THE FINANCE CHIEF INTERVIEW
requires the trust of the people behind the transformation. Chris says:“ That kind of transparency builds trust and respect, which are absolutely foundational, especially when you’ re leading through change.“ If people trust you, they’ ll bring forward the tough issues, share the bad news and broach the hard conversations. And this is exactly what you need to inform effective leadership.”
Will using AI position you to win? Using AI can be beneficial for many aspects of business in multiple sectors; from Dave Ricks, CEO of Eli Lilly using Claude to ask science questions in meetings( as professed on Stripe’ s Cheeky Pint podcast), to gen AI becoming a central strategy for payments giant Visa. CFOs can utilise it for plenty, as AI has become the backbone of multiple tools found in the CFO office, even the humble spreadsheet.“ AI isn’ t just a compute story – it’ s a data movement story.” says Chris. He explains that infrastructure decisions directly influence cost, speed and return on investment:“ So the conversation has to move beyond‘ What are we spending?’ to:‘ what capabilities are we building, what outcomes are we driving and does this position us for durable growth?’” AI can pose as a double-edged sword, and leaders must use caution when assigning AI to roles. Chris continues:“ At the same time, you can’ t just layer AI onto inefficient processes.
That’ s a dead end. The companies pulling ahead are redesigning how they operate with AI at the center.“ The companies that are both making the investments and rethinking go-to-market, product development, and the end-to-end operating model are the ones starting to pull ahead of the pack.” Companies must focus when using AI, placing emphasis on where it can improve efficiency, increase visibility and support better decisions, according to Chris.“ Begin with the practical use cases that connect directly to outcomes” he advises.“ Ask the same questions you would ask of any strategic investment: What problem are we solving, how will we measure value and what capabilities do we need to scale it responsibly?” AI is not entirely risk-free; but this is the same for any decision. Chris explains:“ The risks for finance leaders include both adopting AI too slowly and evaluating it too narrowly. CFOs don’ t need to have every answer on day one, but they do need to engage early enough to understand where AI can remove friction, improve economics and create advantage.” The key, according to Chris, is“ not to view AI only through a technology lens. Instead, think of AI as an opportunity to reimagine business models and operating approaches. AI is already changing expectations around speed, cost, productivity and decision-making.”
46 August 2026