The Growth-Minded CFO
Episodes
Revisiting: What Makes a Great CFO? Expert CFO Recruiter, Dav Masaon, Tell Us
18 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
When is the right time to hire your first CFO? And what actually separates a great one from an expensive mistake?In this re-released standout episode ...
How Nonprofit Finance Sharpens Decision-Making for Any CFO, with Darien Wright
04 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What can nonprofit finance teach CFOs about decision-makingIn this episode of The Growth-Minded CFO, Alex Louisy and Lauren Pearl speak with Darien Wr...
Revisiting: Charly Kevers (CFO @ Carta) On The Role Of The Finance Team In Scaling
18 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What does it really take to scale finance through the stages that break most teams?In this re-released standout episode, we revisit our conversation w...
Stepping In Mid-Crisis: Trust, Pressure, and the CFO Role, with Niels Boon
04 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What should a CFO prioritize when stepping into a business already under pressure?In this episode of The Growth-Minded CFO, Alex Louisy and Lauren Pea...
How to Run Finance in a Creative, 'Hit-Driven' Business, with Diya Sagar
08 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In creative businesses, the art drives the upside — but the numbers determine whether the art can exist at all.In this episode of The Growth-Minded ...
Leveraging Data Insights for Smarter Business Decision Making, with Jim Cook and Winnie Aoieong
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week on The Growth-Minded CFO, we’re sharing a special podswap with our friends at the FP&A Unlocked podcast (formerly FP&A Tomorrow).H...
How to Communicate Financials to Executives, with Anders-Liu Lindberg
26 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Every finance team wants a seat at the table - but too often, their message gets lost once they’re there.In this episode of The Growth-Minded CFO, w...
From Steward to Orchestrator: CFO Leadership Lessons with Xavier Castellana
11 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when a CFO stops acting as a financial steward and starts leading as an orchestrator - aligning rhythm, trust, and strategy across the en...
Profitability vs Growth: A CFO’s Balancing Act (& Lessons Across Industries), with Cameron Kinloch
28 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when a finance leader who learned discipline in the consumer goods industry steps into the fast, unpredictable worlds of SaaS and AI?In t...
Season 2 Recap — What Today’s Best CFOs Actually Do
15 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Hosts Alex Louisy (CEO, Upflow) and Lauren Pearl (Fractional CFO) unpack the sharpest insights from Season 2 of The Growth-Minded CFO - from AI (witho...
Fundraising, AI, and Starting Smart in 2025, with Jeffrey Fidelman
23 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The Growth-Minded CFO, we sit down with Jeff Fidelman—Founder and Managing Partner at Fidelman & Co.—to talk about how star...
From Banker to Builder: Hands-On CFO Lessons for SaaS, with Jon Gross
24 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Startups don’t need spreadsheet CFOs—they need operators who can think like owners.That’s the core message in this episode of The Growth-Minded ...
Rewiring Finance: AI, ERP, and the Rise of the Executional CFO, with Nicolas Kopp (Rillet)
10 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Finance is evolving—and so is the CFO. In this episode of The Growth-Minded CFO, Rillet CEO Nicolas Kopp joins hosts Alex Louisy and Lauren Pearl to...
Spreadsheets to Storytelling: Communication & EQ Tips for CFOs, with Erik Nakamura
27 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Being great with numbers may open the door—but it’s your emotional intelligence that keeps you in the room.In this episode, Erik Nakamura—CFO of...
Rise of the Fractional CFO - Your Next Career Move? (& When and Why to Hire One)
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The Growth-Minded CFO, we’re joined by Anne Samak de la Cerda, Partner at FLG Partners, for a deep dive into the rise of fraction...
What Makes a Great CFO in 2025? Insights from the Frontlines of CFO Hiring, with Dav Masaon
29 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Bringing on a CFO is one of the most critical decisions a startup can make—but how do you know when it’s the right time? And more importantly, how...
AI in Finance: From Buzz to Business Value, with Nicolas Boucher
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The Growth-Minded CFO, co-hosts Lauren Pearl and Alex Louisy sit down with Nicolas Boucher, finance professional turned AI educator...
The CFO Leading Talent, Operations & Corporate Communications (Kate Gulliver, CFO & CAO, Wayfair)
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The path to becoming a CFO today is rarely a straight line. Finance leaders are increasingly coming from diverse backgrounds, bringing a broad range o...
Wall Street to SaaS CFO: Lessons from IPOs, Acquisitions & Growth, with Carla Cooper
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does it take to be a truly great CFO today? It’s not just about balancing the books—it’s about driving strategy, managing risks, and tellin...
Clean data, clear insights: AI for finance and how to build the right foundation, with Gabi Steele
03 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Finance teams are drowning in data—but turning it into clear, strategic insights is the real challenge.In this episode of The Growth-Minded CFO, hos...
The CFO as manager: How to lead beyond the numbers, with Ilana Esterrich
21 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Great CFOs do more than manage the numbers—they lead, adapt, and shape the future of their organizations. In this episode, Ilana Esterrich, CFO of P...
Top 5 takeaways from season one—and what’s next!
03 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we reflect on the first season of the podcast. We discuss what we learned from the first 7 episodes featuring top CFOs and finance le...
The skills finance teams need now & in the future, with Carl Seidman
20 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the Growth Minded CFO podcast, hosts Lauren Pearl and Alex Louisy speak with Carl Seidman, an industry-leading finance educator and...
Money in, money out: How the best finance teams are running AR & AP in 2025, with Howard Katzenberg
07 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of 'The Growth Minded CFO,' hosts Lauren and Alex welcome Howard Katzenberg, CEO of Glean.ai. With our co-host Alex Louisy represent...
An alternative path to CFO and leading change at the MLBPA, with Tatia-Mays Russell
10 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The Growth Minded CFO, we dive deep with Tatia Mays-Russell, the visionary CFO of the Major League Baseball Players Association. Di...
Series B to G: The role of the finance team in scaling, with Charly Kevers (CFO @ Carta)
27 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of 'The Growth Minded CFO,' hosts Lauren and Alex welcome Charly Kevers, CFO of Carta. Charly has served as CFO through some of the ...
A VC's perspective on the modern CFO, with Nick Wijnberg
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Lauren and Alex sit down with Nick Wijnberg, a former Wall Street banker turned CFO and partner at Lorimer Ventures. Nick shares his journey from hig...
Business leader, not 'human calculator': The role of the CFO, with Chris Ortega
28 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, hosts Lauren and Alex sit down with Chris Ortega, the CEO and founder of Fresh FP&A. Chris shares his inspiring career journey, ...
Acting like an owner and the value of international experience, with Rita Kale
14 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The Growth Minded CFO, hosts Lauren and Alex speak with Rita Kale, a seasoned CFO with experience in global firms like Roche and Ne...
Introduction to The Growth-Minded CFO
13 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Get the lowdown on what our new podcast is about in this introductory episode. Forget the dusty stereotype of the CFO sitting in the corner, chained t...