Food and Finance Focused: CFO Kevin Benmoussa

Originally from France and now working in New York for an Israeli startup that grows steaks from non-genetically engineered animal cells, Kevin Benmoussa’s financial expertise was distilled at large corporations.  Named CFO and executive vice president of the startup, Aleph Farms, in the fall of ...

By Sandra Beckwith • Feb. 9, 2023

Growth Through Experience: Cyndx’s Mike Ballou

In order to be in the best position to make good decisions, a wide array of experience is favored for leaders who value perspective in their decision-making approach. Mike Ballou, CFO of Cyndx — a software as a service for artificial intelligence-driven corporate search for mergers and acquisitio...

By Adam Zaki • Feb. 2, 2023

The Continuous Improvement Mindset: RXO’s Jamie Harris

When driving on interstate highways in the U.S., XPO Logistics’ trucks are hard to miss. But you won’t see trucks stamped “RXO,” XPO’s recent spinoff that is the country’s fourth largest broker of truckload freight transportation. Shippers use RXO’s digital brokerage platform to match all-size fr...

By Vincent Ryan • Jan. 27, 2023

A CFO’s Closing Thoughts: ArcBest’s David Cobb

David Cobb, CFO of ArcBest, is retiring in October. After nearly two decades with the global supply chain logistics company, Cobb has climbed the executive ladder, earning well wishes from his fellow leaders, as he begins a new chapter in life. During Cobb's time as a financial leader, including ...

By Adam Zaki • Jan. 20, 2023

Immersed in Banking: Hope Dmuchowski

Hope Dmuchowski is a banking veteran, having spent 19 of her 20 years in finance within that industry.  Named CFO and a senior executive vice president of regional financial services company First Horizon in late 2021, Dmuchowski began her career on Wall Street at Deutsche Bank in the leadership ...

By Sandra Beckwith • Jan. 5, 2023

Communicate the Story Behind the Numbers: Q2’s David Mehok

David Mehok, CFO of Q2 Holdings, a provider of cloud-based banking solutions, has worn many hats throughout his career. In shuffling roles and duties through finance in technology, Mehok's career path has allowed him to experience corporate finance through a tech-inspired lens. Now with Q2 for ju...

By Adam Zaki • Dec. 16, 2022

President First: CFO Len Batcha

Len Batcha, president and CFO of Technical Transportation (Tech Trans), is a logistics professional who began his career at Abbott Laboratories working in materials and warehouse management. A move to the healthcare company’s diagnostics division presented an opportunity to make significant wareh...

By Sandra Beckwith • Dec. 8, 2022

First-Time CFO Aims to Influence Sustainable Future: Joshua Dickinson

Generally unknown to consumers, Schneider Electric is a mammoth supplier to organizations. The €30 billion, France-based company manufactures electrical components and provides software and other services that help clients electrify and digitize their physical infrastructure. Digitization and ele...

By David McCann • Dec. 1, 2022

From Regulator to Executive: CFO Alison Staloch

Alison Staloch, CFO of Fundrise, has operated in corporate finance as both a regulator and now an executive. A former chief accountant at the Securities and Exchange Commission's division of investment management, Staloch left the public sector at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. She is the f...

By Adam Zaki • Nov. 10, 2022

Trial by Fire: Niki Heim

In her mid-30s, Niki Heim’s youth and innate competitive nature drive her to continue to learn, grow, and excel.  The CFO and chief administrative officer (CAO) of LogicSource began her career with four years in public accounting before joining the largest community bank headquartered in the Paci...

By Sandra Beckwith • Nov. 3, 2022

Championing Data: CFO Jennifer Vanderveldt

“You cannot predict the future without having a very stable, validated, reliable view of what happened yesterday,” Jennifer Vanderveldt, CFO of Mammoth Holdings says in the first six minutes of our interview.  That statement sets the tone for our Zoom call. Vanderveldt is former head of strategy,...

By Vincent Ryan • Oct. 28, 2022

Value Drivers: A Q&A With Reed Phillips and Charles Slack

"CFOs are the people that should be the custodians of value in a company." This basic premise underscores the purpose and meaning behind Reed Phillips' and Charles Slack's hypothesis that finance chiefs, perhaps better than anyone in the organization, are equipped to both value the company and se...

By Andy Burt • Oct. 27, 2022

Aiming for Growth While Reducing Waste: CFO Bill Strong

As technology integrates itself into every fiber of the economy, food tends to be no different. Making its way into food tech is Apeel Sciences, a Santa Barbara-based company that has developed a peel-like product derived from the skins of fruits and vegetables. It is placed on produce to preserv...

By Adam Zaki • Oct. 20, 2022

Fine-Tuning Franchise Performance: CFO John Cappadona

School of Rock CFO John Cappadona is one of a burgeoning group of finance chiefs who traversed the financial planning and analysis route to the CFO seat. For Cappadona, interpreting key performance indicators and optimizing growth while maximizing cash flow and profitability is second nature. ...

By Vincent Ryan • Oct. 14, 2022

From CPA to CFO: Brian Fitzgerald

CFO of World Insurance Associates, Brian Fitzgerald, credits his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting and his first post-college job as a PwC auditor for career experiences that led to the CFO’s office. When he became an assistant controller for a small, entrepreneurial company, he disco...

By Sandra Beckwith • Oct. 6, 2022

Refining the Supply Chain: CFO Jeff Shepherd

CFO Jeff Shepherd saw the world as an audit and consulting partner at EY, before helping client company General Motors through its bankruptcy in 2009. The following year, Shepherd joined GM as assistant controller, rising to become controller of General Motors Europe. As someone who is admittedly...

By Russ Banham • Sept. 29, 2022

In a Down Economy, Invest Internally: CFO Tony Tiscornia

Compounded with concerns over rising interest rates, market volatility, and inflation, companies are starting to curb growth plans. While it may make sense to press pause on large-scale financial moves such as an IPO or acquisition, that doesn’t mean growth has to halt entirely. Tony Tiscornia, C...

By Sandra Beckwith • Sept. 15, 2022

From Analyst to CFO by Age 30: Michelle Gilson

Michelle Gilson was a 30-year-old biotech equity research analyst and managing director earlier this year when Arcellx, a biotechnology company that develops cell therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases, CEO Rami Elghandour recruited her for its CFO position, a role she accepted in May.  Aft...

By Sandra Beckwith • Sept. 8, 2022

Klaviyo CFO Amanda Whalen: ‘Big Picture Thinking, Hands-On Balance’

Amanda Whalen’s nearly 10-year experience as a CFO spans across industries including food supply, big box stores, and healthcare. Most recently, Whalen held the role of EVP and CFO of Walmart International. After recently taking the CFO role at Klaviyo, a tech company specializing in marketing au...

By Adam Zaki • Sept. 2, 2022

Widening the Moat: CFO Brian Miller

In terms of time at one company, CFO Brian Miller is at the far end of the bell curve — 14 years heading up finance at Tyler Technologies. That’s about triple the average CFO tenure. Miller’s long service (he's been with Tyler since 1997) offers significant advantages to the publicly held governm...

By Vincent Ryan • Aug. 19, 2022

22 Years of Institutional Knowledge: CFO Charles Freund

Before joining FLEETCOR 22 years ago, Charles Freund worked with a variety of companies and business models as a management consultant for almost seven years. After connecting with the firm’s CEO as a client, he signed on as the corporate payment company’s business development director. Freund wa...

By Sandra Beckwith • Aug. 4, 2022

Leading With Empathy: CFO Revati ‘Rani’ Puranik

According to Catalyst research, empathy in the workplace boosts productivity, innovation, and engagement. Revati “Rani” Puranik, global CFO of oil and gas equipment manufacturer Worldwide Oilfield Machine (WOM), has used that skill to establish trust and make informed decisions while building the...

By Sandra Beckwith • July 29, 2022

Upgrading the Finance Department: CFO Rebeca Sanchez Sarmiento

CFO Rebeca Sanchez Sarmiento left behind her equity research roots in New York for Los Angeles nearly a decade ago. She has held various corporate strategy and finance roles for private-equity-owned companies since then, landing her first CFO gig at ATTOM Data Solutions in January 2018. Sanchez S...

By CFO Editorial Staff • July 22, 2022

Accountant First: CFO Adriana Carpenter

While Adriana Carpenter started her career in finance, it wasn’t long before she knew she wanted to be an accountant. After earning a CPA credential at night school while working as a financial analyst and accounting manager at Texas Instruments, Carpenter moved into public accounting. She spent ...

By Sandra Beckwith • July 7, 2022

Restoring Integrity: MiMedx CFO Pete Carlson

When the Enron case caused Arthur Andersen to implode, Pete Carlson was a partner. Six years later, he was a controller at Wachovia when the government forced the distressed bank to sell itself to Wells Fargo. While both organizations helped sow the seeds of their own demise, few saw those disast...

By Vincent Ryan • June 30, 2022