The CFO Who Was “Ill Equipped” to Save Lehman Brothers

The CFO Who Was “Ill Equipped” to Save Lehman Brothers

July 6, 2026 · 46 min

About this episode

CJ Gustafson discusses the challenges faced by Erin Callan as CFO of Lehman Brothers and the lessons learned about effective finance leadership.

What actually prepares someone to become a CFO? CJ revisits Erin Callan’s short, brutal run as Lehman Brothers CFO and pulls lessons from past guests on operational reps, simple communication, fast-moving bad news, budget mistakes, and why great finance leaders can’t just report the numbers, they have to shape them. — SPONSORS: Anrok is the sales tax platform that watches your exposure everywhere, automates compliance, and flags risk before it turns into a surprise back-tax letter from a state you've never set foot in. Companies like Anthropic, Notion, and Vanta already trust Anrok to stay ahead of rules that move faster than any spreadsheet can. Talk to a sales tax expert for a personalized exposure estimate at https://www.anrok.com/rtn RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform that lets your product team ship new pricing without asking finance for permission, and your sales team close deals without creating downstream chaos. Check out their free tool at calculator.rightrev.com It scores your rev rec process, shows what's exposing you to risk, and tells you exactly where to focus before it bites you in the rear end. Check it out at https://calculator.rightrev.com…

Sponsors

Anrok, RightRev, Pulley

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