THE FINANCE CHIEF INTERVIEW

WHAT EVERY BUSINESS FEARS; and what every leader and employee aims fervently to avoid. It’ s a topic that comes up a lot recently, especially in conversations about how to climb to the top of the development ladder. Companies should be asking‘ What can we do better’,‘ How can we be faster’,‘ Is there a chance to get ahead that we’ ve been ignoring?’. These questions should especially be taken into account when every business’ s favourite question comes up: is it in the budget? According to Chris Stansbury, CFO and President of Lumen Technologies, connecting technology investment to enterprise growth and value creation is“ essential”. Chris says:“ If you wait too long, you risk falling behind. But what matters just as much is how you invest. CFOs have a unique responsibility to ensure technology investment is a core driver of growth, competitiveness, and long-term value creation. In the AI era, that link is even more critical because the economics are changing.” Chris speaks with a wealth of experience behind him. Prior to his role at Lumen, he grappled with the finances of multinational companies across several different industries. Currently, he marries the company’ s finance, operations and long-term strategy, straddling the decision for several key areas from procurement to treasury.

Rewinding the clock to a valuable moment in his career, he explains that early on, he stepped into a role he“ wasn’ t particularly excited about during a period of significant change”. He says:“ It was a pivotal moment because it forced me to broaden my perspective beyond a single function and gain additional perspective on how a business operates end to end.” He also notes that his current role is“ about helping align capital, execution and performance around the priorities that matter most for growth.” So how does one even begin to decide a key area for growth? Easy. Or is it?

Leadership requires a finesse What business isn’ t looking to transform? None wish to be left behind. But, as with every exciting venture, risk looms in the corner of every decision. It’ s hard to start when the answers aren’ t all in front of you. To this, Chris says:“ What I learned is that having all the answers isn’ t the key to leading transformation at scale.“ Success in these scenarios requires having enough range to ask the right questions. You have to understand each

42 August 2026