Being a finance leader is no longer just about controlling costs. 2026’s CFOs are trusted business leaders and innovators that drive growth throughout the organisation. Hosted by technology reporter, presenter and consumer champion, David McClelland, The CFO Playbook features interviews with world-class CFOs, finance leaders and founders from some of the fastest growing companies. The CFO Playbook is brought to you by Soldo.
Site
RSS
Apple
Data updated on 25/09/2026
Recent rankings
Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.
Shared links between episodes and podcasts
Links found in episode descriptions and other podcasts that share them.
Discover shows related to The CFO Playbook, based on actual content similarities. Explore podcasts with similar topics, themes, and formats, backed by real data.
Building an Operator CFO Mindset with Robert Checchia
Season 6 · Episode 9
Thursday, September 24, 2026 • Duration 40:36
What does it take to become the kind of CFO who can turn fast growth into disciplined, sustainable progress?
Want more insights from finance leaders? Subscribe to Progressive Finance, Soldo’s new newsletter featuring practical leadership insights, finance trends, and conversations with CFOs and industry experts: https://substack.com/@progressivefinance
Is there someone you’d like to see on The CFO Playbook? Email us at: pr@soldo.com
In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Robert Checchia, CFO at Benzinga.
Robert shares his perspective on the modern CFO as an operator: someone who gets close to the business, understands how teams work, and helps turn an ambitious growth plan into clear priorities, accountable ownership and sustainable margins. Drawing on his experience across banking, consulting, private equity and operating roles, he explains why the best finance leaders are not gatekeepers—they empower others to make better decisions.
In his conversation with David, Robert explores the discipline required to scale a business under private-equity ownership. He discusses how to distinguish good opportunities from the few that deserve real investment, how to give P&L owners meaningful visibility into their numbers, and why finance must connect revenue growth to margin, cash generation and execution.
Robert also reflects on building a career across countries and industries, the importance of making decisions with imperfect information, and why leaders must own the consequences of their recommendations. He shares practical advice on using AI to improve productivity without losing human judgement, including how to encourage experimentation while maintaining effective guardrails.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why the strongest CFOs are operators, not just financial stewards
How to say no to good opportunities so you can focus on the best ones
How to empower P&L owners with clear, consistent financial information
Why revenue growth must be measured alongside margin and cash generation
How to make decisions confidently with imperfect information
The value of accountability, ethics and clear communication in leadership
How to build incentives that align teams around growth targets
How to introduce AI tools responsibly while protecting human judgement
Why career pivots can build resilience, perspective and better leadership
Leading Finance Through Hypergrowth with Roy Hefer
Season 6 · Episode 8
Thursday, August 27, 2026 • Duration 28:47
What does it take to become the kind of CFO who can lead through hypergrowth, change and uncertainty?
Want more insights from finance leaders? Subscribe to Progressive Finance, Soldo’s new newsletter featuring practical leadership insights, finance trends, and conversations with CFOs and industry experts: https://substack.com/@progressivefinance
Is there someone you’d like to see on The CFO Playbook? Email us at: pr@soldo.com
In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Roy Hefer, CFO at Perk and a finance leader with experience taking two companies public.
Roy shares a practical leadership playbook for CFOs: build a world-class team, create leverage through delegation, and make culture and trust as rigorous a priority as the numbers. He explains why the finance team that gets a business through its early growth is not always the one that will take it to the next stage—and how leaders can make the difficult people decisions that scaling demands.
In his conversation with David, Roy explores the judgement behind successful M&A, arguing that culture and values matter as much as synergy models. He shares how to assess fit through time, candour and difficult conversations, why gut instinct is informed by experience, and how to build teams where credibility, reliability, confidentiality and accountability create lasting trust.
Roy also discusses how CFOs can turn AI into real operating impact, build investor relationships long before a fundraise, and stay effective under pressure. From prioritising ruthlessly to protecting physical and mental health, his advice is a reminder that the modern CFO’s impact is ultimately defined by the people they build and the decisions they enable.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why building a world-class finance team is a CFO’s defining responsibility
The Rise Of The Advisory CFO with Sara Daw
Season 6 · Episode 7
Thursday, July 30, 2026 • Duration 43:39
Is the future of finance full-time? Or are the best CFOs increasingly working across multiple businesses?
Is there someone you’d like to see on The CFO Playbook? Email us at: pr@soldo.com
In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Sara Daw, Global CEO of The CFO Centre and the Liberty Group, and one of the world’s leading voices on fractional finance leadership.
Sara shares why more businesses are choosing to access CFO expertise rather than employ it full-time, and explains what she’s learned after more than two decades working alongside hundreds of finance leaders across 18 countries. She explores how the CFO role has evolved from technical expert to trusted strategic adviser, why relationships matter more than reporting, and how the best finance leaders help CEOs make better decisions.
In her conversation with David McClelland, Sara discusses her own unconventional career journey from Deloitte and London Business School into the emerging world of fractional finance, why she chose flexibility over investment banking, and how that decision led to building the world’s largest network of fractional CFOs. She also explains what makes a successful fractional CFO, how businesses know when it’s time to hire a full-time finance leader, and why access to leadership is becoming more valuable than ownership of talent.
Sara also shares her research into the future of work, including psychological ownership, blended workforces, and how organisations can build trust and commitment beyond traditional employment models. Finally, she looks ahead to an AI-enabled finance function, explaining why judgment, ethics, and human relationships will become even more valuable as finance becomes increasingly autonomous.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why businesses are increasingly hiring fractional CFOs
What CEOs really value from finance leaders beyond technical expertise
The CFO Playbook: What Corporate CFOs Can Learn from Amnesty International
Season 6 · Episode 6
Thursday, June 25, 2026 • Duration 40:47
How do you lead finance in a global human rights organisation, protect independence, and make sure every pound supports the mission?
Is there someone you’d like to see on The CFO Playbook? Email us at: pr@soldo.com
In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Rohan Hewavisenti, CFO at Amnesty International, one of the world’s most recognised human rights organisations.
Rohan shares what financial discipline looks like when the stakes are not measured in profit, but in people’s lives. He explains how Amnesty International’s International Secretariat operates as a £100 million organisation, working as part of a wider €400 million global movement, and why preserving independence shapes everything from funding decisions to resource allocation.
In his conversation with David McClelland, Rohan reflects on his career across the not-for-profit sector, from ActionAid and Breast Cancer Care to the British Red Cross, RNIB and Amnesty International. He discusses managing volatility, rebuilding from a £20 million deficit, investing in future areas of human rights work, and keeping finance closely connected to mission impact.
Rohan also explores the role of generative AI in a human rights organisation, from the ethical questions around bias, data, and autonomous weapons to the internal opportunities for improving efficiency and accessing decades of research. He explains why CFOs need to understand the cost of AI, build data skills across their teams, and stay open to technology by using it regularly.
Rohan’s CFO Playbook principle: Understand the organisation deeply, from what drives income and costs to what drives good performance in mission-related work.
About Soldo Soldo is the proactive spend management solution that frees progressive businesses to accomplish more.
Learn more: https://www.soldo.com/en-gb/
Useful Links 🔗
Amnesty International – https://www.amnesty.org/en/Rohan Hewavisenti –
The Black Swan CFO: Planning for What You Can't Predict
Season 6 · Episode 5
Thursday, May 28, 2026 • Duration 49:22
How do you rebuild a heritage automotive brand, manage risk through volatility, and keep finance close to the factory floor?
Is there someone you’d like to see on The CFO Playbook? Email us at: pr@soldo.com
In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Andy Mullineaux, CFO at MOKE International, the British automotive brand reimagining the iconic MOKE as a fully electric, modern vehicle built in the Midlands.
Andy shares what it takes to build a lean finance function inside a niche automotive business, from keeping teams small and data clean to making sure finance processes are embedded across operations, manufacturing, supply chain, and risk management. He explains why good inputs matter more than trying to predict the future of AI, and how preparing data properly today can make finance teams more effective tomorrow.
In his conversation with David McClelland, Andy reflects on his journey from PwC to McLaren and then MOKE, including the lessons learned from scenario planning through crisis, navigating funding gaps, and working with world-class engineers. He also discusses the challenge of scaling a beloved heritage brand, the impact of US tariffs, why CFOs need to get out from behind the spreadsheet, and how asking “stupid” questions can be one of the smartest things a finance leader can do.
Andy’s CFO Playbook principle: Get yourself a rubber duck, explaining the problem out loud might just solve it.
Chapters:
(00:00) Intro: from supercars to a heritage electric automotive brand
(04:15) The story of MOKE, from failed military project to holiday icon
(10:58) Building a lean finance function from a blank sheet of paper
The CFO as Storyteller: Why Numbers Alone Aren’t Enough
Season 6 · Episode 4
Thursday, April 30, 2026 • Duration 40:41
How does a CFO help turn startup chaos into scale-up structure, translate numbers into action, and support growth across every part of the business?
In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Brad Channer, CFO at UBIO, the automation company helping businesses connect systems that were never designed to work together.
Brad shares why the CFO role in a startup or scale-up is far broader than finance alone. At UBIO, that means working across fundraising, sales, legal, HR, operations, board reporting, and exit planning — often all at once. He describes the CFO as the “glue” in a business: the person who connects teams, brings clarity, and helps turn data into decisions.
A key theme in the conversation is Brad’s idea of “narrating the numbers.” He explains why finance leaders must do more than report figures — they need to communicate them in ways that founders, boards, and investors can understand and act on. For Brad, strong finance leadership combines technical accuracy with empathy, storytelling, and an understanding of what matters most to each audience.
Brad also reflects on his unconventional route into finance. Before becoming a CFO, he trained as an actor, worked in hospitality and street sales, launched startups, and learned fundraising and resilience through experience. That background still shapes how he leads today, particularly in communication, confidence, and understanding motivation.
The episode also explores fundraising, founder-CFO relationships, and the future of finance in an AI-driven world. Brad argues that early-stage fundraising is often about belief in the founder as much as the business, and that AI will increasingly automate junior finance work — making judgment, adaptability, and communication even more valuable.
Why Operational CFOs Win: Strategy, Speed, and Leading Through Change with SmartRecruiters' Tom DiDesidero
Season 6 · Episode 3
Thursday, March 26, 2026 • Duration 38:18
How does a CFO help a business stand out in a crowded market, execute a bold AI strategy, and lead the company through acquisition without losing focus?
In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Tom DiDesidero, CFO at SmartRecruiters, the hiring platform focused on making recruitment easier and more effective for enterprise customers.
Tom explains why the most effective CFOs are deeply operational, not just financial stewards. He reflects on joining SmartRecruiters at a pivotal moment, partnering closely with CEO Rebecca Carr, and helping the company sharpen its strategy in an increasingly commoditised HR tech market. That meant narrowing the product focus, moving decisively on AI, and building belief across the organisation that the business could move faster than bigger competitors.
Tom shares how SmartRecruiters differentiated itself by simplifying its offering and investing in an AI-powered platform, including its agentic system, Winston. He discusses the importance of making bold decisions early, aligning teams around a clear direction, and turning strategy into execution through disciplined sequencing, milestones, and focus.
The conversation also explores what SAP saw in SmartRecruiters, and what it really takes to prepare a company for acquisition. Tom breaks down the finance leader’s role before, during, and after a deal: getting the data right, creating a credible story, managing confidentiality tightly, supporting teams through uncertainty, and adapting from a fast-moving independent company into a much larger, more matrixed organisation.
Tom also reflects on his wider career journey across software, e-commerce, payments, IPO environments, and transformation moments, and shares his view on AI in finance: use it to automate lower-value work, free up time, and help teams focus on better decisions and more valuable analysis.
From Metrics to Meaning: Building a Customer-Centric Finance Org
Season 6 · Episode 2
Thursday, February 26, 2026 • Duration 34:02
How do you keep finance customer-centric—especially when you’re scaling fast, operating across regulated markets, and navigating crisis moments?
In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Mohamed “Mo” Omaizat, CFO and Managing Director at Taxfix, the Berlin-based, AI-first tax platform helping customers file taxes more easily across multiple European markets.
Mo shares why customer-centricity isn’t a slogan - it’s a leadership system: calendar time with frontline teams, regular rituals, and tying financial models directly to customer behaviour (retention, frequency, cohort dynamics). He also explains how he approaches resource allocation across product, segment, and geographic growth using a customer-weighted ROI lens - and why regulation, at its core, is about trust.
Mo reflects on lessons from investment banking and private equity through to scaling playbooks at Rocket Internet, and the leadership demands of guiding teams through crisis - staying authentic, telling the truth, setting direction, and rebuilding step by step. He closes with a sharp view on AI’s opportunity in finance: automate low-value work (data ingestion, reconciliation), so teams can move up the stack into insight, scenario thinking, and better decisions.
Mo’s CFO Playbook principle: “If you touch it, stick with it—choose wisely, commit fully, and make the trade-offs explicit.”
The CFO Playbook is hosted by David McClelland, exploring how world-class finance leaders use technology, set goals, plan, lead teams, and drive growth.
CFO Leadership: Asking Better Questions Instead of Saying No with John Glasgow
Season 6 · Episode 1
Thursday, January 29, 2026 • Duration 30:34
How do you raise $100m fast and still keep finance discipline as you scale?
In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by John Glasgow, CFO and CEO at Campfire (a Silicon Valley scale-up building a modern ERP for growing companies). John shares what it really looks like to run both the vision and the purse strings, including how Campfire raised $100m across Series A and B in rapid succession, why investors sometimes want you to spend more, and how finance leaders can enable speed without becoming the “office of no.”
Listeners will hear John unpack how fundraising becomes easy when the business is genuinely great, what investors looked for at an inflection point, and how a steepening growth curve changes the CFO mindset from protecting cash to deploying it with disciplined intent. He also explains Campfire’s bet on AI for accounting, including building a specialised “large accounting model,” and why many companies cannot unlock AI value without rebuilding their core data foundation.
We also explore the realities of migrating off legacy ERP systems, how implementation can be redesigned to move faster, and what changes when a founder hires themselves out of role after role. John closes with a practical CFO playbook principle: start every tough finance conversation by aligning on the same goal, because you are on the same side of the table.
John’s CFO Playbook principle: “We want the same thing. If you hit your plan, I hit mine. Let’s solve this together.”
Reflecting on progressive finance with Sacha Herrmann
Season 5 · Episode 13
Monday, December 29, 2025 • Duration 33:00
How do finance leaders move from reporting the past to shaping the future — and what will truly matter for CFOs in the year ahead?
In this special end-of-year episode of The CFO Playbook, host David McClelland is joined once again by Sacha Herman, Chief Financial Officer at Soldo, to reflect on the most powerful themes and insights shared by finance leaders throughout 2025. Drawing on conversations from across the season, David and Sacha revisit how the role of finance is evolving — from strategic partnership and collaboration, to technology adoption, talent, diversity, and innovation — and look ahead to what 2026 may hold.
Listeners will hear highlights from guests across industries who redefine what progressive finance really means today. From being a true co-pilot to the CEO, to breaking down silos across the organisation, the episode explores how finance teams are moving out of the rear-view mirror and into the driver’s seat of decision-making. Sacha reflects on the cultural conditions required for this shift and why collaboration — not just with the CEO, but across every function — is now central to finance leadership.
The conversation also dives deep into technology as a catalyst for change. Building on insights from leaders at Nestlé, IBM, and Accel, David and Sacha unpack how AI and data analytics are moving beyond hype into practical, embedded tools that enhance forecasting, accelerate close, and free finance teams from low-value work. Rather than shrinking teams, the focus is on improving data quality, insight, and impact, making finance a more attractive, strategic career for the next generation.
We also explore people and purpose: how diversity strengthens finance teams, why representation matters for building better products, and how finance can help organisations become more sustainable, innovative, and resilient. As the episode concludes, Sacha shares his predictions for the year ahead, not bold promises, but grounded expectations about how CFOs will begin to see real learning and value from AI-enabled finance tools in 2026.
How to create leverage through delegation and high-performing teams
Why culture and values determine whether an acquisition integration succeeds
How to test cultural fit through time, candour and difficult conversations
The role of trust, ownership and accountability in effective finance leadership
How CFOs can turn AI and automation into meaningful operational improvements
Why investor relationships must be built long before a fundraise
How to prioritise ruthlessly while protecting physical and mental health
The signs a business is ready for a full-time CFO
The skills that separate great fractional CFOs from the rest
How to build trust and psychological ownership in flexible teams
Why relationships matter more than reporting
How AI is changing the future of finance leadership
Why judgment, ethics, and communication will become a CFO’s greatest competitive advantage
About Soldo Soldo is the proactive spend management solution that frees progressive businesses to accomplish more.
(14:00) AI, clean data, and preparing finance for future tools
(20:30) Lessons from McLaren and the challenge of independent automotive brands
(24:21) Why Andy’s CFO role is deeply embedded in operations
(38:35) Scenario planning, funding gaps, and the arrival of the pandemic
(46:11) Risk management, curiosity, and asking the obvious questions
(59:31) MOKE’s US ambitions, tariffs, and market diversification
(01:09:08) Rubber duck programming as a CFO leadership principle
About Soldo
Soldo is the proactive spend management solution that frees progressive businesses to accomplish more.
Over 25,000 organisations across 31 countries use Soldo to end slow, messy, and inefficient spending, bringing financial agility and control over every expense.
Soldo frees finance with a uniquely proactive approach to managing decentralised spending with real-time expense reporting. By combining a powerful spend management platform, a user-friendly mobile app, and prepaid and virtual cards, Soldo automates expense administration to eliminate inefficiencies in managing business spending.
By proactively managing decentralised spend, organisations empower employees to spend when and where it's needed, keeping productivity high while avoiding month-end surprises.
Founded in 2015 by Italian digital innovator Carlo Gualandri, Soldo is headquartered in London, with offices in Dublin, Milan, and Rome.
The CFO Playbook is hosted by David McClelland, exploring how world-class finance leaders use technology, set goals, plan, lead teams, and drive growth.
Tom’s CFO Playbook principle: move quickly, be decisive, communicate clearly, and keep repeating the why until people understand their role in it.
Useful Links 🔗
SmartRecruiters - https://www.smartrecruiters.com
Tom Di Desidero - https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasdidesidero/
About The CFO Playbook
The CFO Playbook is hosted by David McClelland, exploring how world-class finance leaders use technology, set goals, plan, lead teams, and drive growth.
The CFO Playbook is hosted by David McClelland, exploring how world-class finance leaders use technology, set goals, plan, lead teams, and drive growth.
Brought to you by www.soldo.com
This episode is both a look back at the defining conversations of 2025 and a forward-looking guide for finance leaders preparing for what comes next.
The CFO Playbook, a podcast by Soldo - Stats, Episodes and Rankings - My Podcast Data
