1160: Disciplined Bets in an Expensive-Capital World | Burt Chao, CFO, Nintex

As he nears the end of his first 100 days at Nintex, Burt Chao is doing something many new CFOs resist: listening more than talking. Understanding the business, its people, and its real growth potential comes before dashboards or directives, he tells us.

Chao describes Nintex as a company with a “long and rich history” of helping organizations automate mission-critical work, but one now entering a new season. That evolution centers on orchestration—whether AI-enabled, agent-based, or rooted in RPA—while remaining clear-eyed about identity. Nintex, he explains, will not “become an AI company.” Instead, it aims to help customers leverage AI deliberately, embedding it where it strengthens the foundation of their operations, he tells us.

That emphasis on fundamentals shows up quickly in how Chao evaluates performance. In today’s environment, “there’s no more important number than growth,” he tells us. Margins, profitability, and even rule-of-40 metrics only make sense once leadership understands what growth is possible and how it can be accelerated. Benchmarks matter, but only as tools; every business must be understood on its own terms, he tells us.

That discipline has shaped some of the most challenging moments of his career. Chao recalls “shrink to grow” decisions—walking away from investments that still produced revenue but no longer delivered the best return. Those moments are rarely spreadsheet problems alone. They are emotional, cultural, and deeply human, requiring influence rather than authority, he tells us. For Chao, that balance—grounding strategy in numbers while leading people through change—defines the modern CFO role.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(1215)

1214: The CFO Checklist Keeps Growing | Jack Gordon, CFO, Harri

For Jack Gordon, the CFO role at Harri increasingly extends beyond finance—and into the mechanics of how an AI-powered business scales.Harri, a workforce operating system focused on hospitality, has e...

13 Sep 56min

1213: When Constructive Tension Yields Sharper Decisions | Martin Uhrik, CFO, Third Bridge

When Martin Uhrik compared the margins of two visual-effects brands at Technicolor, one appeared far more profitable than the other. Uhrik tells us the reported difference prompted him to investigate....

9 Sep 54min

1212: When Working Capital Rewrites the CFO Agenda | Dan Barzily, CFO, Tipalti

Shortly after Dan Barzily became CFO of Tipalti, a go-to-market transformation altered the company’s working-capital profile. One quarter later, Barzily tells us, the company missed its forecast acros...

6 Sep 36min

1211: Mission, Means, and the Will to Grow | Jonathan Ma, CFO, Sutter Health

Jonathan Ma recalls being at his parents’ home in Nebraska one Saturday when his Morgan Stanley boss called with advice: pursue an opportunity at Sutter Health. After nearly 15 years, the mentor belie...

2 Sep 39min

1210: The Best Trade May Be the One You Don’t Make | Shiv Verma, CFO, Robinhood

Six weeks before Lehman Brothers went under, Shiv Verma tells us, he joined a hedge fund as the world felt like it was falling apart. After building structured-credit and CLO models at J.P. Morgan fro...

30 Aug 53min

1209: Finding a Larger Voice in the Room | Ross Grainger, CFO, Nasuni

Ross Grainger remembers an early chapter of his career when finance was only one part of the job.After stepping outside a traditional finance path to own and operate a Mako auto-body franchise, Graing...

26 Aug 33min

1208: Quality, Trust, and Scale | Cal Brouilette, CFO, Flatiron Health

Cal Brouilette recalls a sleepless night in Houston, speaking at 3 a.m. with someone from Blackstone about a purchase-and-sale agreement and transition-service agreements. It concerned a power-plant p...

23 Aug 46min

1207: Putting Guardrails Around Aggressive Growth | Jamie Schroeder, CFO, Premium Guard Inc.

Jamie Schroeder’s finance career began on the shop floor at Ford Motor Company. As part of Ford’s rotational development program, Schroeder tells us, he spent a month working in the paint shop at an a...

19 Aug 47min