10 chief financial officers
Each of these chief financial officers is in the seat today, at S&P Global, Airbnb, OpenAI, McDonald's, Kroger, Figma, Vercel, L'Oréal, Duolingo or Lufthansa Group. Four reached the CFO title after years in the same company's finance or operating roles, and two spent years investing at firms such as KKR, Coatue and Goldman Sachs. They suit anyone deciding what a CFO should own and how to build the finance team around it.
Professionals to explore
Christophe Babule
LinkedInExperience: Group Chief Financial Officer - Member of the Group Executive Committee · L'Oréal
Group Chief Financial Officer - Member of the Group Executive Committee at L'Oréal since 2019, Christophe Babule held other L'Oréal titles: Chief Financial Officer - L'Oréal Asia Pacific (2015–2019), Internal Audit Director - L'Oreal Groupe (2010–2015), and Financial & Controlling Director for L'Oréal Mexico (2007–2010) and L'Oréal China (1999–2007). Christophe fits questions on country, Asia Pacific and group finance inside one multinational company.
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David Kennerley
LinkedInExperience: Former Chief Financial Officer · Kroger
In 2025 David Kennerley became Chief Financial Officer at Kroger, after Chief Financial Officer, Europe at PepsiCo (2020–2025). At PepsiCo, David also held Vice President, Finance, North America Beverages (2015–2018), Senior Finance Director and Head of FP&A, PepsiCo Americas Beverages (2014–2015) and Senior Finance Director, Global Beverages Group (2011–2012). David fits questions on stepping from a divisional CFO role at one company into the company-wide CFO seat at another.
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Ellie Mertz
LinkedInExperience: Chief Financial Officer · Airbnb
Ellie Mertz has been Chief Financial Officer at Airbnb since 2024, after VP of Finance (2019–2024) and Head of Global Financial Planning & Analysis (2013–2019) at Airbnb. Ellie also serves as Board Member and Audit Chair at DoorDash and at Faire (both since 2022). Ellie is the pick for questions on moving from FP&A head to CFO at one company, and on the audit committee view from the other side of the table.
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Eric Aboaf
LinkedInExperience: Chief Financial Officer · S&P Global
Eric Aboaf has been Chief Financial Officer at S&P Global since 2025, leading the global finance function including strategy, M&A, treasury, tax, accounting and investor relations. Eric was Vice Chairman & Chief Financial Officer (2022–2025) and Chief Financial Officer (2016–2022) at State Street, Chief Financial Officer at Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (2015–2016) and Treasurer at Citi (2009–2015). Eric fits questions on what a CFO's remit should include after CFO seats at three companies.
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Ian Borden
LinkedInExperience: Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer · McDonald's
McDonald's has had Ian Borden as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since 2022, a role leading the global finance organization. Ian's other McDonald's titles were President, International (2020–2022), President, International Developmental Licensed Markets (2015–2019) and VP and Chief Financial Officer, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (2014–2015). Ian suits questions on modernizing financial systems and on a CFO who also held president titles for international markets.
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Marten Abrahamsen
LinkedInExperience: Former Chief Financial Officer · Vercel
Investing came before the CFO seat for Marten Abrahamsen: Senior Associate at Vector Capital Management (2011–2014), Senior Investment Professional - Coatue Private Fund at Coatue Management (2014–2018) and Growth Equity Investor & Senior Member of Investment Team at TCG (The Chernin Group) (2018–2019). Marten was then Chief Financial Officer at Fundbox (2020–2023) and has been Chief Financial Officer at Vercel since 2023, a fit for questions on moving from investing into the CFO seat at a developer infrastructure company.
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Matt Skaruppa
LinkedInExperience: Chief Financial Officer · Duolingo
From Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs (2016–2020), Matt Skaruppa moved to Chief Financial Officer at Duolingo in 2020. Matt was also Principal at KKR (2010–2015) and Consultant at Bain & Company (2004–2008). Matt is a fit for questions on what an investor-turned-CFO brings to a language learning app, and on the transition from growth equity investing to the CFO role.
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Praveer Melwani
LinkedInExperience: CFO · Figma
Figma's CFO since 2022, Praveer Melwani was Head of Business Operations & Finance there (2017–2022). Praveer held Business Operations at NerdWallet (2016–2017), Strategic Finance at Dropbox (2014–2016) and Investment Banking at Union Square Advisors LLC (2012–2014). Praveer suits questions on building finance from a combined business operations and finance role into a full CFO function.
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Sarah Friar
LinkedInExperience: Chief Financial Officer · OpenAI
Sarah Friar has been Chief Financial Officer at OpenAI since 2024 and was chief executive officer of Nextdoor, helping take the company public in 2021. Sarah sits on the boards of Walmart (since 2018) and Consensys (since 2022) and is a Member Board of Trustees at Stanford University (since 2026). With CEO, CFO and board seats to compare, Sarah fits questions on how the CFO and CEO jobs divide work and on board relationships.
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Till Streichert
LinkedInExperience: Chief Financial Officer · Lufthansa Group
Controlling and risk management, corporate finance, accounting and financial statements, taxes, M&A and investor relations fall to Till Streichert as Chief Financial Officer at Lufthansa Group since 2024. Till was Chief Financial Officer, Amadeus (2020–2024), Group Chief Financial Officer (2015–2020) and Executive Director (2015–2020) at Vodacom and Finance Director at Vodacom (2014–2015). Till fits questions on CFO scope across a group and on taking the CFO role to a new company.
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Choose the right perspective
For CFOs who grew up inside their company, talk to Ellie Mertz, Praveer Melwani or Christophe Babule; for CFOs with investing backgrounds, Marten Abrahamsen and Matt Skaruppa are the matches. Eric Aboaf and Till Streichert have each held the CFO seat at three companies, and Ian Borden pairs the CFO job with years as President, International at McDonald's, which suits questions on finance supporting operations.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01Which parts of finance, such as treasury, tax, investor relations or strategy, should report to the CFO, and which should sit elsewhere?
- 02What does the first year look like for a CFO who joins from outside compared with an internal pick from the company's own FP&A team?
- 03How should a CFO divide time between the CEO, the board's audit committee and investors?
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot; roles marked former had ended by then. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.