The Strategic CFO: Ever Think About Becoming CEO?

It’s no secret that CFOs have taken an expanding role beyond the finance function, especially over the last decade. As a result, CFOs are increasingly seen as strong candidates for the CEO role. While the financial expertise and strategic thinking tied to many CFOs make them well-suited for the position, reaching the top position may also require they possess a depth of knowledge about and a track record of driving value across the organization, such as in operations, sales or marketing.

4 Key Actions to Transition to CEO

• Broaden Your Focus from Cost to Growth
• Enhance Leadership Vision
• Empower Your Finance Team
• Engage with Customers and Markets

Ultimately, the best candidate for CEO role will depend on the specific needs and challenges of the organization. A CFO who has successfully navigated the company through distress might be the ideal choice for a company that is experiencing financial difficulties or requires a strong focus on cost control. However, a CEO with a background in driving profit might be better equipped to lead a company that is looking to expand its market share or launch new products.

It’s important to note that the CEO role is becoming increasingly complex and demanding. Successful CEOs need a broad range of skills, including strategic thinking, leadership, communication, and a deep understanding of the business.

To become a CEO, CFOs must evolve their skillset and mindset beyond financial management. Here’s a look at key actions to facilitate this transition:

Broaden Your Focus from Cost to Growth

Positioning oneself for the CEO role requires a broader perspective. CFOs must articulate a compelling vision for the finance function, and build strong relationships with key stakeholders to cement their influence and drive the organization toward revenue generation and market expansion. This involves:

• Developing a commercial mindset: Understand the company’s products, services, and customer base. Analyze market trends and identify growth opportunities.
• Driving revenue growth: Collaborate with sales and marketing teams to develop strategies for increasing market share and customer acquisition.
• Embracing innovation: Foster a culture of innovation and invest in research and development to drive long term growth.

Expert Perspective: Data-Driven Approach

“CFOs are uniquely positioned to bring a data-driven approach to driving profitable revenue growth. Analyzing customer acquisition costs and the return on retention efforts are two critical steps to growing market share profitability. Too often, organizations employ a ‘revenue growth at all cost’ strategy that pressures profitability, liquidity, and potentially the long-term viability of a company.”


— Joe Concannon, Interim CEO & CFO

Enhance Leadership Vision

While CFOs typically take the lead with external stakeholders like investors, analysts, bankers and regulators, CEOs are expected to articulate a clear and compelling vision for the company’s future to both internal employees and external stakeholders. CFOs get more involved in leading conversations around overall business strategy by:

• Communicating a clear vision: Develop a well-defined vision for the finance function that inspires employees and drives strategic, enterprise-wide goals forward leveraging data-driven insights.
• Aligning strategy with vision: Ensure that the company’s financial strategy supports the overall vision and growth objectives — such as customer retention, product development and innovation, and market expansion.
• Building relationships with stakeholders: Foster strong relationships with investors, customers, employees and other stakeholders to gain their support and trust. These relationships will also help to produce qualitative metrics that can enhance decision-making by providing a fuller picture of the business.

Expert Perspective: Add the Qualitative Dimension

“In decision-making, CFOs often evaluate opportunities or risks based on quantifiable metrics. To do so as a CEO, a paradigm shift is needed where qualitative criteria are
equally considered.”


— Chase Gill, Interim CFO

Empower Your Finance Team

Effective leadership involves building and developing a high-performing team. CFOs can facilitate this by:

• Developing successors: Identify and groom potential successors for key leadership roles within the organization.
• Delegating effectively: Enable team members to take on greater responsibility and make decisions.
• Fostering a collaborative culture: Create an environment where employees feel valued, empowered, and motivated to contribute their best.

By inspiring team members to take ownership of key processes such as reporting, compliance, and analysis, CFOs free up time to focus on broader strategic initiatives. Additionally, providing the team with advanced tools and technologies enhances efficiency, allowing the CFO to lead with greater agility. A well-equipped finance team is
critical for driving the business forward while supporting the CFO’s role as a strategic partner.

Expert Perspective: Build the Right Culture

“Empowering your finance team goes beyond handing off tasks; it’s about creating a culture where everyone feels valued and can take ownership of their work. By nurturing future leaders and providing the right tools, we boost efficiency and open the door to fresh ideas and strategic growth. When your team is motivated and well-prepared, you will have the best chance to tackle today’s business challenges together”.

— Roshan Ressallat, Interim CFO

Engage with Customers and Markets

To gain a broader understanding of the business and its customers, CFOs should:

• Spend time on the front lines: Interact with customers, sales representatives, and other stakeholders to understand their needs and challenges.
• Stay abreast of market trends: Develop strong partnerships with Sales and Marketing teams to stay informed of industry trends, competitor activities and
  emerging technologies.
• Build relationships with customers: Develop strong relationships with key customers to gain valuable insights and feedback.

By interacting directly with customers, CFOs can align financial strategies with real-world market demands, and make more informed decisions on pricing, product
development, and investments. In turn, staying involved in these areas helps them to move beyond a pure financial management focus and transition to leading growth
initiatives, fostering stronger customer relationships, and contributing to long-term value creation.

Expert Perspective: Collaboration is King

“The modern CFO is a protector of the business and increasingly works closely with all organizational functions to help them achieve business goals. This involves having a
finance team focused on collaboration, including supporting sales, product development, and customer retention with insightful analysis and organizational initiatives.”

— Amir Agam, Interim CFO and CEO

By taking these actions, CFOs can position themselves as strong candidates for the CEO role and demonstrate their ability to lead the company towards future success.

Additional Considerations:

• Be a strong storyteller: CEOs need to be effective communicators internally as the ultimate leader of the organization and externally as the face of the company for investors and must be able to articulate the vision or complex ideas in a simple, convincing and inspiring way.
• Build a solid network: Cultivate relationships with industry leaders, investors, and other key stakeholders to find connections and raise your profile.
• Demonstrate a track record of success: Highlight your achievements in previous roles, including your contributions to financial performance and strategic growth.

Remember, the transition to CEO requires a combination of technical expertise, strategic thinking, and strong leadership and communication skills. By proactively developing these qualities, CFOs can better position themselves for top role in their organizations.

Expert Perspective: The Power of Storytelling

“Communication is one of the most important skills required for successful leadership.”

— Gina Gutzeit, Interim CFO and Global Leader of the Office of the CFO