I’m (more than) the money  Today’s dynamic CFOs are destroying their fusty stereotype

Yet the role of the chief financial officer (CFO) is no longer merely a scorekeeper or guardian of capital. Instead, it has become the primary orchestrator of enterprise performance and a leading advocate for technological change. A key insight from this year’s AI for CFOs Summit, organised by the Economist, was the significant shift in corporate leadership: chief financial officers now play an equally critical role in AI and digital transformation as in traditional finance management.

Recent survey data reinforces the trend, indicating that 53% of CFOs have now assumed direct responsibility for digital and process transformation initiatives. Their expanded mandate has surpassed their traditional responsibilities. If CFOs were once tagged by their own colleagues as unglamorous gatekeepers who liked to say ‘no’, the cap no longer fits. Today’s CFOs are dynamic strategic thinkers who drive companies forward.

Beyond stewardship

The change is largely due to the modern duty on organisations to undergo continuous digital transformation, in which system integration and workflow digitisation are vital to survival rather than aspirational. Three reasons likely explain the redefinition of the CFO role. First, the finance function is often the most accessible area for AI-driven improvement within organisations. Financial planning and forecasting; accounts receivable and payable; and reporting are among the lowest-hanging fruits for AI automation within a company. Consider that at the AI company I cofounded, the finance team consists of just one person (surrounded by AI technologies)! Unsurprisingly, finance is often the first department to adopt AI.

The evidence shows that an early start in AI implementation makes it easier to charge ahead with the latest technological developments. For example, Meta’s finance function began its digital transformation with process standardisation (2016-2018), before moving to automation (2018-2021), then integrating machine-learning models and predictive analytics (2021-2024), later developing a comprehensive data strategy (2024). It launched Muse, its agentic AI, this autumn.

Second, with experience in AI deployment comes the ability to evaluate its benefits and challenges. Finance leaders often have a better capacity than many colleagues to estimate return on investment. Most CFOs are good scientists: they avoid designing vanity metrics – and thus are well placed to decide whether to pull the plug on projects in progress.

Third, the finance function serves as the main artery of any organisation, facilitating the flow of critical data, capital and strategic insights essential for sustained growth. As guardians of this vital flow, CFOs are uniquely positioned to evaluate the transformative potential of AI, considering its risks and benefits not just in terms of cost-savings or efficiency, but also in its ability to reshape the organisation’s strategic landscape.

Taken together, the CFO’s office is often best suited to guide the use of AI to enhance how the company competes and operates. It is therefore no surprise that 87% of CFOs report much greater involvement in digital transformation compared to three years ago.

New power brings greater responsibility

As CFOs add guiding enterprise strategy and digital modernisation to their traditional roles as stewards and operators, they face a wider range of risks and challenges. Besides meeting revenue and profit targets and ensuring compliance, finance leaders must also focus on upskilling current staff in AI, data quality and real-time data access; managing legacy IT systems and infrastructures; and handling AI governance. Simultaneously, they are expected to deliver a return on investment within tight timelines: 83% of surveyed CFOs said they had to provide evidence of returns within 12 months to justify continued investment in AI. This underscores the high stakes and immediate expectations for technology-driven projects.

The skillset required of finance teams is changing. Technical accounting and finance knowledge are now just half the equation. Leaders prepared for the future must have data fluency and AI literacy: 51% of CFOs ranked data analytics and digital fluency as the top skills for success – more than the 49% that ranked risk and compliance expertise as the most important.

To be in the best position to drive company-wide transformation, the stewards and operators of yesteryear must adopt five new personas to align with the demands of today.

The new faces of the CFO

The Entrepreneur

Understands market trends and introduces new ideas to gain a competitive edge and promote a proactive risk-management culture.

Entrepreneurial CFOs do not wait for transformation to arrive. They initiate it. Ruth Porat, who served as CFO of Alphabet and Google from 2015 before becoming its president and chief investment officer in 2023, reoriented the tech giant towards an AI-powered future while imposing the financial discipline needed to fund it. She restructured Google’s finance organisation – including workforce reductions and team relocations – to pursue an AI-first strategy. “The upside from AI does require a fundamental rethink of every process,” says Porat. Her view captures the entrepreneurial imperative: AI’s value is not realised by automating isolated tasks. Rather, it emerges from redesigning the entire operating model around new capabilities.

The Expert

Serves as a trusted adviser, providing specialised data to achieve positive business outcomes through advanced analytics.

The Expert CFO shifts the finance function from a traditional reporting role to a forward-looking intelligence hub. Anna Manz, appointed as Nestlé’s CFO in 2024 and responsible for both finance and integrated business services, exemplifies this role. Putting AI on top of Nestlé’s enterprise resource-planning data, she has shifted her team from retrospective reporting, to using leading-indicator KPIs, and then to interrogating the data to obtain better pictures of the organisation. This enables the company to act before issues arise.

The Storyteller

Explains and communicates complex data and AI clearly to enhance understanding of operational performance and product profitability.

The Storyteller CFO recognises that data creates value only when it is clearly communicated and acted upon by the right people. Mark Hawkins, former president and CFO of Salesforce, advises CFOs to prioritise clarity and narrative when presenting AI investments to boards. “Clearly and unambiguously define the use case,” he says. “The less difficult it is to understand, the more credible the opportunity. When people can’t explain it, as a seasoned executive, it creates a yellow flag for me.”

The Strategist

Seeks to drive growth opportunities by aligning customer needs with commercial considerations.

The Strategist CFO leverages financial insight to drive growth, rather than simply tracking it. Susan Li, Meta’s CFO, exemplifies this approach in a high-stakes environment. As the architect of Meta’s AI capital-allocation strategy, Li increased the company’s 2026 capital expenditure forecast to directly support Meta’s AI product roadmap and long-term competitive position.

Consider another example. Amy Hood, former Microsoft CFO, told new recruits that her job is more than just managing finances: “I may have thought about it that way when I took the job, but now it’s about creating an environment in which you all remember that you still want to pick us every day.” Hood has helped bring employees, investors and customers back to Microsoft. “That’s my job as a CFO,” she says. Both Li and Hood show that the Strategist’s core role is to provide commercial ambition with a strong financial foundation. They ensure major investments are structured, communicated and governed to maintain investor and board confidence.

The Challenger

Challenges the status quo to find better ways forward for the organisation.

The Challenger CFO is a critical archetype in the current AI landscape. The primary risk for organisations is not underinvestment in AI – it is undisciplined investments that deliver no value. Jeremy Barnum, CFO of JPMorganChase since 2021, exemplifies this approach. As AI enthusiasm grows across the financial sector, Barnum has positioned the bank against speculative adoption. “There’s clearly some very significant opportunities,” he says. “At the same time, we’re JPMorganChase. We’re not going to be chasing shiny objects here in AI.” The Challenger persona is not about scepticism for its own sake, but about maintaining the discipline needed to ensure AI investments deliver value and meet performance and transformation goals.

Fit for the future

CFOs – and their teams – are entering a pivotal stage where technology, risk and strategic accountability are central to daily decision-making. Being ‘future-ready’ no longer simply means agility to plan, forecast and respond to sudden market changes. It is more about aligning technology, talent and data to ensure organisations thrive in an increasingly dynamic environment. Against such a backdrop, CFOs are fast taking on the role of performance and transformation orchestrators.