GrowCFO Show

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/0zRJsjw9He6j7fvBc1Vzkp

Stepping into senior finance leadership is rarely neat or linear. The move from technical expert to strategic leader often happens sooner than expected, with higher stakes, tougher decisions, and sharper scrutiny. Yet these stretching moments are where the next generation of CFOs is really formed.

In this episode of the GrowCFO Show, Kevin Appleby speaks with David Hudson, Group Financial Controller at Empiric Student Property PLC. David shares how he found himself effectively operating as CFO during Empiric’s takeover by Unite Group plc; leading a difficult audit, resolving a major misstatement, handling confidential deal work, and guiding his team through intense change.

He explains how combining these real-world challenges with the GrowCFO program, especially the virtual boardroom, peer learning, and focus on personal branding, helped him accelerate his readiness for the top job. The conversation offers a practical blueprint for senior finance leaders who are being asked to step up before they feel fully prepared, showing how confidence, mentoring, and smart use of technology can enable them to perform credibly at CFO level.

Key topics covered:

David Hudson outlines his journey from audit into senior finance roles and ultimately into a position where he was effectively acting as CFO during a major corporate transaction.

He explains how stepping into the CFO role created a step‑change in responsibility—owning cash, leading the team, and steering auditors through a challenging year-end with a significant misstatement.

Hudson shares how the GrowCFO program, especially the virtual boardroom, stress‑tested his skills, built confidence, and helped him prepare for real board‑level scrutiny.

He highlights the importance of personal branding, networking, and maintaining a strong LinkedIn presence and CV as critical enablers for aspiring CFOs.

The discussion covers the realities of acquisition and integration—confidentiality, staff retention, fair reward, and managing external stakeholders such as brokers and investment banks.

Hudson describes how leveraging AI and OCR in the finance function, combined with mentoring and team development, positions him for his longer‑term ambition to become a CFO in a FTSE 250 business.

Links

David Hudson on LinkedIn

Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn

GrowCFO Mentoring

Timestamps: 

0:00:01 – David Hudson’s background and progression to Group Financial Controller at Empiric Student Property, and how he found himself stepping into a de facto CFO role during a takeover.

0:03:00 – Discussion of fear versus imposter syndrome, and what changes when the responsibility and accountability of a CFO role land on your desk.

0:04:52 – How the GrowCFO virtual boardroom and peer group challenged Hudson, built confidence, and simulated real board pressure ahead of stepping up. 

0:10:35 – The importance of personal branding, LinkedIn presence, and professional networking for finance leaders aiming at CFO roles.

0:18:10 – Lessons from leading through an acquisition: confidentiality, employee retention, fair recognition, and learning from brokers and investment banks.

0:21:25 – The role of mentoring, team strength, and calm leadership in successfully handling CFO‑level challenges.

0:29:37 – Practical use of AI and OCR in the finance function and how technology supports a more strategic, commercially focused CFO.

0:35:22 – The link between physical well‑being (e.g., marathon training) and better problem‑solving and resilience in high‑pressure finance roles.

Find out more about GrowCFO

If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.

GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.

You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/5YwnZv8yNCPYP1osEaVFY6

In a world where business models, technology, and regulation can all shift in a single planning cycle, building a finance team and infrastructure that still works five years from now is a strategic necessity. Short‑term fixes and ad hoc processes quickly turn into bottlenecks as organizations grow and face deeper scrutiny from investors and regulators.

In this episode, Kevin Appleby speaks with Rishi Oberoi, Deputy CFO and CAO at Varo Bank, about designing a finance function that scales for the long term. Rishi frames finance as a leadership system that enables organizations to move fast without breaking trust, drawing on two decades in global banking, fintech, audit, and capital markets.

Together, they explore why scalable finance is as much about people and principles as it is about processes and platforms. Rishi highlights empathy, humility, and storytelling as core leadership traits, and explains how AI can act as a control sentinel and efficiency driver while preserving customer trust and regulatory rigor in a mission‑driven bank.

Key topics covered:

Finance should be designed and run as a leadership system, where everyone in the function leads in some way, not just the CFO. 

Scalable finance functions are built on empathy, humility, and values-based hiring, not only on technical skill sets. 

AI’s most powerful role in finance may be as a real-time control sentinel, enhancing compliance, monitoring controls, and supporting faster, safer decision-making. 

Systems should be architected to be modular, vendor-agnostic, and future-ready, designed around what the organization will need in 4–5 years rather than just today’s constraints. 

Finance can and should be a force for good, especially in mission-driven organizations, by balancing profitability with equitable access to financial products for underserved communities. 

Modern CFOs must spend more time looking forward than backward, closing the books quickly so they can focus on strategy, relevance, and long-term value creation.

Links

Rishi Oberoi on LinkedIn

Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn

GrowCFO Mentoring

Timestamps: 

0:00:00 – Kevin introduces Rishi and his global finance career; Rishi outlines his experience building fast-moving, trust-centric finance teams.

0:02:21 – Rishi explains why he views finance as one of the world’s foundational leadership systems, shaping economies, companies, and households.

0:05:27 – Discussion on leading finance teams with empathy, recognizing life outside work, and hiring for values and learning ability.

0:09:46 – Rishi describes how finance must provide a forward-looking view and use storytelling to make numbers meaningful and actionable.

0:13:06 – Exploration of AI in finance, including using AI to monitor controls and compliance in real time within regulated environments.

0:18:12 – How to design finance systems that are modular, vendor-agnostic, and aligned to where the organization will be in 4–5 years.

0:24:26 – Rishi discusses using finance to benefit customers, employees, investors, and regulators, especially in a mission-led bank like Varo.

0:26:15 – The tension and balance between serving underserved communities and maintaining regulatory- and investor-grade profitability.

0:32:53 – Advice for CFOs to close faster, look further ahead, and focus on keeping their organizations relevant in a fast-changing world.

Find out more about GrowCFO

If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.

GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.

You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/5z9zV5mya9rDz6O8glCfy1

A high-income fractional CFO career is becoming one of the most attractive paths for senior finance leaders who want more control, variety, and upside than a traditional corporate role can offer. As businesses increasingly look for flexible, part-time strategic finance support, the opportunity for experienced CFOs and finance professionals to build profitable portfolio careers has never been greater. 

In this episode, Kevin Appleby interviews Rob Nicholls, a fractional CFO, board adviser, and GrowCFO mentor, on how finance leaders can build a high-income, portfolio-style career. Rob draws on his commercially driven background and international experience to explain what a modern fractional CFO really does and how the role can deliver both financial and lifestyle benefits.

He shares practical guidance on constructing a high-income fractional CFO portfolio – balancing a mix of clients, leveraging LinkedIn, and using non‑executive roles and mentoring to generate both impact and deal flow. The discussion highlights how deep experience, strategic advisory skills, and deliberate business development combine into a sustainable, long-term fractional CFO career.

Key topics covered:

How Rob built a high-value fractional CFO and board advisory portfolio across multiple SMEs, drawing on a career that spans finance, operations, sales, and supply chain.

Why LinkedIn is central to his business development, including disciplined daily activity that generates around 30 conversations a day and compounds into long-term opportunity.

The role of mentoring and advisory work (Innovate UK, university engagements, startup ecosystems) in building reputation, leverage, and future client pipelines.

How being industry-agnostic yet commercially focused allows Rob to mentor founders, senior finance executives, and career-changers while remaining anchored in value creation.

The impact of technology and AI on CFO work, including tools to streamline board reporting while reinforcing the need for real-world experience and judgment.

Why non-executive roles and multiple income streams are powerful components of a resilient, high-income fractional CFO career.

Links

Rob Nicholls on LinkedIn

Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn

GrowCFO Mentoring

Timestamps: 

00:00 – Intro to Rob and fractional CFO background

02:10 – From traditional finance to value creation focus

03:33 – Portfolio lifestyle and managing multiple clients

04:25 – LinkedIn strategy and pipeline building

09:37 – Mentoring, startups, and ecosystem leverage

12:15 – Who Rob mentors and career transitions

15:19 – Technology, AI, and modern CFO work

18:59 – Non-exec roles and board careers for CFOs

23:40 – Future plans and fractional startup in biz dev

Find out more about GrowCFO

If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.

GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.

You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/55cBmmBgaKb7MGUsUgPtNT

In this GrowCFO Show episode, Kevin Appleby sits down with Jeremy Earnshaw, GrowCFO Mentor, to unpack one of the most painful but instructive topics in corporate life. Rather than celebrating a headline-grabbing success, Jeremy walks through a deal that went badly wrong—financially, culturally, and strategically. The episode emphasizes why leaders often learn far more from failures than from smooth, textbook transactions, and why understanding what not to do in M&A can be a powerful competitive advantage. 

Drawing on more than 20 M&A deals across his career, Jeremy dissects an acquisition from 30 years ago where he joined mid-transaction, found due diligence to be dangerously superficial, and discovered too late that the target’s core direct-to-consumer channel was fundamentally unprofitable. He and Kevin explore how poor diligence, misaligned incentives, cultural blind spots, and weak integration planning combined to destroy value. The conversation offers CFOs, founders, and boards a candid look at the real costs of a bad acquisition and practical lessons on how to structure deals, probe assumptions, and retain the courage to walk away.

Key topics covered:

Jeremy explains how he joined an acquisition mid-stream and immediately saw that the “due diligence” was little more than an updated audit pack.

Kevin and Jeremy break down why buying “a balance sheet” instead of a future business led to a badly structured deal, with 90% of the consideration paid in cash at completion.

They expose how cultural issues, aggressive lawyers, and late negative disclosures undermined trust and should have been clear red flags to pause or walk away.

Jeremy reveals that the acquisition’s main focus—the direct-to-consumer channel—was actually loss-making, while an overlooked export dealer channel was where the real profitability lay.

The episode highlights how weak integration planning compounded the initial mistakes, turning a flawed deal into a value-destroying one.

Jeremy distills the lessons learned: insist on thorough due diligence, structure earn-outs intelligently, interrogate culture and people risk, and always be prepared to walk away.

Links

Jeremy Earnshaw on LinkedIn

Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn

GrowCFO Mentoring

Timestamps: 

0:00:00 – Kevin frames the episode around learning from “the worst acquisition” and introduces Jeremy Earnshaw and his M&A background.

0:02:00 – Jeremy describes joining halfway through the deal and discovering that due diligence was basically a thin audit update.

0:06:23 – Deep dive into due diligence and valuation: why paying 90% cash up front and underweighting earn-out was a structural mistake.

0:19:35 – Cultural and legal challenges emerge: aggressive lawyers, late disclosures, and a finance controller’s resignation revealed just before completion.

0:24:35 – Post-acquisition reality check: the direct-to-consumer channel is loss-making while the neglected export dealer business is the only profitable part.

0:36:56 – Jeremy and Kevin synthesize the core lessons around diligence discipline, deal parameters, and the importance of being ready to walk away.

Find out more about GrowCFO

If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.

GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.

You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/29EE2Ec32RWQKNVvVj2U8d

In this episode of The GrowCFO Show, host Kevin Appleby, together with Michael Pytel, Technology Leader & Director at VASS, underscores why AI is now a board-level issue for finance leaders: decisions made today about platforms, data, and governance will shape an organization’s risk profile and competitive position for years to come. They frame AI not as a shiny add‑on but as an infrastructure-and-controls question that sits squarely in the CFO’s remit: data sovereignty, privacy, security, and ROI.

Michael draws on his deep background in ERP and large‑enterprise technology to give CFOs a practical roadmap for implementing AI safely and effectively. He explains how vendors such as SAP are approaching “sovereign AI” to keep sensitive financial data within the organization, why mid‑market businesses should consider anchoring around the Microsoft ecosystem, and how to structure permissions so AI behaves like a fully controlled team member rather than a black box. The discussion closes with forward‑looking guidance on avoiding vendor lock‑in, upgrading ERP for an API‑ready, AI‑enabled future, and identifying quick wins that prove value without compromising security.

Key topics covered:

Why AI implementation is now a core responsibility of the CFO, not just IT, with direct implications for risk, compliance, and competitive advantage.

How data sovereignty, privacy, and “sovereign AI” approaches (as seen in SAP) allow organizations to choose where AI runs and how data is protected.

Practical options for smaller and mid‑market companies without large IT teams, including leveraging the Microsoft ecosystem for secure and scalable AI.

The importance of treating AI like a human team member with defined permissions, segregation of duties, and strong policy‑driven prompt design.

Why CFOs must ensure ERP and core finance systems are API‑ready and AI‑enabled to remain competitive over the next planning cycles.

Strategies to avoid platform lock‑in while still moving quickly, focusing on quick wins and flexible commercial contracts with AI vendors.

Links

Michael Pytel on LinkedIn

Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn

GrowCFO Mentoring

Timestamps: 

0:00:01 – Kevin introduces episode 280 and guest Michael Pytel, outlining his enterprise technology and ERP background and why his perspective matters for CFOs considering AI.

0:02:27 – Discussion of SAP’s cautious, data‑sovereign approach to AI, allowing customers to control where AI runs and how sensitive financial data is protected. 

0:08:27 – Exploration of AI options for smaller organizations without full IT departments, including aligning with Microsoft to obtain secure, affordable AI capabilities.

0:12:05 – Deep dive into data security, permissions, and prompt engineering, positioning AI as a controlled “team member” governed by policies and segregation of duties.

0:26:25 – Analysis of how AI will reshape finance roles, the need to modernize ERP for AI integration, and what to look for in vendor roadmaps.

0:33:06 – Michael’s closing advice for CFOs in 2026: prioritize secure, in‑house AI platforms, avoid lock‑in with flexible contracts, and focus on quick, demonstrable wins.

Find out more about GrowCFO

If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.

GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.

You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net