Download our whitepaper to discover the technical and behavioral skills needed to lead your business forward.
Vanessa Hudson
Qantas named its finance chief, Vanessa Hudson, as its next CEO, making her the first woman to lead the century-old airline. Hudson has held several senior roles at Qantas over the last 28 years, including chief customer officer and senior vice president for the Americas and New Zealand. Hudson will replace Alan Joyce, who is retiring in November. An announcement on a new CFO will be made in the months ahead.
Mike Baughman
Mike Baughman was promoted to CFO of global technology and software company Emerson. Baughman, who joined the company in 2017, is currently vice president, controller, and chief accounting officer. He previously worked at Baxter International for 14 years, where he held several positions, including controller, vice president of finance — medical products, and vice president of finance — operations, quality, and R&D. He succeeds longtime CFO Frank Dellaquila, who is retiring after 32 years with the company.
Markus Neubrand will take over as CFO of clothing retailer Guess on Aug. 1. Neubrand is currently the group chief financial officer of luxury fashion brand MCM Worldwide, a role he has held since January 2021. He previously spent 17 years at Hugo Boss, where he held several roles, including group director of financial planning and chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Hugo Boss Americas. Neubrand succeeds interim chief financial officer Dennis Secor, who will remain with the company as executive vice president through March 31, 2024.
This case study of JonnyPops’ success highlights the unusual financial and operational strategies that enabled rapid expansion into a crowded and highly competitive frozen treat market.
Kapil Agrawal
Outschool named Kapil Agrawal as the online learning platform’s new finance chief. Most recently, Agrawal was interim chief financial officer at online marketplace Poshmark, where he helped lead its 2021 IPO. Agrawal’s previous roles include global head of pricing at Uber and head of business strategy at Capital One.
Helen Johnson
Artificial intelligence company Appen hired Helen Johnson as chief financial officer. Johnson was most recently CFO of North America for technology company Insight. Before nearly 14 years at Insight, she was senior vice president and treasurer for eFunds, an electronic payments and risk management solutions provider. Johnson succeeds Kevin Levine, who will remain with the business in an advisory role until September 2023.
Consulting firm Treliant named Tom Hitselberger as CFO. Hitselberger previously held chief financial officer roles at diamond manufacturer WD Lab Grown Diamonds and consulting company Promontory. Earlier positions included vice president of finance and operations at Presidio Networked Solutions and director of financial planning and analysis at Digex. He succeeds Sandy Sloyer, who has been interim CFO for the last 18 months.
David Black
David Black was appointed CFO of Proterra, a zero-emission electric transit vehicle maker. Black was previously chief financial officer of BWX Technologies, a nuclear components and fuel supplier to the U.S. government, before becoming a special adviser to the CEO of the company. Black replaces Karina Padilla, who is stepping down from her role on May 15 and will stay with the company as a non-executive officer employee through June 2.
Corey Horsch
Corey Horsch was hired as the new finance chief of drive-thru restaurant chain Salad and Go. Horsch joins the company from Gordon Ramsay North America, where he has been chief financial officer since 2019. Before that, he was the CFO and treasurer at Sonic Drive-In.
Travel health and wellness services provider Xwell hired Valerie Lightfoot as CFO, effective June 12. Lightfoot previously held CFO positions at spirit manufacturer Green River Spirits, medical device supplier Belimed, and Alliant Credit Union. Lightfoot succeeds Omar Haynes, the interim chief financial officer since June 2022. Haynes will return to his former role as vice president of finance and treasury.
