The Modern CFO

Relativity Space’s CFO, Mo Shahzad, has been instrumental in shaping aerospace innovation, most significantly in helping build and launch Terran 1, the world’s first 3D-printed rocket. Mo's commitment to pushing the boundaries of what's possible in space exploration underscores his pivotal role in steering Relativity Space to the forefront of the industry.In this episode, Mo joins host Andrew Seski to share his unique journey from growing up in Pakistan to joining a cutting-edge company. He provides insights into how competition fuels progress and emphasizes the importance of maintaining integrity and transparency as core company values. Mo also discusses how Relativity Space fosters a culture of curiosity and eagerness for learning, enabling the company to quickly iterate on its ambitious mission to make life interplanetary.Tune in to hear from an incredible leader advancing aerospace ingenuity, as Mo navigates the industry’s complexities with an unwavering focus on progress. This episode provides a fascinating glimpse into the future of space exploration and highlights how modern finance plays a crucial role in shaping it.‍Show LinksConnect with Mo Shahzad on LinkedInConnect with Andrew Seski on LinkedInDiscover more about Relativity Space today!‍

Fanatics has rapidly emerged as a juggernaut in the world of licensed sports merchandise, collectibles, and online betting. What started as an online retailer in the late 1990s has transformed into a multi-billion dollar operation serving as the official e-commerce partner for major professional sports leagues like the NFL, NBA, MLB, NASCAR, as well as top college programs.Under the leadership of CFO Glenn Schiffman and executive chairman Michael Rubin, Fanatics has vertically integrated its operations by acquiring brands like Topps' sports collectibles business, and many others across manufacturing and, most recently, online betting platforms. This aggressive growth strategy has propelled Fanatics' revenue from just $250 million in 2012 to over $7 billion (as of 2022).The company has secured groundbreaking long-term merchandising rights partnerships with sports leagues, while also expanding into new revenue streams like collectible NFTs and online sports betting via Fanatics Betting & Gaming. With over 100 million customers in its database, Fanatics is uniquely positioned to provide a comprehensive, fan-first experience across merchandise, collectibles, and gambling verticals.In this episode, Glenn Schiffman pulls back the curtain on Fanatics' meteoric rise, sharing his journey from investment banking to CFO. He also highlights the company's forward-thinking acquisition strategy, how they attract top talent, and his vision for the future as Fanatics dominate the intersection of sports and entertainment.Show LinksConnect with Glenn H. Schiffman on LinkedInConnect with Andrew Seski on LinkedInLearn more about Fanatics

In this episode of The Modern CFO, Lauren StClair, CFO of NerdWallet, shares her unique career journey spanning across startups and large corporations like PayPal, eBay, and StubHub. She delves into the valuable lessons she's learned along the way, offering key takeaways for professionals in the finance and technology industries.Lauren's journey began at a small early-stage startup, where she quickly learned the value of resourcefulness and urgency in business. This experience taught her to wear multiple hats and connect the dots across various aspects of the company, providing a solid foundation for her future roles. However, she also realized the importance of understanding how to operate at scale and the need for best practices, leading her to pursue opportunities at larger organizations.During her tenure at eBay, Lauren had the opportunity to work in different functions, both within and outside of finance. She participated in a leadership development program, allowing her to complete multiple rotations across various departments. This experience not only expanded her functional skills but also taught her the importance of embracing change and humility.As Lauren reflects on her career path, she shares valuable insights for professionals navigating the dynamic landscape of finance and technology:Embrace change: Be open to new opportunities and challenges, as they provide valuable learning experiences and contribute to personal and professional growth.Develop a sense of resourcefulness: The ability to be resourceful and adaptable is crucial in today's fast-paced business environment.Learn to operate at scale: Understand the importance of implementing best practices and executing strategies that enable businesses to grow efficiently.Cultivate humility: Recognize when to ask for help, raise questions, and learn from others, as these traits are essential for continuous improvement and effective leadership.Lauren StClair's journey in the world of finance and technology offers a wealth of knowledge for individuals looking to build a successful career in these industries. Tune in to The Modern CFO podcast to hear the full conversation and gain inspiration from Lauren's remarkable story.Show LinksConnect with Lauren StClair Waugh on LinkedInConnect with Andrew Seski on LinkedInLearn more about NerdWallet on their website

From investor to public company CFO, BLADE's Will Heyburn shares his path to the selective role of leading a finance team from the private markets through an IPO and beyond.In this episode of The Modern CFO, Will unpacks BLADE's unique evolution from passenger transportation to a leading medical organ transport provider and why they continue to focus on direct communication, data-driven decision-making, and building a customer-centric culture.Will and host Andrew Seski discuss the intricate balance between risk management, client satisfaction, and staying adaptable, especially as a technology platform within the aviation industry.Listen in for more secrets to BLADE's success and valuable lessons for aspiring CFOs navigating the future of technology within their own companies.Want to give BLADLE a try? Listeners can use Will's promo code* available towards the end of the episode! *Terms and conditions may applyShow LinksConnect with Will Heyburn on LinkedInConnect with Andrew Seski on LinkedInLearn more about BLADE on their website

In this episode, Mark Wilson, former CFO of iconic automotive brands McLaren and Aston Martin, reveals the keys to enduring success in an ever-changing industry. Now CFO at Verge, an electric motorbike company, he shares with us his strategy to marry cutting-edge performance innovations with an authentic human experience.We discuss the fundamental values of financial management, especially in fast-paced environments. Mark emphasizes the importance of discipline, rigor, and transparency in all financial decisions. We also talk about the power of partnerships built on mutual goals, where the sum or parts is far more valuable, while also highlighting strategies he’s used for avoiding one-sided deals.Listen in as we revel in Mark’s experiences at Aston Martin, where he successfully propelled the storied brand into the modern era—navigating great deals while also supporting legacy relationships, like that of the storied James Bond franchiseShow LinksConnect with Mark Wilson on LinkedInConnect with Andrew Seski on LinkedInDiscover Verge Motorcycles on their website

Have you ever wondered what the future of car-sharing looks like?Turo CFO Chuck Fisher unpacks this with host Andrew Seski on this episode of The Modern CFO Podcast. Chuck also shares his perspective on the role of trust in car-sharing technology, the economic value created on Turo's platform, and how Turo is bridging the gap in transport insecurity.Listen in as Chuck shares his most memorable pit stops and detours along Turo's journey, including the company's rapid growth in 2021. From the role and impact of his mentors, to scaffolding platforms, hear Chuck’s route to the CFO seat and how Turo is using data-driven decision-making to create a more sustainable and equitable transportation system.Show LinksConnect with Chuck Fisher on LinkedInConnect with Andrew Seski on LinkedInFind your drive with Turo

For Townsend Search Group, executive search is a highly personalized process—one that requires looking at the market, the competitor environment, and the culture of the client’s organization, and then drawing up a tailored strategy for them. The goal isn’t just to find candidates. Rather, Townsend aims to place change-making leaders that fulfill long-term goals, influence strategic plans, and impact decision making across client organizations.In this episode of The Modern CFO,​​ Dan Ellis, Managing Director at Townsend Search Group, dives into the challenges, strategies, and invaluable lessons for aspiring CFOs and those seeking effective financial leadership. With over a decade’s experience in public accounting and consulting, Dan Explores the diverse personalities, drive, and discipline that define these financial leaders. From the vital role of athletics in shaping their work ethic to the crucial balance between work and personal life, gain valuable insights into what it takes to excel in the competitive world of CFOs.Show LinksCheck out Townsend Search GroupFollow Townsend Search Group on LinkedInConnect with Dan Ellis on LinkedInConnect with Andrew Seski on LinkedInTranscriptPlease note that the transcript is AI-generated and may contain errors. The content in the podcast is not intended as investment advice, and is meant for informational and entertainment purposes only.[00:00:00] Andrew Seski: Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another exciting episode of The Modern CFO Podcast. As always, I'm your host, Andrew Seski. Today, we're joined by Dan Ellis, managing director of Townsend Search Group, a search group based in Michigan, my home state. And for just over a decade, Dan shared his career experience in public accounting and consulting and today is connecting private equity groups or portfolio companies with the best talent there is. Dan, thank you so much for joining us today.[00:00:35] Dan Ellis: Andrew, thank you. Happy to be here and excited to chat about some topics about the modern CFO.[00:00:43] Andrew Seski: So one of the reasons I'm so excited that you're on the podcast is that we get all of these incredible insights from CFOs in their fields. And while they're all diverse, I think your perspective should be really unique and valuable to them. It's a somewhat opaque world and I know that market dynamics have severely shifted in the last few years and even last few months. Before we dive into the whole world of CFO placements and Townsend as a search group, I'd love to go back in time and learn a little bit about how you initially became interested in accounting and maybe even earlier days outside of undergrad.[00:01:20] Dan Ellis: Yeah, sure. I appreciate that. I grew up in an entrepreneurial family. My father and grandfather purchased a manufacturing company that they grew and successfully operated. So I always wanted to be a business owner and I saw accounting as a path into that. So went to Western Michigan University, got my accounting degree. After that, spent eight years in public accounting and consulting as a CPA. Towards the tail end of that, I got into M&A advisory, due diligence, transaction support. And really liked that environment, but didn't see myself being a partner in a public accounting firm. I wanted to do something more entrepreneurial where you could eat what you kill. And so I was introduced to my colleague and partner Peter Bridges at Townsend Search Group. And just came into the executive search and recruiting world with a network previously in private equity and consulting and was able to learn the operations and the process of executive recruiting and eventually become very good at executing searches, which ultimately led into more to business development and opportunities like this to meet you. [00:02:31] So our specialty at Townsend has really become working with middle-market companies, lower middle-market companies that are privately owned, most often private equity sponsored. So we do a lot of work in the private equity community, not only at the firm level or within the funds and working with the investment teams, the operating teams. We spend a significant amount of our time working within the portfolio companies, placing accounting, finance, operational executives, and leaders. So I think today, we'll spend most of the time on CFOs. And just to set the context, a lot of our focus is in the middle market with privately owned businesses. [00:03:13] Andrew Seski: Yeah, that's really helpful. Thanks for that. Yeah, I think in my mind when you're going out and engaging with a search firm maybe for the first time, you may have some hesitations and I'm curious as to when and how maybe CFO should begin the process of engaging with the search firm. I feel like the marketplace, maybe the tenure has shortened a bit in a typical amount of turnover in the C-suite in general right now. I'm curious as to when it would be most strategic to engage with search firms, understand the marketplace better, or if you should essentially always have a good pulse on the market.[00:03:51] Dan Ellis: I think it's always important to have a good pulse on the market. And this comes into a little bit of how do you develop into a CFO. And I think earlier in a career as a candidate, as an aspiring CFO, being in contact with the recruiter can really help you be more strategic with developing your skill set to be a CFO. So we can understand your background and experiences and where you want to get and try to align your interests with companies or CFOs that are looking to hire someone in those functional areas. So making sure that you're deliberate and strategic with your career development is something that a recruiter can help counsel or advise. We can give you data points on what the market holds in terms of compensation and really just help make sure that you're aware of what's out there in the market. [00:04:45] Now, if you're a sitting CFO and you're building a team, being in contact with us is very valuable because we're constantly in the market talking with folks. We know what they're making. We know what they're looking for. If we can understand the vision that a CFO is trying to drive in a business, the strategy they're trying to execute, we can find candidates or we may know candidates that align with that strategy and that vision, and therefore it creates a win-win in the fact that we're getting the candidate the technical and the experiences that they need to develop their skillset to be a CFO, but we're also helping that sitting CFO build out their team and drive what they're looking for. So hopefully, that's helpful. [00:05:34] Andrew Seski: Definitely. I mean, so you've been with Townsend for about a decade now. And the world has changed a lot and we've been through a number of economic market cycles and then the last few years have been extremely interesting. I'm curious as to how that impacts — maybe equity becomes more important in a cash-restricted business that needs to ramp up and scale. I'm curious what a search firm market environment is, like what the cycles are in the marketplace for you, maybe what the lag is, and then what it is like in our curre...

As customer expectations continue to evolve, marketers must adapt by delivering more personalized, timely, and efficient communication. This is where the online marketing platform Customer.io truly shines.Customer.io enables tech-savvy marketers to engage with their customers in a more meaningful way through emails, SMS, push notifications, and more. For the fast-growing SaaS companies that Customer.io serves, this capability could translate into stronger customer relations, higher conversion rates, and increased scalability.In this episode of The Modern CFO, host Andrew Seski talks with Customer.io CFO Zhi Li about his nonlinear career path, the impact Customer.io can have within organizations, how marketers can use AI as a fractional assistant, and more.Show LinksCheck out Customer.ioFollow Customer.io on LinkedIn, Twitter, and InstagramConnect with Zhi Li on LinkedInConnect with Andrew Seski on LinkedInTranscriptPlease note that the transcript is AI-generated and may contain errors. The content in the podcast is not intended as investment advice, and is meant for informational and entertainment purposes only.[00:00:00] Andrew Seski: Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of The Modern CFO Podcast. As always, I'm your host, Andrew Seski. Today, I'm joined by Zhi Li, CFO of Customer.io. Zhi, thank you so much for being here today. [00:00:21] Zhi Li: Thanks for having me. [00:00:23] Andrew Seski: So I'd love to talk about your career progression, the route to the CFO role, your first time as a CFO in earlier companies. But before we do so, I'd love to hear a little bit of background as to what you were interested even in undergrad and some of the first roles that you had, you know, right out of Penn.[00:00:41] Zhi Li: Yeah, yeah. So maybe just a little bit of myself and then we can probably launch into different topics that would go in there. But so I was born in China and then grew up in the Bay Area and then went to Penn. You and I just chatted about like Philly, which is the city that I really love. But after Penn, I actually started my career in Canada. So I was in finance at a wireless division of a large telco called Bell Canada. And then after that, I moved back to the US. So I worked in investment banking in New York in the tech group of Credit Suisse. So if you follow banking, you know, Credit Suisse might be called UBS or First Boston later on or something like that. So that's the some of the new dynamic there. But I learned a lot during that time in banking. Worked a lot as well but, you know, on many tech M&A and IP financing deals there and also get to interact with a ton of smart, hard-working, talented people. And then after that, I actually moved to Seattle cold turkey. And the backstory to that was my wife and I were both actually in grad school in LA. When I took the job to move to New York, I made a deal with her and say, Hey, you know, we need to transfer your grad school. She's got two more years. You know, whenever you are ready to leave, I'll hold up by end of the bargain. So no questions asked. When you're ready to leave New York, then I'll go. So the time came. This is probably like seven years ago. She says she wants to move to Seattle closer to her family. And then, I picked up and go. I did not know anybody in Seattle going in. But Seattle, I — now, like it's home for me. So I love it. It reminds me of maybe the Bay Area when I was, you know, many, many years ago, you know, back in high school when I kind of grew up in the Bay Area. So but yeah. So now, I'm in Seattle. I focus on helping fast-growing SaaS companies, helping them scale. So, you know, the one of the company was Skytap, which is a Seattle-based enterprise SaaS company. And we did a number of transactions, including a Series E Round led by Goldman Sachs. And then after that, I was with MedBridge. So it was a growth P/E-backed company, and we sold the company from one growth P/E to another growth P/E. And now, I'm at Customer.io. So very happy at the momentum and everything that we have here at the company. So just really, I think, very fortunate to be part of this growing story with Customer.io. Yeah, so that's generally the work background.[00:03:07] Outside of work, I also, you know, spend time doing the alumni interview for the Penn undergrad admission, which I always find super refreshing to see the fresh applicants every year. And I've always been amazed with the quality of the applicants. And then also, I'm on the board of an organization called LCYC — Legal Counsel for Youth and Children. So we're focused on advancing the rights of our youth and children so.[00:03:35] Andrew Seski: That's a pretty incredible resume. I want to — we're gonna pick it all apart, but let's start right at your last and current role right now, Customer.io. And I'm curious to know first, what attracted you to the firm, the leadership, maybe some of the cultural ways that the firm's been building out over the last decade, and also maybe the value add of working together. I know there are a million SaaS solutions out on the marketplace today. The venture world has been in flux over the last few years. So I'd love to learn a little bit more about the firm, how you're delivering value to clients, and what got you most excited. And you've been there for about two years now, so, you know, maybe bring us back two-ish years.[00:04:19] Zhi Li: Yeah, yeah. So just a little bit about Customer.io. So we're a leading multi-product, customer engagement platform. I think today, it's actually super exciting day 'cause we have our new launch of customer data pipeline that we launched today for early access. So, you know, throughout the last 10 years or so, our core product has been the Customer Engagement Platform, where we allow tech-savvy marketers to engage with their customers through emails, SMS, and push notifications, and also in-app messaging. And now, we also allow a new product called the Data Pipelines, so we can leverage first-party data to create more unified view for our customer records. So super exciting. [00:05:00] And I think what really attracted me — with my background, I've looked at a ton of software SaaS companies and looking at like their value and their potential. I was really attracted to number one, it's founder-led. So Colin, our CEO, has been there from day one. He's got this really long-term vision, and I really kind of feel aligned with that vision. And also, we are very horizontal in terms of like our approach to our customers. So we want to partner with early tech companies. So if you're like a VC-backed early company, we want to be partnered with you early on and grow with you, and then just try to be, you know, as you kind of advance and mature as a company, we will be part of that. And so throughout that journey, we were able to provide a lot of value for you to engage with your customer. The company's also fully remote, which I find super refreshing as well. When I joined, it was just right around the COVID time, so people are like definitely warming up to that remote idea. But the company...

Rho CFO Jeremy Klaperman explains how to organize info systems, build out integrated data infrastructures, and embrace cultures of integrity from the CFO position.

In today’s episode of The Modern CFO, host Andrew Seski speaks with Fundrise CFO Alison Staloch about the democratization of private markets, alternative asset management, investor communications and transparency, and more.

In this episode of The Modern CFO, Mat talks with host Andrew Seski about the future of digital capital formation and what sets DealMaker apart from other cloud-based platforms offering capital raising solutions.

In this episode of The Modern CFO, Sudozi Founder, CEO, and CFO Rose Punkunus talks with host Andrew Seski about her experience starting her own firm—a platform designed to help finance and accounting teams automate workflows, keep track of vendors and budgets, and improve financial decisions.

In this episode of The Modern CFO, Lee talks with Andrew about how things never really change, and why staying committed has kept him both competitive and successful.