CFO THOUGHT LEADER

Samantha Greenberg, CFO of AlphaSense, discusses her career trajectory from investment banking and hedge fund management to operating roles, emphasizing how investor skills in capital allocation directly transfer to CFO responsibilities. She explains AlphaSense's vertically integrated AI platform, its 40%+ growth, and the critical importance of operational maturity, forecasting transformation, and balancing velocity with rigor in rapidly scaling companies.

Three CFOs—Jonathan Carr (Armus), James Redfern (Relteo), and Toby Driver (IdeaJet)—share lessons on M&A strategy, emphasizing that successful acquisitions depend not on the deal itself but on integration execution, people management, and operational discipline. Each speaker draws from experiences at companies like SurveyMonkey, Workday, and PayScale to illustrate how thoughtful planning, unit economics focus, and human-centric integration drive post-acquisition value creation.

Sinohe Terrero, CFO and COO of Envoy, discusses how owning the sales team early in his career fundamentally changed his understanding of finance leadership, moving him from spreadsheet modeling to understanding the human elements of business execution. He shares how Envoy evolved from a visitor management product during COVID into a comprehensive security platform, and describes his approach to leveraging AI for both internal efficiencies and product innovation.

Three CFOs share their experiences guiding companies through IPOs—John Kinzer (HubSpot), Kelly Steckelberg (Zoom), and Steve Cakebread (Salesforce, Pandora, Yext)—discussing how preparation, team building, processes, and relationships with CEOs and investors are critical to successful public company transitions.

David Forlizzi, CFO of Salsify, discusses his career journey from PricewaterhouseCoopers to leading finance at InfoVista, Veracode, and Salsify. He shares how operational maturity and data clarity were central to Veracode's $2.5 billion exit, and outlines current priorities around AI adoption and data governance at Salsify.

Jaylene Kunze, CFO and COO of LegitScript, discusses her career journey from audit and consulting to leading finance through complex M&A roll-ups, the lessons she learned about sustainable growth, and how AI is reshaping both LegitScript's products and internal operations. She emphasizes that rapid growth often conceals operational problems that must eventually be addressed through proper infrastructure, cultural alignment, and thoughtful resource allocation.

Bruno Annicq, CFO of WellHub, discusses his non-traditional path from engineering to McKinsey to becoming an 'accidental CFO,' his philosophy of finance as a business enabler with a 'yes, and' approach, and how AI-powered multi-model forecasting reduced their prediction error rate from 10% to under 2%, enabling faster reinvestment and growth.

CFO Macrina Gill of Figure discusses her career journey from engineering in Korea to PwC, Fortress Investment Group, and Springleaf Financial, before landing in blockchain-based capital markets. She explains how Figure uses blockchain technology to create a transparent, efficient marketplace for loan origination and trading. The conversation covers her views on AI in finance, blockchain adoption challenges, and her priorities as a newly public company CFO.

At the Sage Future Conference, three Sage leaders—CTO Aaron Harris, SVP John Fasoli, and SVP Julie Adams—discuss how AI is transforming finance operations, emphasizing that trust, transparency, and accountability are the critical gatekeepers to broader AI adoption. Harris argues that the future of finance lies in AI empowering strategic decision-making rather than just automating repetitive tasks. Fasoli and Adams ground these ideas in practical applications across finance teams and the construction sector respectively.

Andre Mancl, CFO of Nium, shares his unconventional career journey from U.S. Navy aviator to investment banker to fintech CFO. He discusses how military leadership principles and banking instincts shape his decision-making, and outlines Nium's mission to disrupt the $100 trillion cross-border payments market. The conversation covers AI adoption, finance team management, and key strategic priorities.

Yuval Atsmon, Senior Partner and CFO of McKinsey & Company, discusses his unconventional path from law school to leading finance at the world's most influential strategy firm. He explores how McKinsey is navigating AI disruption, evolving its pricing models from billable hours to outcome-based fees, and balancing short-term performance with long-term resilience. He also shares how partnership culture shapes financial decision-making and why understanding — not just reporting — numbers is the core skill of effective finance leadership.

Scott Thorell, CFO of Benetrends Financial, discusses his career journey from Ernst & Young and Campbell Soup through various entrepreneurial and mid-market businesses in the Philadelphia area, before arriving at Benetrends, a company that helps entrepreneurs fund businesses through ROBS (Rollover for Business Startups) plans and SBA financing. He reflects on leadership lessons learned, the value of cross-functional experience, and his priorities for growing Benetrends through AI, infrastructure, and deeper sales alignment.