THE FINANCE CHIEF INTERVIEW part of the business well enough to know when to lean in and drive, and when to listen and let experts around you lead.” Experience requires some finesse. As Chris explains, there is a balance between jumping in and jumping off.“ It’ s a range of experience that builds both the agility and humility necessary to get it right,” he says. He elaborates that these traits become pivotal, as, ultimately,“ transformation comes down to people”.“ Change is executed by individuals and teams navigating uncertainty. If you don’ t approach people with empathy and respect, you won’ t get the outcomes you need. At Lumen, we talk a lot about culture being the engine of transformation. It’ s the human element that determines whether change actually sticks.” Transformation may be powered by people, but it gives back to the individual as well. Chris notes that when transforming like Lumen has, organisations focus“ on not losing”. He feels energised by flipping that mindset to“ playing to win.” He says:“ It’ s competitive, it’ s consequential and it requires alignment across strategy, capital and people.”

Lumen’ s annual revenue

In a high-powered and high-pressure role such as the CFO of a large-scale enterprise, being energised by the role comes in handy. As far as Chris is concerned, responsibility is not just the essence of the CFO, as the role itself has become much more than stewardship.“ It’ s about helping translate ambition into action,” he says.“ We have to make clear choices on where to invest, how to scale and how to measure progress, while ensuring the organisation has the capabilities to execute.“ Just as important, major transformation starts with people: building strong teams, developing leaders and creating an environment where individuals are willing to take on bigger challenges.” At Lumen, according to Chris, this mindset translates to“ advancing a growth model grounded in physical infrastructure, programmability and a connected ecosystem”. The rewarding aspect for Chris is seeing so many critical elements come together to drive real momentum, because that’ s what confirms that what they are building is positioned to win. Chris is honest about one piece of advice early in his career that he still carries today. Authenticity is held as a vitally important characteristic. He notes that his approach is to be clear and direct:“ I’ ll tell you what I can when I can. When I can’ t share information, I’ ll be honest about that too”. Responsibility to the business is just one aspect of stewardship. Actually leading change is a monumental effort which

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