Episodes

NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and it is a powerful tool that you can use to improve your life. NLP allows you to change your thoughts and behaviors by understanding how your mind works. It can help you overcome fears and phobias, achieve your goals, and much more. In this episode Susana Serrano-Davey and Kevin Appleby discuss what NLP is and how you can use it to improve your life! NLP is based on the idea that the way we think about and interpret the world around us affects our ...

Phil Walker and Geoff Fletcher, Co-Founders of Mettryx join Kevin Appleby to discuss the significance of Providing FP&A as a Service to Clients. Geoff and Phil explain the concept behind Mettryx, and the type of company that they would generally work with. Phil is a recent alumnus of the GrowCFO FutureCFO programme. The new business he and Geoff formed while he was part of the programme is a major change of direction for both of them and is a different approach to providing fractional CFO servi...

Jeremy Rudd is an experienced Interim CFO for PLCs and SMEs in the UK. After qualifying as an accountant he worked for Metal Box plc before embarking on a consulting career during which he has worked with clients ranging from computer giant IBM to tanneries and chocolate biscuit manufacturers. In 2017 he published a book ‘4 Magic Steps to Double Profit’ designed to help managers, entrepreneurs and accountants(!) understand business financial dynamics in a fun and insightful way. In this episod...

Melissa Hurrington is both CFO and VP of Operations at Premier Claims. This means that besides finance she is responsible for a lot of different functions within the company. In this episode, she shares how she manages these widely varying activities and multiple teams of people. We talk about her route to CFO and how along the way she got to love operations too. We find out why she quit her dream job. How she became CFO at Premier Claims and talk about the challenges she faces day to day and sp...

Patrick Butcher learned how to become a leader while undertaking the CFO role at a succession of enormous organisations. His cv includes Network Rail, London Underground and Capita. He admits that he didn’t always get leadership right the first time and it took a while to become a great leader. The lessons in leadership he learned on the way have been precious, and he shares them in this week’s podcast. It’s a great story and well worth a listen. Patrick Butcher is a Board level executive with ...

If you’re looking to increase the value of your business, you’re in the right place. In this episode, we will discuss methods that will help you triple your business valuation. By following the advice from Felix Velarde, you’ll be able to get a higher return on investment when it comes time to sell your company. So what are you waiting for? Let’s get started! Felix Velarde is a returning guest to the GrowCFO Show. Last time we talked about the role of the CFO in a high growth business strategy....

We’ve mentioned Susanna Serrano-Davey’s upcoming book in previous episodes of the podcast. It’s finally available to buy. Podcast host Kevin Appleby thought it was only right to spend an episode with Susana to discover what “I Wish I Had Known” is all about. The book draws on Susana’s 30 years of experience and covers all those things she wishes she had known about at the beginning of her career. Education gives you lots of head knowledge, but nobody ever teaches you the skills you need for the...

Andy Bass is the Managing Director at BassClusker Consulting. He helps organizations to overcome their limits to growth by tapping into their unique – often hidden – resources. The limits can be external – for example, competitors are learning fast and making it hard for you to stand out. Or they may be internal – for example, you know what the business needs to do, but although your people agree to do it, they aren’t following through… Andy explains ways to overcome these problems in his book...

Scott Bly is the CFO of Seattle-based International Parking Management. He is an entrepreneurial CFO with a passion for helping small business owners articulate and realize their vision. Scott joins the GrowCFO Show to talk about values. In particular, the importance of aligning personal and company values. When it comes to company values, there is no “one size fits all” approach. Every business is different, and as such, it will have different values that are important to them. The key is to e...

Gary Cokins is an internationally recognized expert, speaker, and author in performance improvement systems and advanced cost management. He believes that many organizations are far from where they want and need to be to improve performance, and they apply intuition, rather than hard data, when making decisions. Gary explains why Enterprise performance management (EPM) provides a portfolio of managerial methods that can make a real difference. These include: strategy execution with a strategy ...

Chris Roling is the CFO at Coinme. He has 25 years of commercial and private equity experience having served in board, CEO, COO, and CFO positions with a number of global public and private companies. His previous experience is deeply rooted in venture capital, making him an expert on the current state of investor funding and how to acquire it in a bear market. Chris provides some great insights into the following: What best practices and insights on critical strategies can assist companies in...

They tell you never to meet your heroes. So did Kevin Appleby make a mistake inviting Laura Vanderkam on to the GrowCFO Show? You will have to listen to the episode and make up your own mind about that! Kevin recommends Laura’s book “168 Hours” every time he runs a module 3 workshop on GrowCFO’s Future CFO Programme. It’s essential reading if you need to find a few extra hours every week to sort out your own personal development and career progression. Laura tells us more about 168 hours in thi...

Do you want to be a great finance business partner? If so, you’re in luck! In this episode, Oliver Deacon joins Kevin Appleby and gives us some great tips that will help improve your relationship with your colleagues in the rest of the business. Oliver Deacon is a member of the GrowCFO Mentoring team. He runs the GrowCFO Business Partnering Boot Camps and is a former FD at Microsoft. One of the most important things to remember when trying to become a great finance business partner is that commu...

100 Episodes of the GrowCFO Show, that’s 2 years’ worth of podcast episodes. Dan Wells, founder and CEO of GrowCFO joins regular podcast host Kevin Appleby to celebrate the milestone, reflect back on the last two years and talk about some new exciting developments in GrowCFO. Dan and Kevin both choose their favourite episodes of the GrowCFO Show. Dan decided on episode 95 where Catherine Clark, head of mentoring at GrowCFO, talked about making the best decision for both you and your business. K...

Alex Budak joins the GrowCFO show on the same day that his new book “Becoming a Changemaker” is published. Quite a coup for the podcast! The book is an excellent read for anyone wanting to become a changemaker, in particular for finance leaders wanting to enhance their ability to be a catalyst for change. As a faculty member at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, Alex created and teaches the wildly popular course “Becoming a Changemaker,” which has quickly grown into one of the most highly-r...

Jeremy Foster is an unusual CFO, he isn’t an accountant and doesn’t have a finance background. His origins are in sales and marketing. He changed course following an MBA at Notre Dame and has subsequently become a highly successful finance leader with strong strategic capabilities and significant M&A experience. Jeremy has been instrumental in multiple equity rounds, debt recaps, and a 9-digit platform sale to PE. Jeremy’s main interest is working with an organisation that wants to drive massiv...

Danielle Keeven has had quite a journey to get to her current role as VP of Finance at paddle.com. She has crossed the globe and changed industry sectors. She has gone from roles in large multinationals to working in high-growth startups. Danielle shares her experiences with Kevin Appleby on this week’s GrowCFO Show. Originally working in the Caribbean for large US multinationals such as Marriott and Hyatt, Danielle swapped to working in Europe for booking.com, then moved out of hospitality com...

The role of a finance transformation leader is a complex one. It requires someone with great technical skills, as well as strong people skills. A successful finance transformation leader must be able to manage and motivate their team, while also being able to communicate effectively with other members of the organization. Toni Betts, group finance director at The Travel Chapter is one of those successful transformation leaders and she shares her journey with Kevin Appleby on this episode of The ...

Are you in control of your own life, or are the demands of all the other things around you taking over? Too much pressure at work to have a personal life? Perhaps you aren’t feeling fulfilled? If any of that describes you then it’s time to take control back and make decisions that benefit you and not just your organisation. In this episode, Catherine Clark joins us to talk about the importance of making the right decisions for your own wellbeing. She draws on both her own personal experience as ...

Self-awareness is key for well-being. When you know yourself well, you can make better decisions and thrive in all areas of your life – including your career. As a finance leader, it’s important to be self-aware so that you can set realistic goals and healthily manage stress. In this episode, Susana Serrano-Davey, our very own Executive Coach & Mentor at GrowCFO joins Kevin Appleby once again to discuss the importance of self-awareness as a cornerstone for wellbeing. We discuss the importance of...

CFOs and finance leaders are under more pressure than ever before. They are responsible for ensuring the financial stability of their company, and often have to make tough decisions that can impact the bottom line. This high level of responsibility can take a toll, and many CFOs and finance leaders find themselves struggling with burnout. In this episode, Leanne Spencer, an award-winning entrepreneur and a key-note wellbeing speaker and burnout prevention expert joins Kevin Appleby to discuss ho...

As a CFO in a fast-growing business, you have a lot on your plate. You are responsible for ensuring that the company is making money and growing at a healthy rate. But what if you could take your career to the next level by having a mentor? A mentor can help you learn new skills, make important connections, and give you guidance when it comes to difficult decisions. Ian Simpkin specialises in mentoring CFOs who find themselves in that exact situation. Ian Simpkin is one of GrowCFO’s experienced...

One of the biggest challenges of financial modelling is creating models that are accurate and realistic. Financial modellers need to have a good understanding of all of the different formulas and functions in order to create an accurate model. Many people, even experienced modellers, use less than 5% of the functions available. Excel models need to be properly structured too so that others can easily validate them, and they can be checked for errors. There are lots to learn about, and many tips ...

It’s no secret that boardroom experience is important for aspiring CFOs. But what happens when you don’t have access to boardrooms? How can you overcome this obstacle and get the experience you need? In this episode Dan Wells, founder and CEO of GrowCFO, joins Kevin Appleby to discuss the launch of GrowCFO’s Virtual Boardroom. Over 80% of aspiring and first-time finance leaders have little or no boardroom experience. Very few have conquered the most common challenges regularly faced by CFOs dur...