
Start With a Commercial Story, Then Solve for Accounting with Chris Stefani, CFO at DWF
29 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Chris Stefani, CFO at DWF, a leading global provider of integrated legal and bu...
Building a Bank From Scratch with Alwyn Jones, Group CFO at Luno
15 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Alwyn Jones, Group CFO at Luno, a leading global cryptocurrency company with over...
Searching for Fire in the Belly with Manish Sarin, CFO at Sprinklr
01 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Manish Sarin, CFO at Sprinklr, a leading enterprise company for all customer-faci...
Headhunting During the Great Resignation with Mark Freebairn, Head of Board Practice and CFO Practice at Odgers Berndtson
18 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Mark Freebairn, Partner, Head of the Board Practice, and the Financial Management...
Building Trust and Credibility with Chitra Balasubramanian, CFO at CircleCI
28 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Chitra Balasubramanian, CFO at CircleCI, a continuous integration and continuous ...
Collaboration is Key with Gemma Castle, CFO at Cult Wines
23 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of the CFO Playbook features an interview with Gemma Castle, CFO at Cult Wines, which blends heritage, expertise, and innovative...
Becoming an Accidental CFO with Navpreet Randhawa, CFO at Minna
12 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With 7 years of leadership experience, Navpreet Randhawa has a passion for Enterprise SaaS businesses with focus on the financial technology ...
Tapping into Technology with Bijan Moallemi, Co-Founder and CEO of Mosaic
28 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Bijan Moallemi has nearly a decade of experience building and leading finance functions at companies like Qualcomm and Palantir. He knew CFOs...
How to be Successful, Happy, and Satisfied in your Role with Anthony Rawlinson, CFO at Papier
21 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Anthony Rawlinson has more than 12 years of experience working in finance. He joined Papier as CFO four years ago, after serving as a consult...
Promote Partnerships with Huw Slater, COO at TravelPerk
07 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Huw Slater is hugely passionate about technology that facilitates innovation and enhances both people’s work and personal lives. Currently,...
Driving for Diversity with Tiziana Figliolia, CFO at Hootsuite
31 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tiziana Figliolia has more than 25 years experience in the technology industry leading a wide range of strategic, financial, and operational ...
The Road to Success is Always Under Construction with Chris Roling, CFO at Coinme
24 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Chris Roling has 35 years of commercial and private equity experience, having served in board, CEO, COO, and CFO positions with a number of g...
Forecasting Finance Functions with Paul Sheriff, CFO at NewDay
17 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Paul Sheriff, CFO at NewDay has over 25 years of experience in financial services organizations spanning banking, asset management and insura...
Taking Risks Brings Big Rewards with Charly Kevers, CFO at Carta
10 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Charly Kevers, CFO at Carta, has more than 20 years of experience holding various roles in finance and strategy, including investor relations...
Be Humble and Hungry with Nitesh Sharan, CFO at SoundHound
03 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nitesh Sharan, CFO at SoundHound, is a strategic finance executive with experience fueling growth and profitability in firms across the consu...
Create Options in Everything You Do, with Dynshaw Italia, CFO at Soldo
24 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dynshaw Italia, CFO at Soldo, brings 20 years of experience working and developing fast growing consumer brands to navigate change and growth...
How Great CFOs Hire & Retain Talent
17 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of The CFO Playbook, we share some of the best advice for hiring and retaining top-tier talent that we’ve received from fin...
Leading a Transformation with Nick Rose, CFO at Enable
10 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In his role of CFO at Enable, Nick Rose is carrying forward what he enjoyed most working on business transformation projects at Travis Perkin...
Laying the Groundwork for Growth with Ross Tennenbaum, CFO at Avalara
03 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ross Tennenbaum loved working in investment banking, so it took the right opportunity for him to make the jump into his first role as CFO at ...
Mentoring Future CFOs with Craig Foster, CFO at Picsart
27 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Craig Foster not only has over 25 years of management experience in finance, he’s also worked on 35 different IPOs over the course of his c...
The Latest CFO Trends with Steve Gallucci, Global & US CFO Program Leader at Deloitte
20 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As the Global & US leader for Deloitte’s CFO Program, Steve Gallucci’s job is to understand all the pressing issues facing CFOs today...
Be an Intentional Leader with Jared Poff, EVP CFO at Designer Brands
13 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Back in 2015, Jared was being groomed as CFO at DSW and was 8 months into a 3-5 year program when there was an unexpected CEO change and the ...
Best Career Advice for Aspiring CFOs
06 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of The CFO Playbook, we share some of the best career advice for aspiring CFOs that we’ve received from CFOs who have been ...
Investing in Automation with Francis Trudeau, CFO at BrainBox AI
16 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Francis Trudeau recently took on the honor and challenge of being the first CFO at BrainBox AI, a tech startup that’s helping to fight clim...
Think Like an Adviser with David Harutian, VP of Finance @ Qualified
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
David Harutian started working at Qualified just after they secured their Series A financing, and helped close a $51M Series B in May of this...
Leveraging Real-Time Data with Christian Lee, CFO of Transfix
02 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Christian Lee has had the unique position of CFO in two industries that have been particularly impacted by the pandemic, real estate and supp...
Top Automation Lessons from Finance Leaders
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of The CFO Playbook, we share some of the best advice on technology and automation that we’ve received from recent guests.L...
Balancing Speed and Discipline when Scaling with Tony Russo, CFO of Imply
18 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tony Russo took the helm as CFO at Imply in August of 2020 after having been a CFO or dual COO/CFO at over 10 companies in the last 25 years....
Leading with Curiosity: Mark Nasiff, CFO & COO of Lookout
11 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With over 30 years of finance and operations experience, Mark Nasiff has seen the role of CFO evolve over time from one focused on financial ...
Scaling Sustainably with Jim Buckle, CFO of Gousto
04 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With a 100% CAGR year over year since 2016, Jim Buckle has seen incredible growth during his time at the helm as CFO of Gousto. And with plan...
Know Enough to Be Dangerous: How to Be a Well-rounded CFO with Jeannie De Guzman, CFO of 1Password
28 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
During her tenure as CFO, Jeannie De Guzman has seen 1Password grow from 180 employees to over 520. That organizational growth has meant larg...
Raising Over $480M in 18 Months with Lena Loiberg, VP of Finance at Melio
21 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lena Loiberg joined Melio as Head of Finance in February 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic changed everything. Lena arrived with a bac...
Illumio | With Anup Singh, CFO
14 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Since Anup Singh was hired to his first CFO job in 2006, he’s seen the role evolve from strictly financial-focused to what he calls “GM o...
Corelight | With Russ Keefe, VP of Finance and Operations
30 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Russ Keefe had never worked at a cybersecurity firm before he became CFO of Corelight in 2017. To prepare, he read “a bunch of books” on ...
Elder HQ | With Kevin Fleming, CFO
23 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kevin Fleming is the CFO at Elder HQ, a UK-based company working to revolutionize eldercare by providing an alternative to traditional reside...
Ada | With Long Dinh, VP of Finance
09 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When Long Dinh joined Ada as the company’s first finance hire, he was thrilled to build the finance function and kickstart growth for the p...
Luko | With Margaux Gregoir, VP of Finance
02 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Margaux Gregoir started her job as the Vice President of Finance at Luko — a France-based home insurtech startup — right as the COVID-19 ...
Snyk | With Ken MacAskill, CFO
26 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Having technical expertise is important, but successful CFOs will tell you that you must go beyond this, to take a step back to see the large...
Lyst | With Joel Stephens, VP of Finance
19 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Joel Stephens’ career at Lyst started in 2015, when the fashion shopping app and website was still a startup and he was its financial contr...
Moglix | With Rahul Goel, VP of Finance
12 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
COVID-19 created unique challenges across a range of industries. Managers and business leaders had the difficult task of finding ways to kee...
Legendary Entertainment | With Ronald Hohauser, CFO
05 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After starting his career as a computer programmer, Ronald Hohauser stumbled on a chance to join the entertainment industry, and was excited ...
GoCardless | With Catherine Birkett, CFO
29 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Catherine Birkett’s career as a CFO started in 2004, when she was promoted into the position at the telecommunications company Interoute. L...
Genesys | With Sharon Virag, Chief Accounting Officer
22 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When Sharon Virag became Chief Accounting Officer of customer service software company Genesys, she had already worked for Fortune 500 compan...
Bevy | With Maddy Devine, VP of Finance
15 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Maddy Devine traded consulting with multinational corporations for building startup finance teams from the ground up — and she’s never lo...
Hillspire | With Ken Goldman, President
08 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When Ken Goldman became CFO of Yahoo in 2012, he had more experience in business administration than accounting. But he used his background t...
Connect Ventures | With Mark Pettit, CFO
01 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mark Pettit joined London-based venture capital firm Connect Ventures in 2016 as Head of Finance. Earlier this year, he was made CFO, and see...
DataStax | With Don Dixon, CFO
24 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Don Dixon has held finance positions in startups and established organizations, been through acquisitions and IPOs, and is now CFO at DataSta...
Johnson Matthey | With Malcolm Finn, Director of Finance - Global Operations and Control
17 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In October 2020, Malcolm Finn followed his conscience to chemicals company Johnson Matthey, which is transitioning its business model to focu...
dotdigital | With Paraag Amin, CFO
10 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Paraag Amin’s route to becoming CFO of omnichannel digital marketing company dotdigital isn’t conventional — but he believes it set him...
Quantilope | With Andreas Melzer, Associate Director of Finance
03 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Andreas Melzer joined the consumer research company Quantilope two years ago and is the company’s Associate Director of Finance, which is s...
Awin | With Virpy Richter, CFO
27 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Now CFO of affiliate marketing network Awin, Virpy Richter has never been the kind of finance professional who prefers to hide in a corner wi...
How Top CFO's Operate
20 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lessons we cover in this episode: Successful CFOs look at the big picture. As the source of financial truth, CFOs need to be able to look at ...
Top Finance Leadership Lessons
13 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lessons we cover in this episode: As you progress in your career, your responsibility is increasingly to ask good questions - not have the ri...
Meet our new host, Ross MacKay!
29 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this brief episode, Rob passes the torch to the new host of The CFO Playbook, Ross MacKay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph...
We’ll be back April 29th!
15 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The CFO Playbook is taking a break until April 29th, but we’ll be back then with an exciting announcement followed by more interviews with ...
Alpha Medical | With Kelly Battles, Acting CFO
08 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After spending more than three decades in finance, Kelly Battles has come to appreciate that the budget isn’t the only balancing act CFOs h...
Vena Solutions | With Darrell Cox, CFO
01 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Darrell Cox has 15+ years of senior leadership experience in finance and business development. As a former VP of Finance at FreshBooks, he is...
BMW Group Financial Services | With Talita Ferreira, Former CFO
25 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Talita Ferreira always dreamed of becoming a CFO before turning 30. She missed this target by five years, but she’s OK with that because sh...
Business Partnering Institute | With Anders Liu-Lindberg, co-founder, CMO and COO
18 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If you enjoy nerding out over numbers but also consider yourself a people person, Anders Liu-Lindberg, co-founder of the Business Partnering ...
Dawn Capital | With Raxita Kapashi, CFO
11 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Raxita Kapashi has worked in private equity for more than 15 years. Along the way, she did a stint at fintech consolidator TruFin, where she ...