What’s driving finance leaders’ strategic planning in 2025—and its future trajectory?

In this data-packed episode, we welcome back Craig Schiff, CEO of BPM Partners to unpack the findings from Vena’s 2025 State of Strategic Finance Report. From AI adoption to strategic business partnering, Craig dives into key insights on how finance leaders are navigating change, deploying technology, and building more connected and capable teams. Drawing from the report’s insights, Craig reveals the critical direction finance teams must take to remain competitive and efficient.

Together with host Melissa Howatson, Craig explores major themes from this year's survey, including a surprising optimism among finance leaders, a rise in cross-functional collaboration, and the evolving role of AI within finance operations. If you're a finance leader seeking clarity on where the industry is headed, this is your roadmap.

Discussed in This Episode:

• Why finance leaders are feeling optimistic in 2025
• The expanding strategic role of finance in business
• How teams are managing talent shortages while still growing
• What's driving widespread adoption of planning technology
• The real state of AI in finance and what's working
• Common traits of mature finance organizations

In today's unpredictable real estate market, CFOs are facing complex decisions that could significantly impact their bottom line.

In this episode, Scot Ginsburg, Executive Managing Director at Hughes Marino and author of ‘It's Not All About the Rent’, breaks down the current commercial real estate landscape and what finance leaders need to know to make smart, strategic choices.

From the office space downturn to industrial overbuilds, Scot explains why now the time is to rethink lease renewals, restructures, and how to negotiate with landlords. With almost three decades of experience exclusively representing tenants across various industries, he offers invaluable insights on avoiding costly lease mistakes and reveals why the mantra "it's not all about the rent" is crucial in today's market. Discover why traditional approaches to leasing may be costing your company more than you realize and learn the strategies that could save you money in the long run.

Discussed in This Episode

• Why the real estate landscape is shifting and how companies should respond
• Lease renewals vs. restructures: Understanding the differences and optimal timing for each
• Uncovering and avoiding hidden financial traps in commercial lease agreements
• How to negotiate with landlords in a down market
• What to look for in a commercial real estate broker: Ensuring the best representation
• The importance of following a process, even if you “know what you want”

As the startup funding landscape evolves, is your financial strategy keeping pace?

In this changing environment, a well-crafted financial strategy has become increasingly crucial for startups.

Janelle Gorman, CFO of York IE, York IE, an advisory and investment firm that helps technology companies grow, shares valuable insights on crafting financial strategies that can make or break a startup's success. Drawing from her extensive experience with high-growth startups, Janelle explores key topics such as optimizing cash flow, managing burn rates, and identifying the metrics that drive sustainable business growth.

Whether you're a CFO, finance leader, startup founder, or investor, this episode provides actionable strategies for building financial resilience and positioning your startup for success in the current economic climate. Discover how to transform financial challenges into opportunities for growth and long-term success.

Discussed in This Episode

• Navigating the delicate balance between growth and financial sustainability in today's market
• Evolving investor expectations and strategies to make your startup stand out in fundraising
• Cash flow management techniques to extend runway and fuel effective scaling
• Essential financial metrics for startup success, including how to optimize CAC payback period
• Why achieving product-market fit is crucial before ramping up sales and marketing efforts

Revolutionizing tax functions is no longer a distant dream—it's happening now. This episode delves into the groundbreaking transformation of tax departments from cost centers to strategic powerhouses. Dave Helmer, EY Global Tax and Finance Operate Leader, and Daren R. Campbell, EY Americas Tax Technology and Transformation Leader, share their expertise on how Generative AI or GenAI and other cutting-edge technologies are elevating tax departments from mere cost centers to strategic business partners.

The discussion explores how innovative tax strategies are influencing everything from supply chain management to corporate transactions, demonstrating the far-reaching impact of a modernized tax function.

This episode examines the challenges and opportunities facing today's tax professionals. From talent acquisition to technological integration, it provides insights for finance leaders aiming to unlock the full potential of their tax departments and drive business value in an AI-driven world.

Learn how forward-thinking companies are leveraging their tax functions to navigate complex regulatory environments, drive efficiency, and inform critical business decisions.

Discussed in This Episode

• The role tax plays in partnership with finance and business decision-making
• How Generative AI is helping CFOs transform tax operations
• Challenges in tax data management and integration within finance operations
• AI use cases in tax
• How tax functions integrate seamlessly into finance
• Initial steps for AI adoption
• Change management in AI adoption

The AI revolution is here, and it’s transforming business as we know it.

In this episode, Hugh Cumming, Chief Technology Officer of Vena Solutions, discusses the new industrial revolution powered by artificial intelligence. With over 20 years of experience as a product and technology leader, Hugh offers insights into how AI is reshaping the modern business landscape.

The conversation delves into AI’s impact on finance and productivity, offering a glimpse into the future of work. Hugh outlines the emerging skill sets required to thrive in this new era and provides valuable advice on how professionals and organizations can stay competitive in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.

Hugh explores the myriad ways AI is revolutionizing work by automating routine tasks, enhancing decision-making processes, and fostering creative problem-solving. From maximizing operational efficiency to nurturing creativity, Hugh offers practical examples and actionable insights for strategically integrating AI into business operations as a workforce partner.

Learn how AI is shaping the future of business and how you can position yourself and your organization at the forefront of this exciting new frontier.

Discussed in This Episode

• The AI-Driven industrial revolution: How to avoid getting left behind
• The changing skill sets required for the future AI-driven landscape
• How businesses are integrating AI into their workflow
• Embracing AI as a workforce partner, not your replacement
• Suggestions on how to integrate AI without disruption
• Importance of change management in AI adoption

The art of corporate debt management has become a critical balancing act for CFOs, who must simultaneously fuel company expansion and preserve financial robustness.

Debt is a critical tool that, when leveraged effectively, can drive operational efficiency and business expansion. By structuring debt strategically, organizations can optimize liquidity, mitigate financial risk, and enhance overall capital efficiency.

Tom Panther, Chief Financial Officer of Corpay, a leading S&P 500 corporate payments company joins our host Melissa Howatson to discuss the complexities of debt management. Drawing on his 30+ years of experience in finance, Tom explains how CFOs can navigate debt management amid fluctuating market conditions and leverage these changes to benefit their organizations.

Discover Tom’s strategies for effective spend management, proactive cash flow monitoring, and successfully adapting to today’s new business landscape.

Discussed in This Episode:

• The macroeconomic impacts resulting from the Federal Reserve rate cuts and broader market volatility.
• Strategies CFOs are employing to adapt their financial approaches in response to economic shifts.
• Advice on how to maximize debt structure.
• How businesses can hedge against volatility.
• Positioning your organization for future growth in an evolving climate.

Intellectual property (IP) is revolutionizing how companies build value. For many businesses, the key to sustainable growth lies not in their balance sheet, but in the ideas they own.

Erin-Michael Gill, founder of M&A firm Genaesis, LLC, and Chairman of a Federal Advisory Committee on Intellectual Property and Trade, shares his expertise in this episode. With over $1.2 billion in M&A and capital formation investments under his advisory, Gill is consistently recognized as one of the world's leading IP strategists.

Erin-Michael delves into the intersection of IP strategy, innovation, and deal-making. He discusses how CFOs can unlock the full potential of their IP portfolios to fuel growth, attract investors, and drive success in M&A transactions.

Discover why IP should be at the forefront of your business strategy and learn practical approaches to developing and managing IP assets.

Discussed in This Episode:

• The pivotal role of IP and intangible assets in driving company valuation and growth, with a focus on M&A contexts.
• Why many businesses overlook their potential to monetize IP and other intangible assets.
• How a well-crafted IP portfolio can become a cornerstone of a company's growth strategy, attracting investors and securing competitive advantages.
• The various ways patents add value to a business, from legal protections to social proof.
• Strategies for assessing, valuing, and positioning intangible assets to optimize outcomes in deal-making scenarios.

The CFO-COO partnership is undeniably one of the most powerful alliances that can make or break a company's success. When working in perfect harmony, this duo creates a formidable force that drives strategic decisions, enhances operational efficiency, and propels growth.

In this installment of our finance business partnering series, host Melissa Howatson welcomes Sandra Clarke, Former Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Blue Shield of California. Sandra, who spent the majority of her career in finance, progressed from analyst to CFO before taking on the COO role. She discusses the unique perspective of having been on both sides of the CFO-COO relationship, addressing the benefits of close collaboration as well as the challenges that may arise from competing priorities.

Discover what it takes to build a successful CFO-COO business collaboration that benefits the entire organization and learn how this dynamic partnership directly impacts a company's bottom line.

Discussed in This Episode:

• The role of the COO, its variability across companies, and where it intersects with the CFO role in facilitating company strategy and boosting growth.
• How finance leaders can bring the most value to the operations team by understanding the business, identifying patterns in numbers that may indicate potential issues, and recommending optimal resource allocation.
• Key elements of a strong CFO-COO partnership, including humility, mutual trust in each other's expertise, and an unwavering focus on what's best for the business.
• Navigating tensions between CFO and COO roles when financial data doesn't support perceived operational needs, and strategies for collaboration in these challenging situations.