The Next CFO

Planful's The Next CFO launched in early 2025 and has produced 12 episodes so far, hosted primarily by Matt Sledge with occasional guest hosting by Rowan Tonkin. The premise is straightforward: sit down with CFOs and ask them to share the stories, strategies, and lessons that got them where they are. Episodes run 28 to 59 minutes, giving guests plenty of room to tell their full story. The show has featured some genuinely interesting career arcs, including Dan Fletcher's pivot from journalism to becoming CFO at Planful itself, Diana Saadeh-Jajeh's path through GameStop's C-suite to fractional CFO work, and Christopher Hollinger's focus on community impact at Rethink Food. Sledge keeps the conversations casual but substantive. There is a mentorship angle running through many episodes, with guests explicitly talking about how they developed the next generation of finance leaders, not just how they managed spreadsheets. The episode with Stuart Pasternak on mindset and mentoring tips felt particularly honest about the soft skills that make or break a CFO career. The show has no ratings on Apple Podcasts yet, which is typical for a podcast under a year old. Planful is a financial planning platform, so the show is obviously a brand play, but it avoids feeling like a product pitch. If you are an aspiring CFO or early in your tenure and want to hear how others navigated the same transition, this newer entry is worth adding to your rotation while it builds out its catalog.