Last week, Citi named her CFO of its Markets business that generated approximately $22 billion in revenue in 2025, and accounted for slightly above 40% of the firm’s net income.

The appointment was part of a broader senior leadership reshuffle announced by CEO Jane Fraser and CFO Gonzalo Luchetti. Fraser’s chief of staff for the past five years, Margo Pilic, will become head of strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and investor relations, while Rafael Soeda, most recently chief operating officer for services, will become Fraser’s new chief of staff.

Citi is combining strategy and investor relations under Pilic, bringing together functions that were previously separate. The bank said the move reflects the increasingly close link between shaping its strategy and communicating it to investors.

In an internal memo, Fraser (No. 1 on the Fortune Most Powerful Women list) and Luchetti wrote that “recognizing and rewarding colleagues for their hard work and dedication is a huge priority for us; this is how we build the next generation of Citi leaders.” The leaders said they believe in giving people opportunities that “stretch their abilities and push them toward exciting new possibilities,” with the goal of rewarding them for successfully executing in their roles and to “build their breadth and depth for the future.”

Since joining Citi in 2021 during a period of transformation and investor skepticism, Landis has rebuilt trust with investors and analysts through transparent communication and strong engagement, according to Luchetti. She also revamped the IR function, earnings processes and disclosures, helping lift buy ratings from around 45% to 85% and push the stock above $100 for the first time since 2008, he said.

“When I look back on my career, I was always up for a challenge, and transforming teams,” Landis told me about leading IR at Citi. “I was always curious, intellectually.” She continued, “It made sense for me to stay on to get the firm through the 2026 Investor Day, but I was very clear that I would really want to move to a CFO role, and markets would be the role I would ultimately want to do,” she said.

When leaving JPMorgan after almost 20 years to join Citi, she had never done an IR role before. At JPMorgan, she spent roughly eight years as a FIG investment banker covering banks and broker-dealers, before moving into corporate planning and analysis under then-CFO Marianne Lake—helping senior management think through strategy, capital allocation, and where to invest or exit businesses. She then served as CFO of JPMorgan’s middle markets banking and specialized industries division, a role she describes as bringing together everything she’d done previously: balance sheet and P&L ownership, strategic investments, and business management.

“The moment I went to be CFO, I knew that’s ultimately what I would want to do longer term,” she said.

Landis, who begins her new role in August, said In her first 90 days she plans to go deep into the markets business’s financials—balance sheet, P&L, and capital—with a particular focus on capital efficiencies and identifying where the business should continue to invest. She also wants to start thinking through how to present those financials in a way that better conveys the stability of the markets business to outside observers.

On the broader evolution of the role, Landis sees the CFO moving firmly in the direction of a strategic partner—a right hand to the business rather than a purely financial function.  

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

*Quick note: Later this summer we’ll be publishing our third annual list of the 100 Most Powerful People in Business. Think you know someone who should make the list? Nominate them here! You can also learn more about our methodology and see last year’s list.

Leaderboard

Yunhao Chen was appointed CFO of Pinnacle Food Group Limited (Nasdaq: PFAI), following the dismissal of CFO Wencai Pan, effective June 1. The company did not cite misconduct by Pan but instead framed the leadership change as a strategic shift in financial management. Chen brings public company finance experience to the position. She previously served as CFO of Massimo Group, where she led the company through its 2024 initial public offering. Before that, she served as CFO of Dogness International Corporation, where she led its 2017 IPO. Chen has served as an independent director of Pinnacle Food Group since April 2025. She will step down as a director in connection with her CFO appointment. 

Andy Lujan was promoted to CFO of Ontra, a legal technology company. Lujan joined Ontra in December 2017 as the company’s only finance and administrative employee and has served most recently as SVP of finance and accounting. Prior to joining Ontra, Lujan graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and served six years as an Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army, including a deployment to Afghanistan. He also held a role at JPMorgan Chase before joining Ontra and earned his MBA from the University of Southern California. 

Big Deal

BCG has published its fourth annual AI at Work report. The findings are based on a survey of 11,749 employees across 14 countries and suggest this is no longer just an AI adoption story.

More employees are using AI, including frontline/non-managerial workers, where regular usage jumped to 74%, up 23 percentage points from last year. However, usage still isn’t translating to value on its own. The companies pulling ahead are giving employees clearer direction on how work should actually change, not just more tools.

Seventy-one percent of employees say they receive little or no guidance on what to do with the time AI frees up, and more than half are not redirecting that time into strategic work. Meanwhile, employees with clear AI strategy but limited tool access report more measurable impact than those with strong tools but no clear direction—80% versus 60%. Another finding is 67% of regular AI users report higher job satisfaction, while 41% also report higher cognitive load.

Yet, there’s more work to do when it comes to training employees on AI. “The skills conversation is moving faster than many companies realize,” according to David Martin, global lead of BCG’s people and organization practice. “About nine in 10 respondents from our annual survey say they need major reskilling, but only 36% feel they have been sufficiently trained—the same share as last year.”

Going deeper

“SpaceX needs to grow at a rate no company has ever achieved to justify a $1.75 trillion valuation” is a Fortune article by Shawn Tully.

Tully writes: “The pending SpaceX IPO is generating lots of buzz by introducing the most valuable enterprise ever to go from privately-held to publicly-traded at an expected market cap of $1.75 trillion. Clearly, that gigantic number signals investors’ confidence in the future growth and profitability of AI. But it also sets the bar for what SpaceX must achieve going forward to reward the folks and funds who bought the pre-offering shares in the underwriting, and will rush to load up when the opening bell rings at the Nasdaq at its debut, slated for mid-June.” Read more here. 

Overheard

“The history of business tells us that the real money is where there’s unmet need. And that need is in unglamorous settings that the frontier labs aren’t pitching and most investors aren’t watching.”

—Bhaskar Chakravorti, dean of global business at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, writes in a Fortune opinion piece, “The short seller’s argument nobody on the coming mega IPO roadshow wants you to make.” Chakravorti is the founding chair of Digital Planet, which publishes the Digital Evolution Index.

Anthropic develops advanced AI systems, including its Claude language models, with a focus on safety and reliability. The company recently raised $30 billion in a Series G round, valuing it at roughly $380 billion, making it one of the largest private tech fundraises ever. Expectations have been building that an IPO could come as early as 2026.

The current flashpoint is a roughly $200 million Pentagon contract. Anthropic sought explicit contractual restrictions to prevent its AI from being used for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons. The Pentagon, in contrast, insisted it must be able to deploy contractor technology for any lawful purpose.

Negotiations broke down, the Department of Defense moved to terminate the contract, and it designated Anthropic a “supply chain risk,” effectively restricting many government agencies and defense contractors from working with the company. You can read more of Fortune’s coverage here.

“They just touched the third rail with this,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said of Anthropic. “For Anthropic, enterprises now put pencils down on projects because they are a supply chain risk as seen by the government,” Ives told me during our conversation. “This is a nightmare situation for Anthropic.”

Ives acknowledged Anthropic’s passionate stance while also addressing investor concerns. “I think the worry for investors and the industry is the unintended consequences,” he said. “I believe there potentially could be more fallout from this. Being on the wrong side of the White House and the Pentagon is not a good thing.”

The standoff could also complicate the role of CFO Krishna Rao, who joined Anthropic in 2024 and would likely lead any IPO. Rao formerly worked at Airbnb in roles including global head of corporate and business development and leader of corporate and operations FP&A, helping guide the company through major equity and debt raises, including its IPO. He also previously served as CFO at Fanatics Commerce. But navigating tensions with Washington could prove far more complex than raising capital.

The Anthropic dispute stands in stark contrast to OpenAI, which recently struck a deal allowing the Pentagon to use its models in classified systems. But this move is raising more questions about AI. Read more here.

For Anthropic, the stakes are high as the debate over AI continues.

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

Leaderboard

Sonalee Parekh was appointed CFO of SentinelOne (NYSE: S), a cybersecurity company, effective March 24. Barry Padgett will continue to serve as interim CFO until Parekh’s start date. She brings more than 25 years of experience. Parekh most recently served as CFO of Asana. Previously, she served as CFO of RingCentral. She also held senior finance leadership roles at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, including divisional CFO and head of corporate development and investor relations.

Aziz Megji was promoted to CFO at Asana, Inc. (NYSE: ASAN), a work management platform, effective March 24. Megji will succeed Sonalee Parekh, who has served as Asana’s CFO since 2024 and tendered her resignation effective March 23. Megji brings his experience from his head of financial planning and analysis role. Before joining Asana in 2024, Megji held senior finance leadership roles at RingCentral, Nvidia, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

Big Deal

The February ADP National Employment Report finds that private-sector employment increased by 63,000 jobs in February and pay was up 4.5% year over year.

“We’ve seen an increase in hiring and pay gains remain solid, especially for job stayers,” Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, said in a statement. “But with hiring concentrated in only a few sectors, our data shows no widespread pay benefit from changing jobs. In fact, the pay premium for switching employers hit a record low in February.”

Education and health services added 58,000 jobs, the largest gain of any industry sector and a key driver of overall job growth, according to the report. In contrast, professional and business services had the largest job losses, shedding 30,000 positions, more than any other major sector listed.

The ADP National Employment Report is an independent measure of the labor market based on the anonymized weekly payroll data of more than 26 million private-sector employees in the U.S. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Situation report for February is scheduled to be released on Friday.

Going deeper

“Warren Buffett complained for decades that boosting profits by excluding exec stock comp was ‘cynical.’ Nvidia just surprised Wall Street and agreed” is a Fortune article by Amanda Gerut. 

“Tucked neatly inside the investor materials Nvidia produced last week to show its record full fiscal year 2026 revenues of $215.9 billion and a fourth-quarter revenue beat of $68.1 billion were a few lines in the chief financial officer’s commentary that caught even some close observers of the company by surprise.” Read more here.

Overheard

“Returns on job experience are increasing in AI-exposed occupations.”

—J. Scott Davis, Dallas Fed assistant vice president, writes in new research, Fortune reported. “Young workers with primarily codifiable knowledge and limited experience will likely face challenging job markets,” according to Davis. Entry-level workers mostly bring classroom knowledge that AI can easily automate, Davis explains. In contrast, older workers draw on experience-based judgment, which is much harder for AI to replicate. 

James Glover, principal and finance transformation AI leader at Deloitte, emphasized that AI must align with a company’s core strategy. CFOs should first define their objective—efficiency, control, effectiveness, or engagement—then target the finance areas that best support that goal. Companies deploying AI one use case at a time, without a broader plan, are struggling to capture meaningful enterprise value, Glover said.

CFOs are also assessing agentic AI platforms to drive efficiency. “But you actually have to train your people to use it, otherwise they’re going to sort of treat it like a Google search,” Glover commented. That means AI prompting skills are crucial. Implementations for these platforms often take six to 12 months. He advised companies to introduce simple AI productivity tools early to build comfort while planning more ambitious initiatives.

CFOs typically ask Deloitte three questions: What’s the ROI for AI? Where should they begin? And should they buy or build? Early adopters are starting to see “green shoots” of ROI, Glover said.

Developing use cases for AI

A panel of CFOs shared their experiences, emphasizing AI’s impact on accuracy, forecasting, productivity, and the importance of iterative learning and cross-functional collaboration.

Craig Mestel, CFO of Webflow, a website platform for marketing, design, and development teams, said his finance team spent significant time answering routine policy questions. Webflow now uses large language model applications to automate those queries, freeing his team for higher-value work. The company has also built chat-based access to its data. “Non-technical analysts on my team can use natural language to chat with the data and start to get insights,” Mestel said.

He added that Webflow’s CEO has mandated clear expectations around AI use. “We’ve partnered with HR to create a framework that ties into performance reviews,” Mestel said.

Thadd Stricker, CFO of INRIX, which specializes in transportation analytics and location-based data services, said AI is transforming the business in two major ways. It enables analysis of massive mobility datasets—more than 50 petabytes (a unit of digital storage equal to one quadrillion bytes) and 45 billion daily data points—allowing clients to draw actionable insights. And within finance, AI tools have significantly improved reporting and forecasting accuracy, including ARR, reaching up to 95% accuracy with greater transparency and less manual input. He expects those capabilities to expand as similar tools are integrated into platforms like Workday.

Michelle Cheung, CFO and COO of Greenlight, a consumer subscription fintech focused on family finance and safety, said AI strengthens risk management by analyzing transaction data, streamlines operations by automating contract reviews, powers educational content in the app, and improves collaboration by reducing siloed work. The company also conducts hackathons for a better understanding of AI, Cheung said.

‘Don’t give up’

The CFOs noted that not every AI use case succeeds, highlighting the importance of keeping human oversight in the process. Stricker shared that early attempts to use ChatGPT for legal research produced confident but incorrect case citations, underscoring the need to verify AI-generated information and prompt models to acknowledge uncertainty.

Mestel said early experiments using ChatGPT as a junior analyst also fell short. “It’s not ready for that yet; it’s not great at math,” he said. His team also struggled with automating variance analysis due to inconsistent results, but after iterating and testing, they achieved greater reliability and impact.

“The point I would share with CFOs is: if you fail the first time, that’s okay,” Mestel said. “Don’t give up—keep going.” 

Have a good weekend.

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

Leaderboard

Fortune 500 Power Moves

Hugh F. Johnston, senior EVP and CFO of The Walt Disney Company (No. 46), had his tenure extended through Jan. 31, 2029, according to an SEC filing. Johnston, a longtime PepsiCo executive, originally joined Disney on Dec. 4, 2023, for a term ending Dec. 31, 2026. The company raised his target annual long-term equity award to $16.5 million, while his base salary and bonus targets remain unchanged.

Brody Merrill was appointed CFO of Mutual of Omaha (No. 299), effective Dec. 1. Merrill recently served as CFO and treasurer for American National Group. With more than 24 years of financial leadership across the insurance, technology and asset management industries, he has experience in capital management, risk oversight and optimizing business performance. Merrill is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.

Every Friday morning, the weekly Fortune 500 Power Moves column tracks Fortune 500 company C-suite shifts—see the most recent edition. 

More notable moves this week:

Steve Fieler was appointed CFO of Waymo, an autonomous ride-hailing company. Fieler brings nearly 30 years of financial experience to Waymo, an Alphabet company. Most recently, he was a key member of Google’s CFO leadership team, where he served as VP of planning, BizOps, investments, and investor relations. He also previously held the role of business finance officer for Google’s platforms and ecosystems unit, responsible for products including Android and Chrome. Before his time at Google,  Fieler served as CFO at HP. 

Michael Nofi was appointed CFO of Edgewise Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: EWTX), a muscle disease biopharmaceutical company, effective Nov. 10. Nofi joins Edgewise after serving as chief accounting officer (CAO) at SpringWorks Therapeutics, Inc. He will succeed Edgewise CFO, R. Michael Carruthers, who is retiring. Nofi brings over 30 years of leadership experience. Before joining Edgewise, he served as CAO of SpringWorks Therapeutics. Before that, Nofi was CAO and VP of global accounting and corporate FP&A at The Nature’s Bounty Co.

James G. Mackey was promoted to CFO of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE: BKU), effective Nov. 10. Mackey was hired on July 23 and served as the senior EVP of finance from Aug. 15 to Nov. 10. Leslie N. Lunak, who has served as the CFO of the company since 2013, will continue as an executive advisor through January 2026.

Martino Cadoni was appointed CFO of DeepL, a global AI product and research company. Cadoni brings more than 15 years of international finance and technology leadership experience. He joins DeepL from Klarna, where he held senior leadership roles including head of strategic finance and investor relations, and led the divestment of Klarna Checkout. Cadoni previously also held senior finance roles at HSBC and GE.

Big Deal

AuditBoard has released the findings of its 2026 Focus on the Future report. The internal audit profession is navigating an environment of hypervolatility defined by accelerating, interconnected risks. The profession is being challenged by three converging forces: persistently tight resources, the rise of AI, and a demand for role redefinition.

For example, only 28% of leaders express confidence in their teams’ ability to effectively audit AI risks, and 63% of organizations have not yet defined a formal risk appetite or governance framework for AI use, leaving internal auditors with little structure for oversight, according to the report.

The findings are based on a survey of 213 global internal audit leaders.

Going deeper

Here are four Fortune weekend reads:

“Ford CEO says he has 5,000 open mechanic jobs with 6-figure salaries from the shortage of manually skilled workers: ‘We are in trouble in our country’” by Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez

“After Elon Musk’s Boring Co. was cited for serious safety violations, the Nevada governor’s office stepped in. Then someone deleted evidence of that meeting” by Jessica Mathews and Leo Schwartz

“OnlyFans CEO will not tolerate ‘that squidgy layer of middle management’ and refuses to hire them” by Jim Edwards

“The rise of Yann LeCun, the 65-year-old NYU professor who is planning to leave Mark Zuckerberg’s highly paid team at Meta to launch his own AI startup” by Dave Smith

Overheard

“Replacing entry-level workers with AI is not an option — not unless business and society are willing to accept, as the older generation retires, that AI agents will be the sole practitioners in these crucial professions. Few people would  settle for that future.”

—Steve Hasker, president and CEO of Thomson Reuters, writes in a Fortune opinion piece.

At Fortune’s CFO Collaborative dinner on Wednesday night, sponsored by Deloitte, Ted Souder—CEO and co-founder of Quoin, a startup developing AI-powered infrastructure for private capital markets—drew on his decades-long career, including more than 20 years at Google and his role in founding the Google CFO Forum, to share his perspective on AI’s impact across organizations.

Now an adviser to startups and venture capital funds on AI and business transformation, Souder spoke with Fortune’s Diane Brady before an audience of leading CFOs from Chicago and beyond, sharing observations from his global travels. Everywhere he goes, he finds businesses asking similar questions: How do we implement AI? How do we measure ROI? What does it mean for our workforce? And how do we build strategies for long-term success?

Whether at intimate gatherings or major summits, one thing stands out: no company feels far ahead or behind in its AI journey. “We’re all in this unknown together,” Souder said. He noted that this shared sense of challenge makes events like these invaluable for learning and connection—even as competitive pressures lead some leaders to withhold lessons or setbacks.

“For many businesses, if they have big AI wins, they don’t necessarily want to share them—perhaps because it’s a competitive advantage,” he said. “And if they’re not having AI wins, they don’t really want to share that either. So we’re all in the same boat.”

Why success requires a long-term vision

AI will impact every job, industry, and country, Souder told the CFOs. “We need to start thinking about how we’re embracing this today,” he explained. “We can’t wait and see how this pans out.” He cautioned against postponing AI initiatives simply because other projects take priority.

Souder emphasized that effective AI adoption demands collaboration across the C-suite. “This is a mindset shift,” he said. “This isn’t a tech project. This isn’t an ERP implementation.” 

Finance chiefs have unique visibility across the organization; CFOs can be central to driving an AI “mindset shift,” Souder said. He added that C-suite leaders—including CMOs, CIOs, and CEOs—should break down silos and work together.

To foster real change, Souder recommends that leaders visibly commit to AI, set clear policies, allocate resources, and focus on talent by investing in workforce training. He suggested practices such as tying AI proficiency to performance reviews, which help connect employee development to organizational transformation.

Souder also advocated forming AI councils or “tiger teams” to oversee strategy, implementation, and governance—including privacy and ethics. With the right structures, companies can create a culture of experimentation and learning, rather than expecting overnight success, he said.

Success with AI adoption, Souder said, requires a willingness to embrace incremental impact and “shake out some of the bad decisions.” Boards, he added, must get comfortable with long-term visions, not just quarterly results or instant ROI. “From the CFO perspective, having that board exposure is really important,” Souder said.

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

Leaderboard

Fortune 500 Power Moves

Todd Cunfer was appointed EVP and CFO of The Campbell’s Company (No. 425), effective Oct. 20. Cunfer succeeds Carrie Anderson, who is leaving the company to pursue new opportunities. Cunfer brings over 25 years of experience. He joins Campbell’s from Freshpet, where he served as CFO since 2022. Before that, he was CFO at Simply Good Foods Company, a nutritional foods and snacking products company. Previously, Cunfer spent over 20 years in senior finance roles at The Hershey Company, including VP of international finance, VP of global supply chain finance and VP of North America finance.

Every Friday morning, the weekly Fortune 500 Power Moves column tracks Fortune 500 company C-suite shifts—see the most recent edition. 

More notable moves

Brent Wahl, CFO of NextDecade Corporation (Nasdaq: NEXT), has resigned from his position, effective Oct. 20. The company has appointed Mike Mott, SVP of enterprise transformation, as interim CFO. Wahl is leaving NextDecade to join a digital infrastructure company, and he has agreed to serve in a consultant capacity through Dec. 31, 2025. The company will initiate a search process to find a permanent successor.

Mark Schmitz was appointed CFO of Deep Fission, Inc., a nuclear energy company. Schmitz brings more than 40 years of global finance leadership experience. He has served as CFO for companies, including Goodyear, Itron, Plug Power, and Alghanim Industries, and has held senior finance positions in China, Brazil, the U.K., and the Middle East.

Big Deal

The startup Zip’s inaugural “State of Spend” report finds that 75% of companies now factor AI into hiring decisions, with 17% requiring proof that AI cannot perform the role before approving new positions.

Technology spending is increasing despite workforce reductions, with 37% of organizations planning to add new vendors—particularly for AI tools. The data is based on a global survey of 1,030 C-suite and senior decision-makers who control corporate spending across procurement, finance, IT, and operations.

“For the first time in history, companies are looking at everything through the lens of AI,” according to Nick Heinzmann, head of research at Zip.

AI fluency topped the list of most valued skills in new hires, with 56% of those surveyed placing it above all other skills, followed by data analysis at 43%, according to the report.

Going deeper

“Battle over Elon Musk’s trillionaire pay package builds as pension funds face off against Tesla” is a Fortune report by Amanda Gerut.

From the report: “Tesla is weeks away from a monumental shareholder vote on CEO Elon Musk’s potential $1 trillion pay package at its annual investor meeting, and the EV-maker is pulling out all the stops to push the measure through. 

Last year, Tesla rallied thousands of mom-and-pop retail investors to vote their shares of stock in favor of Musk’s billions in pay. Now, Tesla is teeing up retail holders for another vote on Nov. 6 that would set Musk on the path to becoming the world’s first trillionaire by granting him up to 12% of Tesla’s outstanding shares divided into 12 tranches through a restricted stock grant.”  You can read the complete report here.

Overheard

“I’m envious of the current generation of 20-year-old dropouts, because the amount of stuff you can build… the opportunity space is so incredibly wide.”

—OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told Rowan Cheung during an interview at the DevDay conference on Monday, Fortune reported. Altman said he envies Gen Z college dropouts, as he hasn’t had a “real chunk of free mental space” in the past couple of years to think about what he’d build now. “But I know that there would be a lot of cool stuff to build,” he added.

Known for its Nashville-style hot chicken, Dave’s attracted Atlanta-based private equity firm Roark Capital, which specializes in franchised businesses and acquired Subway in 2023. Roark owns two major restaurant holding companies: Inspire Brands (Dunkin’, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic) and GoTo Foods (Auntie Anne’s, Carvel, Cinnabon). Dave’s Hot Chicken was acquired by Roark this past summer for $1 billion and expects to reach 400 stores this year.

Founded by childhood friends Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan, and Tommy Rubenyan, the company has been led by Bill Phelps, co-founder of Wetzel’s Pretzels, as CEO since 2019. James McGehee joined as CFO in 2019 after connecting with the team through Wetzel’s. “I’ve been in the restaurant industry and accounting and finance since 1993, but I fell in love with food first,” McGehee told me.

Scott Putman, SVP of finance, who started with Dave’s in 2021, was previously corporate controller
 for Wetzel’s Pretzels. Many team members at Dave’s have worked with Phelps before. “People aren’t here by accident,” said McGehee, highlighting the team’s work ethic, expertise, and cultural fit.

Under Phelps, the company strengthened its franchise community by selecting experienced, culturally aligned operators, McGehee said. By combining a standout brand, strong franchisees, and expert management, Dave’s accelerated its growth, he said.

According to data from Technomic, a market research firm, Dave’s U.S. sales increased 57% in 2024 and surpassed $600 million. Its menu includes chicken tenders, sliders, and bites, as well as cauliflower alternatives. Spice levels range from mild to the intense “Reaper.”

The company’s success is driven by sustained compound annual growth (around 40% CAGR over five years) and a scalable franchise model, McGehee said. 

Gen Z is driving fast-food trends with their love of crispy chicken and bold flavor. And Dave’s has a robust social media following, including 2 million Instagram followers and over 4 million TikTok followers, contributing to its rapid expansion. Celebrity partners like Drake and Samuel L. Jackson also support the brand. Putman works closely with the marketing team, meeting weekly.

Navigating the M&A process

McGehee and Putnam faced a complex merger-and-acquisition process. Thirteen groups submitted offers, five groups that were in diligence concurrently, McGehee said. 

“With five groups doing diligence on us, you’re here all day, all night,” Putman said. 

The two would eventually structure a hybrid asset and stock sale that saved shareholders $32 million in taxes, Putman said. By tailoring the approach to benefit both California and out-of-state investors, the team ensured the financial windfall was broadly shared, he said. 

The billion-dollar deal with Roark was not just a payday for executives and founders. “A lot of our employees were able to have a life-changing event,” Putman said. Dave’s team worked for years to build the brand, and many shared in the sale’s success, seeing tangible rewards for their loyalty and hard work, he said. “It just feels so good to know my fellow co-workers have a better life for their families and themselves,” he added. “We fought for that.”

McGehee and Putman are also Dave’s franchisees as well, connecting with their peers annually. In January, the management team hosted an in-person meeting with the entire franchise system. 

“What we love the most is the breakout sessions where we’re able to have more concentrated time with our franchise owners and operators,” McGehee said.

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

Leaderboard

Prithvi (Prith) Gandhi was appointed SVP and CFO of Trex Company, Inc. (NYSE: TREX), a composite decking and railing manufacturer, effective Oct. 6. Gandhi brings over 25 years of financial leadership experience. Most recently, he was EVP and CFO of Beacon Roofing Supply. Earlier in his career, Gandhi had an eight-year tenure at Owens Corning, where he held multiple senior finance roles, including as Interim CFO from 2019-2020.

Danny Leung was promoted to CFO of MoneyHero Limited (Nasdaq: MNY), a personal finance aggregation and comparison platform. Leung had been serving as the company’s interim CFO since Dec. 15, 2024. A senior finance and accounting executive with over two decades of diverse experience across growth-stage businesses, multinational organizations, and publicly traded companies, Leung joined MoneyHero in 2024 as the company’s group director of finance. 

Big Deal

After a slow period for fintech initial public offerings, the IPO market rebounded in 2025, with six fintech companies going public so far this year, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. 

As of Sept. 22, these six companies have raised approximately $3.2 billion, marking the highest annual total in at least a decade and surpassing the $2.94 billion raised by five fintech IPOs in 2020, the research finds. The 2025 offerings include Figure Technology Solutions Inc., Gemini Space Station Inc., Platinum Analytics Cayman Ltd., Bullish, Chime Financial Inc., and Aether Holdings Inc.

Going deeper

“America saw ‘essentially no job growth’ last month, warns Moody’s, and any roles added were in three wealthy states,” is a new report by Fortune‘s Eleanor Pringle.

From the report: “Markets are climbing confidently despite the fact that last week concluded without the usual jobs data. Releases by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) are often key insights into the future trajectory of the economy, but investors are taking the optimistic view in the absence of any bad news.

But Moody’s is warning that private reporting paints a less rosy picture, describing role additions to the jobs market as ‘paltry.’ Everyone from Wall Street to the Federal Reserve knows America’s labor market is weakening—adding just 22,000 jobs, according to the BLS’s latest release for August—but are unsure by how much.”

Overheard

“We are undoubtedly at a tipping point where leaders can train AI systems, but only with human values and intelligence as the foundation upon which AI is built will it truly succeed.”

—Derya Matras, Meta’s VP for EMEA, writes in a Fortune opinion piece.

Amid the whirlwind that began in November 2022, my colleague Sharon Goldman assesses our current position in her new Fortune feature article, “We’re not in an ‘AI winter’—but here’s how to survive a cold snap.”

Goldman notes that Gartner forecasts global AI spending will reach nearly $1.5 trillion in 2025 and surpass $2 trillion in 2026, driven by integration into smartphones, PCs, and enterprise infrastructure. Major tech companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, and Meta, continue to benefit from the AI boom.

However, some companies are feeling a chill as they contemplate their AI strategies. Rowan Curran, principal analyst at Forrester Research, told Goldman that a necessary reset is underway: “Our thermometer was broken before. Now we’re finally getting the correct temperature.” He explained that enterprises are not pulling back from AI, but rather recalibrating after a period of overhyped expectations.

Bill Briggs, chief technology officer at Deloitte, acknowledged a “vibe shift” around AI but said it’s not comparable to the late-1990s tech bust: “It’s certainly at an inflection point, but I don’t see this being a repeat of the dotcom bust,” Briggs told Goldman. He emphasized that AI is still driving transformation and that new business models are just beginning.

Goldman writes, “Overall, [Briggs] said, AI is becoming less of a rising star and more of an ambient operator that will quietly influence how organizations think about every process, product, and decision. ‘AI is poised to evolve much like electricity—invisible in our daily lives but powering everything,’ he said.” Perhaps AI’s biggest impact will come from the way it quietly revolutionizes daily life and the workplace.

(You can read Goldman’s complete article here, where she also speaks with experts on how to steer AI investments wisely.)

Over the past year, I have spoken with CFOs about the acceleration of AI in the workplace, including its use for their own tasks. Recently, I talked with Verizon CFO Tony Skiadas about turning AI into a revenue source. Skiadas also shared that he encourages his team to develop innovative AI use cases and explained how he personally uses AI.

“I even use it myself for simple things,” he said. For example, Skiadas uses AI to digest reports and summarize documents: “It’s a time saver for me. And I tell people, if I can use it, anybody can. So that’s my motivation to my team.”

Have a good weekend. See you on Monday.

Joao Laranjo was promoted to CFO of Stellantis N.V. Laranjo succeeds Doug Ostermann, who has resigned from the company for personal reasons. Laranjo rejoined Stellantis earlier this year as CFO of Stellantis North America under the company’s new management. He also previously worked at Goodyear, as well as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, as chief accounting officer for Latin America, rising to CFO for the region. He began his career at General Electric in 2001, serving as an associate auditor and later as controller for GE Healthcare in South America.

Steve Rai was appointed EVP and CFO of Open Text Corporation (Nasdaq: OTEX), a cloud and AI company, effective Oct. 6. Rai brings over 30 years of experience. He most recently served as CFO of BlackBerry Limited. Before that, Rai held senior finance positions at PMC-Sierra and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

Daniel Sullivan was appointed CFO of Five Below, Inc. (Nasdaq: FIVE), a retail chain. Sullivan has 35 years of experience. He most recently served as EVP and chief operating officer at Edgewell Personal Care, initially joining the company as CFO. Sullivan previously served as CFO of Party City and CFO of Ahold USA, as well as CFO and COO of Heineken USA and Heineken International.

Allison Dorval was appointed CFO of AIRNA, a biotech company. Dorval has more than 25 years of experience. She most recently served as CFO of Verve Therapeutics and played a key role in its acquisition by Eli Lilly. Before Verve, Dorval was CFO of Voyager Therapeutics and held senior finance leadership positions with multiple other biopharma companies.

Amir Jafari was appointed CFO of Couchbase, Inc. (Nasdaq: BASE), a data platform provider, effective immediately. Jafari joins Couchbase from Blend Labs, where he most recently served as CFO and head of finance and operations. Before Blend, he held CFO roles at multiple companies, as well as in finance and product leadership roles at ServiceNow.

Bill Kayser was appointed president and CFO of Iterative Health, a health care technology and services company. Kayser brings over two decades of experience in health care finance, strategy, and leadership, most recently serving as CFO of GI Alliance, an independent gastroenterology practice entity, acquired by Cardinal in 2025. Before GI Alliance, Kayser was CFO of Prospero Health (acquired by Optum) and VP of corporate strategy and M&A at McKesson.

Venkat Ramanan was appointed CFO of Immatics N.V. (Nasdaq: IMTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, effective immediately. Ramanan has over 25 years of experience. He joins Immatics from Anthos Therapeutics, a Novartis company, where he served as CFO. He will succeed Immatics’ current CFO, Arnd Christ. Previously, Ramanan was CFO at Turnstone Biologics, where he led the company’s IPO. Earlier, he was SVP of finance at Seagen.

Big Deal

A new report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), “The Widening AI Value Gap: Build for the Future 2025,” is a global survey of 1,250 senior executives and AI decision makers across nine industries. The study finds the performance gap between AI leaders and laggards is widening fast, primarily driven by the rise of agentic AI. According to BCG, agents already account for 17% of total AI value in 2025, and that share is expected to reach 29% by 2028.

Going deeper

Here are four Fortune weekend reads:

“Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway may have scored a ‘genius’ win-win in $10 billion acquisition that may be the last big deal of his career” by Jordan Blum

“Landing on the S&P 500 means a surefire stock boost—and a pleasant surprise for the CEO” by Jeff John Roberts

“Inside Ralph Lauren’s luxe reset—and the CEO who made it stick” by Phil Wahba

“Jane Goodall made a name for herself with no degree, no experience: She got a job as a waitress and saved ‘every penny’ on a one-way ticket to Africa” by Preston Fore

Overheard

“I would say what I’m most proud of is the team I built, together with [Ford Chair Bill Ford], as well as the foundation.”

—Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley told CNBC this week when marking his fifth year leading the Detroit automaker. Farley has been working to make the company more capital efficient, improve quality to reduce recall and warranty costs, and grow profit margins.

Gerlda B. Hines, Georgia’s state accounting officer since September 2021 and the first woman permanently appointed to the role, is working to eliminate antiquated finance and accounting processes—essentially bringing Big Tech to hundreds of agencies.

Hines previously served as commissioner, chief of staff, interim commissioner, deputy commissioner, and CFO for Georgia’s Department of Human Services, where she oversaw a $1.9 billion budget and led the department’s executive team. Before that, she was deputy CFO for the Georgia Department of Community Health and VP/CFO at the Georgia Student Finance Commission.

Courtesy of the Georgia state accounting office

I recently sat down with Hines, who is known for her problem-solving skills, she said. When the state accounting officer position opened, her name kept coming up because of her CPA credentials and deep knowledge of the state. “I was amazed when they called me because I had just been appointed commissioner of the Department of Human Services,” she told me.

Hines admits she’s always been the first to volunteer for new tasks, dating back to her youth: “I was the person growing up to say, ‘I’ll do it.’”

Now, she faces the challenge of revamping the state’s finance and accounting processes. “Nothing was standardized in the way we did business around accounting,” she said.

After evaluating technology vendors, Hines and her team selected Workday (a CFO Daily sponsor). Unlike company CFOs who seek board approval, Hines and her co-executive sponsor, Commissioner Rebecca Sullivan of the Department of Administrative Services, had to present their budget request to the governor’s office and to state legislators, including chairmen and budget directors of both houses.

The partnership with Workday began in January 2023, with the project kicking off in December 2023. More than 121 agencies are set to soon go live with this HR, finance, and procurement technology transformation. “This is an enormous project for Georgia,” Hines said. “The last time something like this was implemented was in 1999.”

Tackling change management

Change management in the age of AI turns employees into active contributors—encouraging experimentation, co-creation, and continuous learning, according to McKinsey research. As a problem solver, Hines knew that selecting the technology was only part of the transformation; change management was equally essential and challenging. Some staff worried the new system could mean job losses, so her team prioritized encouraging employees to continually try out the platform and provided upskilling and reskilling to help them adapt, she said.

For several months, Hines has driven broad, consistent engagement across agencies—using newsletters, dedicated change agents, and regular meetings spanning finance, HR, and technology—to keep everyone informed and aligned. Her approach emphasizes proactive communication, active stakeholder involvement, and ongoing readiness assessments to support successful adoption. “We take a pulse by sending out readiness assessments to see where everyone is in the project,” she said.

Hines also noted many agency employees are reaching retirement age, making talent recruitment a challenge. Modern platforms, she believes, can help bridge talent gaps and attract younger workers interested in advanced technology. “Moving away from manual data is going to allow us to do more analytics and look at trends,” she said.

Hines also told me that she hopes her leadership can inspire young women: “If you can see it, you can accomplish it.”

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

Leaderboard

Joao Laranjo was promoted to CFO of Stellantis N.V., effective immediately. Laranjo succeeds Doug Ostermann, who has resigned from the company for personal reasons. In 2024, Laranjo joined Goodyear as VP of finance. He rejoined Stellantis earlier this year as CFO of Stellantis North America under the company’s new management. Laranjo also previously worked at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles as chief accounting officer for Latin America, rising to CFO for the region. He began his career at General Electric in 2001, serving as an associate auditor and later as controller for GE Healthcare in South America.

Amir Jafari was appointed CFO of Couchbase, Inc. (Nasdaq: BASE), a data platform provider, effective immediately. Jafari joins Couchbase from Blend Labs, where he most recently served as CFO and head of finance and operations. Before Blend, he held CFO roles at multiple companies, as well as in finance and product leadership roles at ServiceNow.

Big Deal

The Bank of America Institute’s 2025 Workplace Benefits report finds that despite a general sense of optimism when looking ahead, employees are experiencing heightened stress.  About 77% of employees surveyed are stressed about the current economic environment, 43% are stressed about their typical workday, and 37% are stressed about their personal and family lives.  They’re also grappling with matters like how to balance credit card debt with emergency savings and taking vacation time versus caregiving at home. 

While many employers focus mainly on traditional benefits like retirement plans and health insurance, employees increasingly value broader financial wellness programs—including equity, debt support, and work/life balance—which help attract and retain top talent. More than 8 in 10 employers say that financial wellness boosts job satisfaction, retention, and productivity, according to the report.

Going deeper

Overheard

“As a long-time board member, and a former chair and CEO of a $12 billion health care company, I am optimistic about AI as a contributor to problem-solving and decision-making.”