Podcast surpasses 19,500+ listeners since 2023 launch, establishing its place as a must-listen show for finance leaders
Finance leaders spend thousands of hours each year navigating budgets, forecasts and complex business decisions, leaving them little time to focus on strategy. With insights from The CFO Show podcast, they can do both—operational excellence and strategic leadership—as the podcast hits its two-year mark.
Today, we're proud to celebrate the second anniversary of the acclaimed podcast helping business executives work smarter and lead with impact. Sponsored by Vena and hosted by Vena CFO Melissa Howatson, the podcast now reaches 19,500+ subscribers worldwide via Apple, Spotify and Castbox).
“When we started The CFO Show, my goal was to create a community focused on conversation, peer exchange and career development for financial professionals at all levels, from current CFOs to future CFOs,” said Melissa Howatson. “In this era of increasing complexity for the Office of Finance, finance leaders are becoming true strategic business partners, guiding growth and shaping organizational strategy. We’re proud to offer an essential repository of knowledge to support this evolution. These first two years as host have both made me a better CFO and shown me that when we share our experiences as financial professionals, we all have the opportunity to grow.”
Melissa Howatson, Vena CFO and Host of The CFO Show
CFOs and other financial professionals face a number of different challenges, including the rise of AI, growing responsibilities, a rapidly evolving macroeconomic environment and a push to contribute to the overall strategic direction of the organization. In 2024, Egon Zehnder found that 82% of CFOs had their responsibilities increased over the past five years and 79% of CFOs surveyed by Bain Capital Ventures said they planned to increase their AI budgets in the current fiscal year.
In response to these needs, The CFO Show has emerged as a reliable, credible source of information exploring the intersection of finance, technology and leadership, including the role of AI, the relationships between different financial functions and specific strategies for companies at different stages. With these insights, finance professionals are transforming the finance function and building healthier, more resilient organizations.
Dubbed a “must-listen podcast” by guest Kendra James Anderson, CEO of The Finance Femme, The CFO Show has been recognized as an essential podcast for financial and business professionals by outlets and platforms including CFO.com, The CFO Club, Digitaldefynd and Nilus. Its emphasis on timely, relevant and future-focused content through its episodes, events, articles and newsletter has further spurred its audience growth; it regularly rates 4.9 out of 5.0 across all podcast distribution platforms.
“In this era of increasing complexity for the Office of Finance, finance leaders are becoming true strategic business partners, guiding growth and shaping organizational strategy."
—Melissa Howatson
Vena CFO
In its first two years and 80 episodes, The CFO Show has hosted top business and finance thought leaders representing organizations such as:
- The Wall Street Journal
- Microsoft Americas
- The Kansas City Chiefs
- Asana
- CIBC
- EY
- Thumbtack
- Deloitte
- Blue Shield of California
As The CFO Show enters its third year, Howatson and the team are continuing their commitment to bring the best and brightest guests offering insightful, important and timely finance conversations for CFOs, aspiring CFOs, finance leaders, finance and FP&A pros to propel businesses forward.
To join The CFO Show community, become a subscriber on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube; follow the show on LinkedIn or Instagram; subscribe to its newsletter; or visit its website.
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